Jay Walking

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">He was listed by the American trade magazine, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Variety</span>, as one of the ''10 Directors to Watch'' last year, when his film hit big time at the Sundance Film Festival. Lisa Tsering zeroes in on Jay Chandrasekhar.<br />According to a news report in the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chandigarh Tribune</span>, a detail of police officers was found guilty of "excessive rowdiness" after they were spotted drunk and disorderly – in uniform – and attempting to stash one of their unconscious colleagues into a police jeep without being detected (apparently, without success).<br />Their shenanigans were richly appreciated by Hollywood filmmaker Jay Chandrasekhar, whose film <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Super Troopers</span>, follows the misadventures of a crew of bumbling American cops, as they try to stay just busy enough to hold on to their jobs.<br />Chandrasekhar stars in the film too - as Vermont State Trooper, Arcot Ramathorn. A macho and mustachioed enforcement officer, he''s not averse to cancelling a gorgeous blonde''s traffic violation in exchange for a romp.<br />The film has more than a few belly laughs and a refreshingly politically incorrect sensibility that appeals to college kids, who helped push the film to the nation''s number nine spot on its opening weekend last February, and an opening weekend gross of $7.3 million.<br />Jay Chandrasekhar''s family comes from Chennai, and he''s visited the city three times. "I love going to India," he says. "It''s obviously very different, but it''s fun every time. I''m hoping to go there someday and make a film."<br />The broad comic style of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Super Troopers </span>is in keeping with the American trend for gross-out comedy. There are jokes about being Indian; there''s a nude fat guy covered in powdered sugar; there''s a love interest; there''s a subplot about some Afghani drug smugglers and corrupt local cops; plus plenty of pot humour, a score from retro-rockers .38 Special, and even a scene with a guy making love with a bear (okay, it''s a fake bear).<br />There''s also one scene in which Thorny and another trooper, Rabbit (Erik Stolhanske), challenge each other to a drinking contest – not with Black Label whisky, but with Vermont maple syrup. "That took quite a few takes," Chandrasekhar recalls, laughing. "I drank two full bottles of syrup. I went into a full-on, almost blackout-level sugar coma. Yeah, it was brutal." <br />And after it was over, he had to get back to directing the film. "Afterwards, I just went and sat in a dark room and laid on the carpet and shook and shivered. Then, I had to go back to work, which was harsh."<br />And how would Indian audiences respond to the humour in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Super Troopers</span>?<br />"I think it would play well," he says. "I know there''s a censorship issue in India, but I hope they get to see the movie as it is. Any culture where you''re not allowed to see something only makes it more exciting. In certain places in the American Bible belt, for example, people aren''t going to like it – but that makes the kids want to see it even more."<br />What about the cops in the US, who might take umbrage at the Troopers'' onscreen high jinks? "No problem," replies Chandrasekhar. "A lot of state cops and local cops have seen it, and they loved it. We''d been worried that we wouldn''t be able to drive on the streets again. But, they come up to us after screenings and flash their badges and say, ''I loved that movie!''"<br />One running gag in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Super Troopers </span>has Thorny responding to different people who can''t quite peg his nationality. "We don''t actually come out and say ''I''m Indian''," he explains. "We were going to, but then we were like, ''Naah... it''s kind of obvious''. I''ve been mistaken for a South American before, though – it might strike a chord with a very small, but specific group of people."<br />Jay Chandrasekhar, 30, was named one of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Variety</span>''s ''10 Directors to Watch'' last year when his film became one of the most talked-about entries at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and was purchased by Fox Searchlight Pictures for $4 million. <br />Chandrasekhar and his four writing partners, who call their group, Broken Lizard, (all Colgate University alumni) wrote the film themselves. It''s based on their experiences travelling around the country, doing sketch comedy and being hassled by the occasional cop along the way. Chandrasekhar has a bachelor''s degree in history from Colgate University, and is a graduate of the six-week intensive film production at the Tisch School at New York University.<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Super Troopers </span>is the second film he has directed. His first, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Puddle Cruiser</span> (1999), a $250,000 effort with Broken Lizard, wasn''t picked up for distribution. But it was screened at festivals, and earned him admirers like Mike Judge, Quentin Tarantino and Ben Stiller. <br />If you ever happen across Jay at a Chennai coffee stall, you probably won''t recognise him. Because although in the film he sports a thick moustache, in real life he''s blissfully clean-shaven. "I cut that moustache off 30 seconds after we wrapped," he says. "In America, moustaches are a cop thing." </div> </div>