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Depending on whom you ask, the greatest film of all-time is Citizen Kane, Vertigo, or maybe Taxi Driver or something. But all of those movies suck compared to a 1982 Bollywood film called DISCO DANCER, arguably the only movie where you will find a main character who suffers from something called “guitarphobia,” an assassin who only kills disco dancers, and about 500 other things that solidify it as the greatest movie all-time.
Join comedian and disco enthusiast Dave Hill; Mumbai-based comedian and author of the book Disco Dancer Anuvab Pal; and musician, comedian, and Bollywood authority Shonali Bhowmik for a viewing party of the greatest movie of all-time, DISCO DANCER, followed by a Q&A with Dave, Anuvab, and Shonali. Boy criminal Chris Gersbeck and New Jersey chicken rancher Dez will be on hand to moderate and take live calls. Call-in! (347) 474-0260
It should be noted that the director of DISCO DANCER threatened to kill Anuvab once, so you know this is going to be a special evening full of incendiary language not to be missed. Bring the whole family!
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IMPORTANT INFO:
You can watch the event live on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/dumbindustries
In order to properly access this event, a desktop computer and subscription to Amazon Prime Video is required. The film will broadcast via Twitch using Prime Video’s “Watch Party” feature, allowing anyone the ability to login to their Amazon Prime or Prime Video account and watch the movie in sync with everyone.
Visit here for more information on Watch Parties on Twitch.
If you are outside the USA, check to make sure that DISCO DANCER is available to watch on Prime Video in your country.
Sorry, but Watch Parties cannot be accessed on mobile devices like phones or tablets. You’ll need access to a computer to watch along with us!
If you do not have access to Amazon Prime, you can get a 30-day free trial here. Disco Dancer is also available on Netflix if you’d like to watch along and participate in the Twitch live-chat. The post-film discussion with Dave Hill, Anuvab Pal and Shonali Bhowmik will be accessible on all devices, no account or subscription is required.
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ABOUT THE EVENT:
The Dave Hill Goodtime Hour features comedian / musician / writer / actor / artist / man-about-town/thinking man Dave Hill along with Dez and Chris Gersbeck, taking calls and welcoming special guests every Monday at 9pm ET on YouTube. Call in (347) 474-0260. Listen as a podcast every Friday on Maximum Fun.
DISCO DANCER is a 1982 Indian dance film, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and directed by Babbar Subhash. It stars Mithun Chakraborty and Kim in the lead roles, with Om Puri and Rajesh Khanna in supporting roles. The film tells the rags-to-riches story of a young street performer from the slums of Bombay. The film is known for its filmi disco Bollywood songs, composed by Bappi Lahiri and written by Faruk Kaiser. Popular songs include “Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja” sung by Parvati Khan, “I am a Disco Dancer” sung by Vijay Benedict, “Yaad Aa Raha Hai” sung by Lahiri, and “Goro Ki Na Kaalo Ki” sung by Suresh Wadkar with Usha Mangeshkar.
The film was a worldwide success, with its popularity extending across Southern/Central/Eastern Asia, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey, and Eastern/Western Africa. It was the first Indian film to gross ₹100 crore (₹1 billion) worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Indian film ever up until Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994). Disco Dancer was also the highest-grossing foreign film ever in the Soviet Union. Disco Dancer established Mithun as a household name across Southern Asia and the Soviet Union. The soundtrack album was also a success, having went Platinum in India and received a Gold Award in China.
Dave Hill is a comedian, writer, actor, and musician originally from Cleveland but now living in New York City. He has appeared on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Inside Amy Schumer, @midnight, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Tick and The Jim Gaffigan Show among other programs, and stars in the film Boy Band. Dave has also starred in his own TV series, The King of Miami, on the MOJO Network, which was cancelled even though Dave really liked it.
Dave is a regular contributor to public radio’s This American Life and Live from Here with Chris Thile (formerly Prairie Home Companion) and also hosted his own radio show, The Goddamn Dave Hill Show, on WFMU in Jersey City, New Jersey for five years. In addition to So…You’re Canadian, Dave also hosts the podcasts Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident and History Fluffer. Dave performs live comedy in theaters, prisons, and basements all over the world and even opened for Snoop Dogg once, which was awesome.
Dave also plays guitar and sings in his own rock band, Valley Lodge, whose song “Go” is the theme song for HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in addition to fronting Painted Doll with death metal legend Chris Reifert (Autopsy, Death). He is also the founding member of Witch Taint, most extremely extreme Norwegian Black Metal band from Gary, Indiana ever probably (go to www.theblackmetaldialogues.com for more info).
Dave has written for The New York Times, The Paris Review, Salon, GQ, McSweeney’s, The New York Observer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Guitar World, among other publications, and is author of three books, Dave Hill Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (2016 Blue Rider Press, Tasteful Nudes:…and Other Misguided Attempts at Personal Growth and Validation (2012 St. Martin’s Press), and Parking the Moose, which will be published in fall 2019 by Penguin Random House. He also smells really great and has made out with a lot of chicks and you can ask anyone.
The New York Times calls Anuvab Pal ‘India’s Most intelligent comedian’. The BBC calls him India’s answer to British wit. His stand-up comedy special The Nation Wants To Know, has played over 500 sold out shows from Mumbai to Sydney to San Francisco. His previous show, Empire, a comedy show based on the history of the British Empire in India, has played in 12 cities worldwide and been called “Spectacular” by CNN and “A laugh riot with brilliant ideas” by NDTV. Empire had a hugely successful run twice at the Soho Theatre. The show was also a huge success at last years Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he received rave reviews! Anuvab Pal recently debuted his new show Democracy and Disco Dancing at this years Edinburgh Fringe.
Anuvab has been seen on BBC2 as part of the BBC’s Big Asian Stand Up shows, recorded at the iconic Leeds City Varieties Hall. He also featured in this years BBC World Service The New Years Stand Up Comedy Special and made his debut on this seasons BBC2 QI.
Anuvab is the only Indian stand-up comedian after Russell Peters to sell out The Gotham Comedy Club in New York in record time. He’s also the only Indian comedian invited to perform at Harvard University. The Times of India lists him among India’s top 5 English speaking comedians, having played over 750 shows and sold out houses across India, the Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong, San Francisco, South by Southwest Austin Texas, Laugh Boston, New York. Anuvab is turning his attention towards the UK, having been a regular at the London Comedy Store but looking to share his observations on the British influence of India and absurdities thereof. In 2016, Anuvab was chosen among the top comedians in India to have his comedy special available on Amazon Prime Video, among the premiere shows of Amazon’s India debut. The same year, he joined the hilarious pan-global satirical podcast The Bugle alongside Andy Zaltzman. It is with Andy Zaltzman that he has co-created the upcoming BBC Radio 4 comedy series Empire-ical.
Anuvab is also a prolific writer. He was the screenwriter of the Bollywood films Loins Of Punjab Presents and The President Is Coming, both of which have screened at leading film festivals around the world. He is also the author of 4 hit stage plays: 1 888 Dial India, The Bureaucrat, and Chaos Theory, which have become bestselling novels published by Random House and Picador respectively, and The President Is Coming, which was developed by the Royal Court Theatre in London. His work has been featured internationally in Time Magazine, CNN, BBC, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Vogue, Elle, The Economist, FT, The New Yorker, and many other publications. He writes a weekly column for The Economic Times and Times Of India.
Shonali Bhowmik is a musician, actress, comedienne, filmmaker and writer. She currently co-hosts her own live variety show podcast series called We Don’t Even Know. She is the leader of the indie rock band Tigers and Monkeys for which she is the songwriter, singer, and guitar player. She is a member of the popular comedy collective Variety Shac, with Chelsea Peretti, Heather Lawless and Andrea Rosen. Shonali was the host of the Shac’s popular Upright Citizen’s Brigade live show. She has also created television pilots for the Adult Swim and IFC networks. She wrote and directed the short film, Sardines Out Of A Can which was screened in 6 cities across the globe including Madrid, Spain; Bangalore, India and won best romantic comedy short at the Bare Bones International Film Fest 2014. She has her own independent music and comedy record label called Little Lamb Recordings. She was one of the leaders of Ultrababyfat who was featured in David Cross’ tour DVD Let America Laugh. Shonali has released eight albums including her solo full length release 100 Oaks Revival and those with her rock n’ roll outfits,Tigers and Monkeys and Ultrababyfat. Tigers and Monkeys’ newest album Saturday Destroyer was released in September 2018. Shonali can be seen in the feature length romantic comedy, Isn’t It Romantic which was released in February 2019.