ABCD

Of late, a host of Indian-English movies has come up that either deal with problems of NRIs or attempt to present a saner version of Bollywood to the west. Their contents or execution may be debatable, but it is a giant leap by Bollywood towards the right direction.

American Born Confused Desi, or ABCD, is the story of an ageing, scheming, and suave mother Anju (Madhur Jaffrey) settled in USA. All she wants is to see her son Raj (Faran Tahir) and daughter Nina (Sheetal Seth) married and have kids. While Raj tries to fulfill her wish, Nina is the one who has taken to the wayward ways of the west. She is the ABCD who cannot choose between her mothers numerous proposals and her all-American beloved. Giving in to her mothers pleadings, Nina agrees to give an Indian Ashok (Aasif Mandvi) a chance and agrees to date him. However, she suspects that all Ashok wants is a green card and not her as a life partner.

Anju tries various matchmaking techniques but her offspring have ideas of their own that they ruthlessly pursue. Together, they must not only battle against American biases against them, they must also counter their own demons. This is director Krutin Patels maiden venture and there are various flaws in the story. The three main characters appear unrealistic and do not win sympathies. However, the sensitive issues raised in the movie turn it into an interesting watch. Like all its predecessors, ABCD also has some sizzling moments to entice international audiences towards it. The finale is somewhat predictable but sensitive and lifelike.

Overall, ABCD may not be in the league of great movies like Mississippi Masala and Immaculate Conception but it is a pleasant experience.

This film tries and fails to be a compelling account of the experiences of Indians growing up in the U.S. The perspective espoused here matches up nicely with the the view that many Indians hold of ABCDs: that all of them have forgotten their heritage and culture, that all the women are promiscuous, the men are conflicted yet also promiscuous, that all ABCDs hate their parents with a passion and seek to flout their moral standards at every opportunity, and that the women can be redeemed (temporarily at least)by having sex with a ridiculous, platitude-spouting FOB. The characterization of the main players is reduced to empty stereotype. Events that might have been moving are rendered flat and absent of feeling. Motives for actions are at best unclear. Anyone who has even a passing familiarity with the subject matter or has lived the experience will most likely be repulsed by this film. I haven't even mentioned the terrible acting or the incredibly bad dialogue. Watch "The Namesake" for a true-to-life version of the conflicts that are explored so unconvincingly here.

Nina is a girl who wants to forget her Indian heritage and embrace generic American life. She is quite rude to her mother, who only wants what is best for her, and Ashok, a nice Indian man tying to woo her. Nina certainly has a chip on her shoulder and comes across as a bitch and a slut. (I liked the part when she tells the Indian at the newsstand not to talk to her because she is of a higher caste. He later tells Ashok "She's been in this country too long. She's a whore, that's what happens to them.") Ashok digs into why she is so cold and resistant, but again she puts up a wall. Some scenes are moving, but are often glossed over, like a certain death and breakup. The film has no resolution, Nina gets her perfect white wedding and has learns nothing you would have expected her to. Her brother Raj, who seemingly has it all together, a good job, a loving fiancé, throws it all away and we don't exactly learn why. While the film is an interesting portrait the struggle of first-generation Americans, it is ultimately disappointing.

ABCD is one of the rare films in the Indian American genre which actually takes film-making seriously. And I am not just talking about the technique. It's the whole nine yards - the acting, the production values and the film-making sensibilities. Unlike a lot of films in this genre, ABCD decides to tackle a serious subject and is not afraid to hurt the sentimentality of the general Indian-American public. Maybe that's the reason it didn't do well. And there is a general dissent about the subject of this film.

The movie is definitely stark but the actors did a great job. The problem though was that by naming the movie ABCD - it automatically represented the entire American Born Indians. And that was it's downfall. Because the movie is not about ABCDs, it's about this particular family, their trials and their personalities. And I wish people viewed the movie that way.

Having said that, I think it's one of the most deftly handled, sharp film with very well developed characters. Definitely worth a watch.

Is the movie in ENGLISH? I have seen a lot of Hindi films, and although I am not Indian, I found them easier to understand than this movie. The actors' accents are so horrendous that I couldn't understand 1 word in every 3. Also since it is supposed to be in `English', no subtitles were provided. I have traveled to India several times and never had a problem with their English accent. I find the accent quite sexy actually. But this movie, WOW.... couldn't they find people that actually could speak English?

I find that even Hindi movies without subtitle are easier to understand, for a non Hindi speaker, than this movie…

1 word is enough to describe this movie: CONFUSED.

The whole plot characters, story line, narrative arc goes nowhere.

As evilmill said: ` I wasn't Confused until I actually saw this movie! '

I enjoyed movies like American Desi and Leila. Those movies where about Americans finding back their Indian roots. This movie feels more like confused Indians trying hard to be American abd making a bad job out of it.

Yet, there is a sort of off-beat quality to the movie. The confusion of their life appears on the screen and story. I think it was intentional that the movie plot went nowhere. The movie was built as a metaphor of their lives.

The only way I can appreciate this movie, is as a non Indian movie, a non-desi movie. It is an art house, low budget, flick that portrays existentialist angst.