Screenwriting : Question for East Indian-British people or East Indian-Americans by LindaAnn Loschiavo

Oliver, thank you. Here in NYC, my Asian friends always bow to each other -- and when I enter their home as a guest, they bow to me and I bow in return.

@ Lisa - no, I don't come from Nebraska. Thanks for the link.

Lisa, I used that reference to distinguish them from "American Indians." Why did I ask? Why does anyone post on Stage32 -- -- to see what our friendly, well-informed, delightfully helpful colleagues will say.

LindaAnn - If you wish to infer a differential between Indians from 'India' and those of the North American continent in your script, you could use the term 'Indigenous' American Indians and 'Sub-continental' American Indians. So you have there two classifications - Sub-continental American Indians (immigrants from the sub-continent) and North American Indigenous Indians. Anybody that has at least a modicum of education will be able to tell the difference immediately. Also, you do not need to refer to any of them as 'East Indians' as this does not apply to your story line. The East Indies is a region of South East Asia just north of Australia. Cheers.

Thank you, Ken. My Stage32 query -- perhaps awkwardly worded -- is less ungainly in the script. Most of the action is set in Britain, where an uncle (an impostor) invites JENNICE his niece and sole heir to the ancestral home. Both the real uncle & impostor have spent most of their careers working in INDIA. The household servants only speak HINDI, so the niece can't question them. ZYGMUNT, an American detective follows JENNICE to the UK; he's investigating the looting of artifacts and priceless artwork from India. Eventually, ZYGMUNT gains access to the house; though he looks like a burly Polish American, he's able to question the servants. It's only in the very last scene, when ZYGMUNT and JENNICE are a couple that he takes her home (to Queens, NY) to meet his mother. When a woman in a sari opens the door, JENNICE understands why ZYGMUNT was fluent in Hindi. It's a brief scene, the final scene, and he proposes to JENNICE in a very clever way -- in Hindi and English. I am always interested in the insights of Stage32 members -- and thank you for taking the time to comment.

No worries :-) Ok, you've painted a somewhat clearer picture now. Assuming that Jennice has Indian heritage and Zygmunt is half Indian but lives in the USA, then that is fine. Zygmunt is obviously aware of the cultural aspects of India as will be Jennice so this works well. In this case you could have Jennice bowing to Zygmunt's mother as a sign of respect. This is ok. It has nothing whatseover to do with caste or elitism - it's just what they do I lived and worked in the UK for about eight years and in that time I knew a number of British Indian immigrants; many do hold to traditional Indian custom and culture, particularly the women in terms of dress, just as muslim women do that live outside 'traditional' muslim countries, so feel free to use traditional dress also in your story if you choose to do so. This can equally apply to Zygmunt's mother in the USA. Oh, and tea? Absolutely, if you wish to do so, but if you do this make sure it is 'traditional' Indian tea and make a point of stating this in your script. Ps, do not use 'East Indian' in either your log-line or your synopsis as it is not relevant to your story. If you wish to describe Zygmunt's heritage in your synopsis, refer to him as an American with Polish-Indian heritage, whose mother was born in in the sub-continent - this will remove any ambiguity for the reader. People will immediately see that the term 'Indian' in this case does NOT refer to a North American Indigenous Indian. Hope this has helped? Cheers.

@ Ken, many many thanks!

Linda as the great grandson of Edward Palmer the founder of Britain's oldest surviving Indian restaurant. Veeraswammy . I can tell you that the fist thing you need to do is to build the mothers background story. As others on here have commented there are many religions. As with all individuals some obey all the rules and some obey none whilst others pick and choose which ones to follow. The fact that the Zygmunt has a Polish father tends to show that is mother is not a traditionalist, and was prepared to go outside her own family's rules. In some cases this would have resulted in great dishonour to the family: "honour killings" are a major issue. How her family reacted would mould what she has become, and in turn inform Zygmunt's character. My gran and her sister's were very Victorian in attitude and behaviour because of the circles they mixed in.

Michael - when you speak of rules and dishonour you appear to be referring to the 'caste' system here - honour killings et al? If so, what you say is correct in the strictest terms as they apply to families living within that system, however the impression I receive from LindAnn's story outline is that this script does not delve into that aspect of Indian culture. I've met many Indian immigrants, both in the UK where I lived and worked for eight years as well as here in my native Australia. I have not met one that lives by, or supports this caste system. In fact a number of those people have married outside their culture and still enjoy great relationships with their familes. One in particular married a Pakistani and he lived to tell about it lol :-) At any rate, the character of Zygmunt's mother does not need to be developed because she makes only a fleeting appearance in the last scene of the movie. To offer a slight bow when being introduced to Zygmunt's mother in this instance would present a show of respect and 'general' cultural courtesy on Jennice's part. It works.

Ken the caste system has nothing to do with honour killing. Indian marriages are usually arranged by the parents. To have a relationship out of marriage or to marry someone not arranged by the parents brings great dishonour on the family. Many families disown their daughters and some resort to killing them for this dishonour. Zygmunt has a Polish father meaning it is likely that his parents marriage was not arranged. If she turned her back on this tradition then it is likely that she would also have turned her back on other traditions. That said I never saw my gran, or mother bow to anyone. Nor have I ever been bowed to by any other Indian woman I've met. As I said if you want to know how the mother reacts then she will need to know her background story.

Michael, yrs ago I dated a man who worked with an Indian civil engineer. His marriage was arranged in India. When we entered their home, we removed our shoes. The family bowed to us; we bowed to them. Very traditional supper -- we ate on the FLOOR and with our hands. (They are no longer here to answer questions; they are dead.) The conversation continues . . .

Hi, Lisa. It's set during the pre-Internet era, when a foreigner in England had to hunt for a public phone booth to make a call to the USA. JENNICE is an artist, mostly seen in paint-spattered jeans and a blousy smock with two big pockets for supplies. (By the way, the actress who plays the uniformed and silent Indian maid at Shadow House could be glammed up and in a sari, to play ZYGMUNT's mother in the final scene.) I'm so excited, working on "Nightfall at Shadow House" --- appreciate the feedback.

Lisa, my title is "Nightfall at Shadow House." I refer to my characters in caps to try to clarify that I am not referring to a Stage32 member. My lead character is an oil painter, trying to make her name in a male dominated field (fine arts).

Linda,it's your story, write what you like. As a second generation Anglo-Indian I thought I could help. You and Ken have different experiences that's fine. I wish you every success.

Michael, I appreciate all the input. Raj's family: I don't know how typical they were. Did your family eat supper on the floor, too, for instance? Did you use your hands or forks? Raj's family only used their hands. Typical??

My family were pretty westernised, used knives and forks, except when eating curry when a spoon was used. They were very Victorian in attitude eg children were to be seen and not heard.

This link is of a short film that deals with differences in culture. http://youtu.be/bsVS7CHZeXA. This is the directors Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ronak.singh.585?fref=photo. Might be worth your while contacting him.....

Yes, I can relate to that: we were raised in a "children should be seen, not heard" family, too. Interesting that we were given alcoholic cordials in winter (to get warm) but coffee and tea were forbidden; caffeine was thought to stunt the growth of children.

I guess Linda that what I am trying to indicate is that India is a big diverse country, with a massive population (1.25 billion) and that you need to know who the mother is before you decide how she will react. Although her background sTory will not appear in the finished film how she behaves and reacts seems an essential part to the climax of the film and you can only really work that out if she has a 3d character. How did she meet Zygmunt's father? Were they married? How did her own mother react? Etc

Michael: thank you so much!