I consider myself to be an amateur foodie, and between tasting new cuisines, learning how not to starve to cook, and avidly reading others’ food blogs, I always make time to enjoy the veritable smorgasbord of culinary shows. If there are any other foodie mutineers out there, you will know that the Food Network is often mocked for its commercial drive, and celebrity chefs who are more celebrity than chef. I usually don’t watch the Food Network unless I feel like listening to Paula Deen’s comforting southern drawl, but in between seasons of “Top Chef,” “The Next Food Network Star” keeps me satiated.

I have been watching “The Next Food Network Star” since its start, and the Food Network for even longer, but it wasn’t until the third season of TNFS that I noticed something about the Food Network…its lack of diversity in both food culture and the ethnicity of its hosts. One of the contestants on that season, Joshua “Jag” Garcia, was disqualified from the competition after it had been revealed that he lied about some of his culinary experience. In his exit interview, he mentioned how the Food Network has no Latino chefs or shows featuring Hispanic cuisine, and he had hoped he could be the first to bring his culture to the channel. Shortly after, Food Network produced “Simply Delicioso.” Around the same time, the first African-American hosted cooking show premiered, “Down Home with the Neely’s.” Aarti’s Prawn Masala

Since both of these programs aired, I have been constantly bothered by the lack of Asian cuisine on the Food Network, and the relative dearth of Asian chefs as well. Masaharu Morimoto is one of the Iron Chefs, and Ming Tsai occasionally graces the screen, but there is not a single desi chef on the channel, nor any legitimate South Asian cuisine. In Canada or the UK this is certainly not the case; yet even with a large desi population in America, as well as a growing interest in Indian food, it’s shocking that the Food Network, the self proclaimed “authority on food,” would not be all over this by now.

It’s frustrating that the most ethnic food on the Food Network was Italian up ’till recently, but thankfully those days are no longer. However, I still find it somewhat suspicious that the Food Network has yet to create another Asian-based cooking show, considering the ever-expanding demographic, and the even faster growing interest in the diverse cuisines of Asia. I mean, who doesn’t like/know someone who likes sushi nowadays? Isn’t it high time that we started seeing more Asian Americans in food media? I suppose for us desi-Americans, our total domination of all spheres of television is reaching completion with the arrival of Aarti Sequiera. We now have someone to look up to for culinary guidance, and a teacher for our less-fortunate friends who weren’t brought up on roti, biryani, aloo gobi, idli, fish vindaloo, and jalebi.

“Aarti Party” will air August 22, at 12 PM, on the Food Network. I hope you will join me watching it!

This isn’t your grandmother’s Nagin movie–this is “Hisss,” the Split Image Production directed by American Jennifer Lynch, daughter of the famous David Lynch. The story of the Nagin is a classic in Bollywood, and has been portrayed in film and television for decades, even by such high-brow names as Sridevi, Vyjayanthimala, and Rekha. Most often the tale follows the basic plot of somebody angering the mythic Cobra goddess by killing/capturing her husband-snake and thus she exacts her supernatural vendetta on said human. And of course, in true Bollywood style, there are a plethora of songs, some of which have become quite infamous. This formula for a Nagin movie may have been popular in India several decades ago, but for a movie to be successful in today’s India, much less in front of an American audience, a Nagin story would need a major re-telling.

If you can get past the cringe-inducing title, there seems to be quite a lot this film has to offer that many recent Bollywood/Hollywood crossovers failed at. In fact, while some may claim that the two cinemas are a perfect match, the epic flop of Hrithik Roshan’s recent movie, “Kites,” would show that it may be simply impossible to perfectly please both audiences. And now where superstars Rai and Roshan have left off, the sex symbol Mallika Sherawat steps in, along with the great Irrfan Khan, who, coming hot off a role in Slumdog Millionaire, is back on the world stage to play co-star to Sherawat. The idea of a successful crossover movie between Bollywood and Hollywood, one that truly combines the strengths of these different styles into something both entertaining and memorable, has been attempted many times without notable success. What makes “Hisss” different and hopefully more successful, is that it takes a classic Indian story and gives it western sensibilities. There aren’t any spontaneous song-and-dance numbers, but the story is still deeply set within the culture of India, by means of its mythos, religion, and festivals. And as “Hisss” is being billed as a creature-feature of sorts, there is action and gore, similar to what one would find in any other monster flick. Another really interesting fact about “Hisss” is its special effects–an aspect of Bollywood movies that has always been lacking. For the first time we will get to see an Indian movie with CGI that rivals any other blockbuster American film, courtesy of Robert Kurtzman, and a live transformation of the Nagin from its snake to human form! (I’m pretty excited about this because 1) that’s just freaking awesome 2) in previous Nagin movies the transformation usually went something like this–all props to Sridevi though, she’s amazing)

The west certainly has its share of monster movies, but after the past few years of Twilight-mania, and the hoards of other vampire/werewolf knockoffs that surfaced along with it, we could use a new type of monster to fear (preferably one that doesn’t sparkle) What Lynch and Sherawat are trying to do, introduce a new mythical character to the western consciousness, is no small feat and I commend them for their cross cultural endeavor. “Hisss” releases August 15th, just in time for India’s Independence Day, and right after Naag Panchami; just like “Slumdog Millionaire,” it will probably start out as limited release, but it may slither into a theater near you if it becomes popular like Slumdog was. Mallika Sherawat has already labeled her upcoming flick the “Slumdog of the horror genre,” and if her prediction turns out to be true, then we will undoubtedly see her in wide release in America.

The trailer contains brief nudity and not-so-brief gore & snake-induced carnage, so avert the eyes of the little ones