| American Desi is a surprisingly original romantic comedy that operates in the now
familiar territory of crossover films like Bend It Like Beckham, but thankfully sidesteps
many of the predictable conventions of the genre. It is about Krishna Reddy (Deep
Katdare), a young American of Indian descent, who prefers to be called Kris and hates all
things Indian. When he goes to university he thinks that he is finally free of Hindu
prayers, and his Hindu mother, but finds that his roommates are all Indians with ties to
their traditions and religions.
The problem is that Kris also falls for a girl, Nina (Purva Bedi) who happens to be
Indian and takes her culture seriously. In order to win the girl, Kris will have to
change. Without ever being too serious American Desi looks at the issue of identity crises
in the Indian diaspora. It does so quite frivolously and is never preachy, which is
refreshing. There are a few false notes but American Desi made me laugh, and as far as
lightweight romantic comedies go, this film is a winner, promising great things from its
first-time director, Piyush Dinker Pandya. |