Category: Shaheb Cafe

A white American man’s experiences in India

Milan Mela 2025!

I’m honored to have been tapped to be part of the volunteer Publicity & Communications Committee for the Friends of Bangla School organization’s Milan Mela (Cultural Celebration) 2025. This event is FREE, family-friendly, and open to the general public.

WHEN: Saturday, December 13th, 11:30am-5:30pm

WHERE: Hindu Temple of Delaware in Hockessin, DE.

This exciting in-person event will highlight and showcase the activities of two area Bangla language schools (Sopan and Pathshala) and their students. It will consist of two sections. In one, students will be displaying their work and interacting with the other school and the attendees. We will also offer a small book fair and some hands-on fun workshops on Bangla.

In the other section, schools will present theatrical performances onstage.

Hope to see you there! More details at
https://www.facebook.com/milanmela.usa

The Jeff & Ishan Show #8 Halloween Edition – Virupaksha

We had a blast making our Halloween edition reviewing Indian horror film Virupaksha (Formless Eyes), a 2023 Telugu-language film starring Sai Dharam Tej, Samyuktha and Harsh Roshan, written by Bandreddi Sukumar and directed by Karthik Dandu, streaming now on Netflix. We hope you have as much fun watching it as we had making it. Hello India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the USA!

Surya returns to his ancestral village for a brief visit.   Everything’s going great until somehow a curse on the village is activated and people start dying by suicide.  Surya starts investigating because he wants to save the village by solving who placed the curse, why they did it, and what he can do to stop it before it’s too late . . . I love that Surya’s two main allies in fighting evil are a man of medicine and a sadhu, so he’s got science and spirituality on his side. . . Harsh Roshan might be one of my favorite Indian actors.

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Congratulations, Leesa Gazi

Congratulations to Barir Naam Shahana (A House Named Shahana) filmmaker Leesa Gazi on her film being Bangladesh’s first Oscar entry directed by a woman.

A significant portion of our nearly 20,000 Youtube viewers and subscribers to The Jeff & Ishan Show to date are from the great nation of Bangladesh. We see you, and we’re grateful for your support.

We look forward to being able to review A House Named Shahana when it becomes available for streaming in the US, which will surely happen soon.

The Jeff & Ishan Show #7 – Maareesan

We’re back in action after summer break! Watch our review of Maareesan (which means Imposter Demon, kind of), a 2025 Tamil-language thriller starring Fahadh Faasil and Vadivelu, written by V. Krishna Moorthy and directed by Sudheesh Sankar, streaming now on Netflix.

It’s very unpredictable. One minute you think this is a heartwarming story about Dhaya and this old man with dementia; you think you’re watching Rain Man, then it turns into Zodiac and you’re soon wondering which of these three men is the real villain . . . I thought it was going to be, old guy who changes the heart of a thief. And then suddenly it takes on a darker tone.

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