25

Thursday

So you want to be a rock ’n’ roll star? Well, if you live in mean-streeted Bombay, such ambition must inevitably lead to kidnapping, burglary, betrayal, and a bunch of dead cops. Or at least that’s how it goes in writer-director Anurag Kashyap’s stylish Paanch, whose bleak worldview led to its being rejected twice by India’s film-censorship board. As the cautionary tale of Parasites, a band whose members mostly hang around smoking dope but turn felonious to raise the money for a demo, the movie doesn’t convince as a portrait of aimless youth, let alone of the Indo-pop industry. In order to vary the soundtrack, Parasites are variously a raga-goes-trip-hop outfit, an arena-rock band, and a pop-reggae act. But if appearance is essence, Kashyap’s swirling camera, nervy edits, and blue-tinted artificial light make Bombay look cool enough to be Wong Kar-wai’s next stop. The film shows at 7 p.m. at the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium, Jefferson Drive and 12th Street SW. Free. (202) 633-4880. (Mark Jenkins)