So, I have been watching New Girl on and off since it started, mostly off, and I had no interest in seeing the season premier.  Until I found out there was a DANCE NUMBER!!!

So, Cece, one of the main characters, is desi.  And it’s been handled pretty well!  When it should come up, it comes up, and when it doesn’t, it doesn’t.  It’s not one of those “She’s Indian, you know” kind of portrayals.  But then it’s also not like, say, Priyanka (who I hate) in Quantico where it never ever ever comes up, even when it really really should.  Back in season 2, I really liked her whole arranged marriage arch.  Because it treated the decision to have an arranged marriage like something intelligent adult mature people may make for reasonable reasons.  And the speed dating event episode was awesome!  And I appreciate it even more since I ran across an ad in an Indian newspaper for one of those events which, after listing all the requirements for the participants and the ticket prices, it also listed OBSERVATION TICKETS!!!  How fun would that be?  To take your binoculars and sit in the viewing gallery and make bets on which couple is going to make a match and which isn’t?

Anyway, this episode!  I like that Cece’s mom is a sophisticated modern woman in a suit (which is made even better when Nick assumes she is the non-English speaking woman in a sari just because she is coming from India, and is then ridiculed for that assumption).  I like that Cece cares about her mother’s opinion, and it could be part of her ethnic background, or it could be just her personality, and the show isn’t judging either way.  I like that her Mom’s argument about how many men are in India cuts off 10% for gay men (acknowledgement that there are gay men in India, woot!).

I like that they hire the top Bollywood dance troupe in LA, and that no one says “There are Bollywood dance troupes?”  Because, please.  It’s 2015, every major city has numerous Bollywood dance troupes, and most people should know that.  I did like the name of the dance troupe, “Ma-hot-moves Gandhi”, which actually means it is a bad name.  Or at least not realistic.  I am not the main audience for Bollywood dance troupes, the main audience is Indian family functions and they will not appreciate a good Gandhi pun.  Oh, and I also liked that the Bollywood dance troupe had multiple races represented, which is accurate in my experience of those groups.

Anyway, on to the performance!  I guess it does kind of make sense that a group named “Ma-hot-moves Gandhi” would agree to do a performance to “Ooo-la-la” at a family function, because they are clearly tone-deaf to what will fly with the conservative Indian community.  It is such a dirty song!  So dirty!  Which isn’t a secret, since it was from a movie called Dirty Picture.  I mean, people still perform it, at engagement parties, but more for the sort of late night when the Uncles and Aunties are super drunk performances.  Like this one.

Which is what makes the performance so hilarious!  That Schmidt thinks he is singing a romantic song which will win over Cece’s Mom to their love story, and he is actually comparing her daughter to soft-porn star Silk Smitha!

It’s a really smart choice for a song, it won’t offend any of the cultural groups because there are absolutely no religious references, not even an “Oh Rama!” thrown in, like in this otherwise sexy and not religious song,

And for those totally out of the loop, they can still enjoy it just because it is super catchy and awesome.

But for those who are in on the joke, it’s even better!  In fact, it has single-handedly brought me back!  You did it, New Girl!  I’m back in!  Oh, and you also got me to watch the original again and remember how very much I love Vidya Balan (by the way, in real life that is her brother-in-law doing the parody version in the video above).  Vidya!  Happy Birthday 5 days late and I hope you are over the kidney stones!