ABCD

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.

ok. first of all, yes, the movie is called "ABCD (american born confused desi), AND, they are not born here. oh well. The girl's character is quite odd: she is overly stubborn and slutty, but at the same time she is nice to this FOB that comes over to the US. I guess the director wanted to show how she actually had the ability to be compassionate within her, but im not sure. HOWEVER, this movie is WORTH seeing!! It raises some issues that my generation has become all too familiar with and almost annoyed with trying to explain to everyone. You can only take the whole "oh, im indian, but im also american" mantra so far before people will get annoyed. american desi, ABCD, and american chai, all deal with the issue of parents wanting us to be indian, and kids wanting to do "american" things, or marry white people, or ignore indian culture, whatever. this movie is worth seeing and then talking about to see what issues indian kids born in the US have to deal with.

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.

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.

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.