ABCD

i've been watching a lot of western-type indian movies recently, and ABCD has got to be the worst of them all. Although Bombay Boys was pretty stupid, and American Desi was just silly, they are much more polished than this movie. the number of inconsistencies in the movie are astounding. as the name name of the movie suggests, one would assume the characters are born in america. they're not. it is unclear at which point the children came to america, and it's even hard to tell from their accents. the choices of the main characters do not seem realistic, and their actions leave the audience with a bad taste in their mouths. if you choose to watch this film, take a pad and pen with you, so you can log all of the inconsistencies. it'll be fun.

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.

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.

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.

This movie is too real for most people. Its not politically correct, its not meant to please, it doesn't showcase happily-ever-after. Its shows a slice of life for a certain subgroup of immigrants who are trapped between cultures. Its not that they are confused about which side they belong. Whats more true is that they know they don't belong anywhere, except to each other. They belong to the no-man's land, where there are no clearly defined cultural norms. And that creates confusion. Their life is perceived by others as a yo-yo. Some deal with that with externalized anger, others disengage and lose it. Life seems like an attempt to put together a broken mirror, while each broken part is still a whole mirror and the integration seems impossible.