[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.92,0:00:16.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you Sean.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.87,0:00:20.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My story actually starts with two films:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.54,0:00:25.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first is "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham",\N- it's a great name -
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.15,0:00:28.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the most successful films\Nproduced in India,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.13,0:00:30.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the Oscar-winning\N"Slumdog Millionaire,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.79,0:00:34.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the most successful films\Nproduced about India.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.45,0:00:36.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we look at images of these films,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.52,0:00:39.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we see two very different views\Nof the same country:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.62,0:00:43.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one is a fairy-tale, this nation built\Non wealth and romance,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.70,0:00:45.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the other is a near calamity,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.76,0:00:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a place filled with poverty\Nand corruption.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.92,0:00:50.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Cinema offers us insights
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.57,0:00:53.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into how we can perceive\Na country and its people,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.17,0:00:56.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who they are, what they value,\Nhow they see themselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.04,0:00:58.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as how others see them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.11,0:00:59.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And from these images,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.76,0:01:04.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the view of India it seems\Nis either that of a musical or a slum.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.46,0:01:08.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So my own journey into the world of films\Nstarted in the suburbs of Chicago
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.43,0:01:09.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where I was born.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.73,0:01:12.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm the second child\Nof two Indian immigrants,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.87,0:01:15.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and growing up in a joint family,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.09,0:01:18.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was raised on stories told to me\Nby both my grandfathers,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.48,0:01:20.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of whom left school in the fourth grade
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.79,0:01:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to sell timber to the British\Nduring the reign of the Empire.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.79,0:01:25.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other worked for a local government,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.83,0:01:28.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he would travel\Nto remote areas of India
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.48,0:01:31.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to implement\Nthe policies of the British Raj.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.84,0:01:36.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So as I grew up, I remember listening\Nto these stories of India in the 1940s,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.45,0:01:39.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and longing for a connection\Nto my own current story,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.48,0:01:42.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that of America in the 1990s.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.86,0:01:45.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found this through film.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.28,0:01:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Through stories that were rooted\Nin the American experience,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.14,0:01:49.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and offered me a perspective
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.76,0:01:53.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that were so different\Nfrom the stories of my origin.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.42,0:01:56.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, it was the disparity\Nbetween these two stories
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.77,0:01:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that served as a constant reminder to me
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.18,0:02:03.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the hardwork and the sacrifice\Nmy parents had made to come to America.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.49,0:02:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mainly, to offer\Ntheir children opportunities
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.21,0:02:08.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they themselves never had.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.33,0:02:12.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,America was possibility, freedom,\Nand a place to make an impact.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.89,0:02:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My brother and I were raised\Nfueled by that desire:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.40,0:02:18.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the desire to give something back
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.49,0:02:21.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to a country that had given\Nso much to our family.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.99,0:02:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I took this ideology with me\Ninto my first job out of college
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.68,0:02:28.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a prestigious magazine\Nin New York City.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.17,0:02:29.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was pretty much my dream job,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.94,0:02:33.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,writing for a publication\Nthat I had idolized as a kid
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.35,0:02:36.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for its political, environmental,\Nand issues-driven content.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.94,0:02:39.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was serious journalism,\Nbut made accessible,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.69,0:02:43.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that felt like it was\Na real vehicle for change in my eyes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.25,0:02:48.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, instead of the fulfillment\Nthat I had expected, I felt emptiness.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.12,0:02:51.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was as if I was surrounded by people\Nwho were more concerned
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.15,0:02:54.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about how they, their brand,\Nand their legacy was perceived
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.54,0:02:56.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instead of their content.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.41,0:02:59.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that serious journalism\Nthat I was drawn to,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.61,0:03:01.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its message felt lost and diluted.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.87,0:03:04.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had built up this idea in my head
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.33,0:03:08.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about what writing about social issues\Ncould do in terms of creating an impact,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.49,0:03:10.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and instead, I was faced with the reality
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.53,0:03:14.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that to me, that message\Nfelt so out of reach.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.01,0:03:15.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I quit my job.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.36,0:03:18.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I moved back home\Nwith my parents in Chicago
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.20,0:03:20.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was completely disillusioned.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.33,0:03:23.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spent months there;\Nand finally, with nothing left to do,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.30,0:03:25.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I booked a ticket to go to\Na friend's wedding in India
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.94,0:03:27.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a two-week trip.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.25,0:03:28.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Little did I know
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.51,0:03:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I would find my lasting connection\Nto stories and their impact
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.80,0:03:34.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the country of my grandfathers' birth
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.04,0:03:36.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and through a medium\Nthat I knew nothing about:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.48,0:03:38.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bollywood.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.10,0:03:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So a few days after I got to India,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.08,0:03:44.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through friends of friends I was invited\Nto visit a Bollywood film shoot.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.66,0:03:47.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was like nothing\NI had ever seen before.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.18,0:03:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember watching\Nas actors and actresses lip-synced
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.01,0:03:52.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to these songs that blared\Nfrom speakers overhead,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.43,0:03:55.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they were twirling together\Nin front of a green screen,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.39,0:03:57.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meant not to represent India,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.23,0:04:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the mountains of Switzerland\Nor the pyramids of Egypt.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.04,0:04:01.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.08,0:04:04.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this was a story like none\NI had ever seen before.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.69,0:04:07.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was different from the stories\Nof my grandfathers
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.14,0:04:10.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and from the stories\Nthat I sought out in Chicago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.49,0:04:12.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was just the most\Nincredible thing for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.95,0:04:17.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seeing something so unknown to me\Nwas what pulled me in,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.02,0:04:18.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it made me want to learn more
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.55,0:04:22.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about what the current story of India was,\Nand what it meant to its people.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.79,0:04:24.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I set up a couple of meetings
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.44,0:04:27.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the few people that I knew\Nwho knew people in Bollywood,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.54,0:04:30.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and at one of them, with\Nthe Confederation of Indian Industry
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.48,0:04:33.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is an organization that works\Nto promote industry in India,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.62,0:04:36.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was asked to write a report\Non the state of the film business
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.68,0:04:39.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I stayed at first for a month,\Nthen for three months,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.51,0:04:41.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and finally, for over two years.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.80,0:04:45.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I worked in International Marketing\Nand Branding for Bollywood films,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.35,0:04:49.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,setting up meetings for Indian producers\Nin LA with their American counterparts,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.93,0:04:53.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,putting together the first official Indian\Npresence at the Cannes Film Festival,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.90,0:04:57.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and organizing a conference\Nwhere Indian producers would get to meet
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.19,0:05:00.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Marketing and Distribution experts\Nfrom all over the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.68,0:05:04.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this was where I realized\Nmy own paradox.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.36,0:05:07.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had thought that by addressing\Nsocial issues head on
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.39,0:05:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by writing about them, I would find\Nmy way of creating an impact.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.20,0:05:14.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But instead, it was in that moment\Nof my disillusionment
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.33,0:05:18.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I stumbled upon the fantasies,\Nand the fairy-tales of Bollywood,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.10,0:05:20.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that was where I found my meaning.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.57,0:05:24.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because Bollywood films, although\Nthey are musicals full of song and dance,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.14,0:05:27.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they are important to a country\Nof over a billion people,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.27,0:05:32.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there is one very simple\Nreason as to why: they give us hope.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.02,0:05:35.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is the paradox of Indian films,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.10,0:05:39.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because Bollywood films mirror\Nthis dream of what India wants to be,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.23,0:05:40.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not what it really is.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.70,0:05:45.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And films like Slumdog Millionaire\Nlimit our view of all that India can be.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.92,0:05:47.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So somewhere between these two stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.79,0:05:51.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between this homegrown fantasy,\Nand this imported fiction,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.72,0:05:54.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there lies a third emerging story.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.11,0:05:56.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that is\Nof a growing Indian middle class,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:56.53,0:05:58.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of young people who have opportunities
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.45,0:06:01.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that they couldn't have imagined\Nfor themselves a generation ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.56,0:06:04.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of women who are charting\Ntheir own course in their lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.94,0:06:09.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and of a country that although is\Nin a constant transition and influx
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.08,0:06:12.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is experiencing a renewal\Nof all that it really is.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.70,0:06:15.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to me, these are the stories\Nthat have the most meaning,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.99,0:06:18.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because these are the stories\Nthat allow us to break down
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.69,0:06:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our stereotypes of a people and a place,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.60,0:06:25.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they allow us to re-examine who we are,\Nand how others see us,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.96,0:06:29.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but most of all, these stories\Nreinforce the idea
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.31,0:06:33.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that our own lives are good enough to be\Nthe stories that we share with others.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.74,0:06:37.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's because of my own journey\Nthat I am always inspired to ask others
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.96,0:06:40.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to look past\Nwhat they know of their stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.98,0:06:44.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to re-examine how they see themselves,\Nand how others see them.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.20,0:06:47.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For me, that involved letting go of a lot\Nof the constructs I had in my head
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.86,0:06:51.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about what impact was\Nand where I would find it.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.25,0:06:52.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because although we all have
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.84,0:06:55.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our own versions of a path\Nthat we see in front of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.75,0:06:58.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a story that we think\Nthat we've written for ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.82,0:07:00.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it is sometimes that unknown story,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.81,0:07:04.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the journey we didn't think we'd take\Nthat leads to our new voice,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.94,0:07:09.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's that story that has us\Nshift past the fantasy and the fiction,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.20,0:07:12.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and finally to focus on our own truth.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.21,0:07:13.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.36,0:07:14.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)