Awesome India

Dev Patel makes his directorial debut in this Jordan Peele-produced action thriller about a man’s quest to avenge his mother’s murder. After years of being beaten down in an Indian fight club, rage boils over for Patel’s character, and declares war on the evil men who ruined his life and victimized countless others. In theaters 4.5.2024.

Singer, engineer, and Indian Idol contestant Nachiket Lele has incredible vocal skills. While his performances aren’t traditional, to begin with, they’re not exactly metal. Musician Andre Antunes amped things up to 11 by adding a System of a Down-inspired guitar track. For comparison, here’s Nachiket’s original, unedited performance.

System of a Down is known for its ferocious guitar shredding and staccato vocals. Musician Andre Antunes replicated their guitar sounds and melded them with the similarly rapid-fire vocals of Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi and his energetic 1998 Indi-pop track Tunak Tunak Tun. We’ve struck internet gold, baby.

The Dick Dale track Misirlou is known for its genre-defining surf rock sound. Musician Bloxsy transformed the track into something you might hear walking through a crowded market in India. He used the simplistic Ostritch tuning used by Lou Reed during his time with The Velvet Underground to create the mystical sound.

We love it when performers defy expectations, and Bloodywood definitely does that with their spicy blend of Indian culture and heavy metal music. The track Gaddar (Traitor) is an impassioned political statement against fascist government regimes. Their debut album Rakshak is available for pre-order now. (Thanks Rob!)

Disposable plates are typically made from paper or plastic. The paper ones are easy to recycle, but plastic is more challenging. As a green alternative, India’s Vistaraku makes biodegradable plates and bowls by stitching together and pressing leaves of the Palash tree. Apparently, the leaves have natural antibacterial properties.

Artist Jimmy Swift spent hours getting beat up by the waves and sand to paint this pointy rock off the coast of South Goa, India to look like an angry great white shark. It makes for amazing photo opps for visitors, though smacking into a rock might be just as dangerous as swimming with sharks.

Street artist DAKU’s overhead installation in Goa, India casts shadows of words onto the ground as the sun shines through its semi-transparent panels. When viewed in time-lapse, the design is particularly effective. (Thanks Richard!)

In MEL Films‘ excellent short documentary, The Never-Ending Marathon of Mr. Dharam Singh, we’re introduced to the eponymous subject, a man who claims to be 119 years old, and who credits his longevity to yoga, meditation, and a profound enthusiasm for running.

Amazing footage of a veritable sea of people participating in a Ganesh Visarjan celebration in India, as they first dutifully clear the way for an ambulance to get through, then get right back to the festivities without skipping a beat.

A wonderful tilt-shifted, time-lapse video which provides a glimpse into the spectacle which is the Mylapore Kapaleeswarar Temple Festival, which takes place in Mylapore, Chennai, India every April. Here we see colorful parade floats moving through throngs of onlookers.

A ridiculously over-the-top fight sequence from Shankar’s Tamil thriller “I“ in which the protagonist beats the crap out of a roomful of oily bodybuilders. The human barbell gag is priceless, as is the exploding mirror bit.

One of the ridiculously over-the-top fight sequences from the 2010 Tamil action film, Endhiran, in which the robotic protagonist takes on an army of thugs aboard a moving train. The roller-shoes bit on the train tracks is priceless.

Here in the States, we pretty much have two headshakes – “yes” and “no” – but in India, there’s a number of different, and sometimes confusing gestures. In this short clip, YouTuber MeenFriedChickenCurry explains it all to us.

Mumbai designer Shahid Datawala captured images of over 500 unique matchbox labels and assembled them into this compilation of one of India’s more unusual artforms. The book itself looks like a giant matchbox.

Catch a glimpse of this unusual office building located in Hyderabad, India – shaped like a giant fish. Naturally, it houses the National Fisheries Development Board. Looks like we’re gonna need a bigger rod and reel.