Ink Pen by Phil Dunlap for December 23, 2022
December 22, 2022
December 24, 2022
Transcript:
Ralston: There are two types of people in the world... those who learn how to pronounce a man's name... who take the time to respect his heritage and reputation... and those who say "M. Night Shama-lama-ding-dong," and giggle every time. Captain Victorious: Hee hee! It's funny every time!
Shyamalan-da being subject to frat boy giggles again, na?
For the Anglophiles in the forum, “Shyamalan-da” is Bengali. The suffix “da” from “dada” (pronounced “dud-duh”) – “big brother” – arose among the Bengalis in my college film class, riffing on the more famous “Shyam-da” – the legendary Shyam Benegal, most famous for 1975’s “Manthan” – the first film in history to be crowdfunded by dairy farmers. (It was their story, after all…)
(Ironically, in my grad school film class in Scotland, the Irishman who took the class, well…his knowledge of Indian cinema peaked with Ritwik Ghatak, who was both a contemporary and an influence of Shyam Benegal.)