Basmati Blues

I saw this movie this morning knowing nearly nothing about it. However fairly quickly, as soon as the setting moved to India, it dawned on me that I was watching sort of a western take on a Bollywood movie with music, and romance, dancing, good guys, bad guys, a love triangle, a bit of suspense and a bit of mayhem. The standard elements, identified by some other reviewers here as rom-com are the expected elements in a classic Bollywood film. And, let me be perfectly clear, the bad guys here are clearly the westerners. In fact, part of the suspense comes from wondering how the well-meaning western heroine, a scientist who has naively allowed herself to be manipulated by American agribusiness into doing something very harmful, can possibly redeem herself. Finally she will have to realize that the small farmers who surround her, and who have taken her into their hearts, are living and working under a system very different that what we usually see in the United States. These farmers do not hop into a giant pick-up truck, drive into town, take out a loan and buy their seed from a farm supply store. In my opinion, this is not a great film but it was a lot of fun. I liked it a lot more than La La Land which I also saw very early in its run with no pre-conceived notions of what I would be seeing. However, as I write this, Basmati Blues has a 3.7 rating here while La La Land has an 8.1. I don't get that.... Tonight I did a search on this movie and discovered that an early trailer had ignited controversy.... because of a white horse? and because of the present day phenomenon where angry trolls seem intent on attacking and destroying a movie they could not have actually seen. Please, just don't listen to them!

If you want to balance your happy life with regrets, apathy and despair, watch this. Yes, I am sorry to all who made this movie but please, you got it all wrong.

Couple of years late, thought if she has done Captain Marvel has she made any other interesting movies. Oh No!! This is a movie made with half thought. Bollyoodised attempt by Hollywood. No please don't do it again. Brie delivers a half baked attempt at acting, as if someone twisted her arm to act in this awful plot of a movie. Weirdly Utkarsh Ambudkar actually had a decent performs. This love story is overshadowed by the silly rice mogul storyline which makes Donald Sutherland appear as a half cocked villain. What they should have done is either a straight forward Bollywood style love story or a Hollywood action story about cooperate corruption and distraction of the common man.

This film tells the story of an American scientist, who is sent to India to market a new type of rice to farmers.

At first, I thought it was a musical as Brie Larson bursts into a song in the first scene. Then, I realised that this is actually a Bollywood film. It has all the entertaining elements of a Bollywood film, including songs and dances. The story is predictable, but it works. I enjoyed it.

Not only are the songs and acting subpar ...you would think that if you say that you are in Bilari which is in UP (India) then the scenery, language on the signs, the little girl pointing to Larson as she speaks to her mom would be in Hindi or in Urdu...NOT in Malayalam which is from Kerala (south India). Typically American directors who have no clue about India to make it at least consistent.