Comments on: TV talk shows are a real drag

By: Ennis

Ennis — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:01:56 +0000

Rose is transgender and is rose off screen as well as on. The begum is a persona, a drag act, like dame edna. I don’t know if Ali has a broader agenda.

By: akak

akak — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:10:13 +0000

while the clips may not be comparable and may point to different personalities, it seems that Rose is more eager to get out the transgender message and spread acceptance for such people, unlike the begum, who it seems to me has been so accepted in a society like pakistan because of the archness, high camp of her style, which is almost a parody rather than assertion of a gender identity.

By: Rupauli

Rupauli — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:24:06 +0000

Speaking of talk show hosts. Check out the similarities (in looks) between Karan Thapar of New Delhi and America's own Keith Olbermann;

Thapar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk-RCM8b3oQ

Olbermann

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/media/Keith%20Olbermann.jpg

Striking.

By: Masale.Wallah

Masale.Wallah — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 03:57:39 +0000

khoofia on February 20, 2008 11:21 AM The begum is hot.

Yup, you can say that again!

By: Ennis

Ennis — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:58:49 +0000

The clip of Rose seems to be that of an interview or meeting with the press (i think)-she is explaining the term "transgender" and she asks the press to report her explanation accurately as it is very important for them to get it right. It doesn't seem to be a clip of her show from the bit that I saw.

You're right, the clips aren't parallel in content, but it was the only one I could find. Still, it gives us a sense of her personality.

By: sk

sk — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:32:47 +0000

The clip of Rose seems to be that of an interview or meeting with the press (i think)-she is explaining the term “transgender” and she asks the press to report her explanation accurately as it is very important for them to get it right. It doesn’t seem to be a clip of her show from the bit that I saw.

By: khoofia

khoofia — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:21:08 +0000

Thanks to Koofia for the summary (#6).

You're welcome gm. It's a bit hard to translate or I'd hve tried to . It isnt all fluff btw and this is more than a bawdy drag act. This particular episode (I am gauging) was timed to around Nawaz sharif's exile - which btw came about when Nawaz sharif tried to block Musharraf from landing at Karachi airport. Begum uses the exile and that plane incident in the monologue. Here's a relevant piece from Sharif's wiki entry.

With the public and press openly speculating about the possibility of a military takeover, Nawaz became increasingly insecure. On October 12, 1999, he removed Musharraf as army chief. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Sharif ordered the Karachi airport sealed off to prevent the landing of the airliner, and ordered it to land at Nawab Shah Airport,

By: gm

gm — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:50:59 +0000

Thanks to Koofia for the summary (#6).

I remember seeing a Bharatnatyam performance where a male dancer dressed up and played the female role - but this was many years ago. From what I have seen, it is also common for female dancers to play male characters in Bharatnatyam in performances. Maybe this is due to the low numbers of male Bharatnatyam dancers.

By: Rahul

Rahul — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:19:19 +0000

"yeh adayein! yeh nazaakat! voh sharaarat! bahut namkeen hain begum sahiba."

Begum's definitely got game.

By: khoofia

khoofia — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:53:04 +0000

Can anyone translate (or just give a brief summary of the conversation) the second clip?

it’s a saucy monologue set as a phone conversation between the begum and Nawaz Sharif, who she calls Jani (darling) through the clip. it starts off with a little wink about her phone set to vibrate and then a plan for a rendezvous between Sharif and Begum. It isnt the actual words, but the flirtation that’s HAWTT.

As they say back home in the desh, “yeh adayein! yeh nazaakat! voh sharaarat! bahut namkeen hain begum sahiba.”