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REVIEW: "American Desi"

By JOE MORGENSTERN, Wall Street Journal

There's no lack of drama, or melodrama, in "American Desi," a romantic
comedy about Indian-American college students. The writer-director,
Piyush Dinker Pandya, takes on more than any first feature could
reasonably sustain -- action, slapstick, eclectic music from David Bowie
to Hindi hip-hop -- though he handles much of it with impressive skill.

As befits any college movie, the text is love, but the subtext is
traditional culture. The hero, Krishna Reddy (Deep Katdare), was born in
America of Indian parents. He calls himself Kris. He wants to be an
American and nothing else, and he's appalled to find that his three
goofy roommates are Indian-Americans too. (One of them boasts of his
fondness for "Johnnie Walker Blue Label.") Then Krishna meets the
alluring Nina (Purva Bedi), who, wouldn't you know, respects her Indian
roots and expects him to do the same. Mr. Pandya tells a story of
conflicted assimilation that's been told before, but he and his
exuberant cast invest it with fresh energy and winning humor. "American
Desi" is a strong beginning and a welcome arrival.

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