Bol, maal hai?

This in reference to the article 'Critics trash my films, people love them' (Cinema, July 14) about which it must be asked: what type of comedy is Rohit Shetty offering? Is it comedy with no sense at all? Because it certainly isn't situational comedy, since every scene in the film Bol Bachchan is created in the 'pakaau' manner, even if it's a hit. Thank god for him that Shetty obtained the rights to Gol Maal, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1979 cult classic, because the comedy in that film is spontaneous and heart warming unlike in Bol Bachchan. It is good for good film lovers that Shetty did not 'remake' Gol Maal;he just cannot.


T Manwani Anand, via email

Patel rap

With regard to the very interesting interview 'Room at the top' (Global, July 14) about 'Patel motels' in the US, I would like to welcome the return of this forgotten topic to the mainstream news media, especially in India. It would also do greater justice to the topic concerned if the success of the Gujarati community in retail in the US was examined, with a focus on convenience stores. Maintaining unity and cultural identity is the biggest attribute of the Patel community in the US. This is also a social trademark of other business communities like Marwaris and Jains. In such tendencies are sowed the seeds of success.


Himanshu Muni, via email

Supercilious?

Your cover story on superheroes and superhero movies (July 14) was very interesting and informative. But why didn't you examine or describe how these movies are now made? How they go from the pages of comic books to the big screen. It is a complex process and involves many ideas and possibilities being thrown around at first. People are then identified and the whole thing, costing hundreds of millions of dollars, gets underway. From reading about how the trend began one did wish your stories also went into how that process now exists and, like you say, dominates Hollywood and global cinema.


Aakash Mehta, via email