American Chai (2001)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The movie is a bit kitsch, and true, this story's been told through many an immigrant, from many a race, but as an American-Desi it's still kinda cool to see someone who looks like you and shares your specific familial idiosyncrasies on a screen. Growing up I didn't see people who looked like me on TV--aside from the occasional caricatures with goofy accents only there as a side-joke. Oh...wait... yeah, it's still sorta -like- that!If you're not of South Asian descent I don't think you'd be as excited about this work, but it does offer a good point; that the fusion of cultures advents an altogether new baby that everyone can appreciate; like the protagonist's music. And if nothing else, the movie is a window to a culture not seen by most people outside of it--however-much of a sketch it is; it improves our understandings of our fellowman. I give it more points than I usually would for that.

Having seen other movies which didn't quite capture the reality of being a first generation Indian, what a refreshing change. This was a movie I think that people of any ethnicity could relate to, whereas others relied heavily on stereo-types of Indians for cheap laughs. I'm interested in seeing this writer/director release some more work, since this was an excellent first outing, if that is the case. This is by no means a perfect movie, there are some silly things in the plot and it does start to show a little weakness in the ending. However, the characters were likable and the script had a lot of smart writing, and funny moments. Anyone of Indian heritage should definitely check it out.

The movie was way too trite. Predictable identity questions. No imagination. What bothered me the most was the main actress's dancing. In the movie, she is supposed to be a very talented dancer. However, in a very uninspiring and way-too-long dance performance sequence, her moves offer a very poor representation of the exciting Indian-American fusion dance scene.

WHAT!? I cannot believe someone wrote this thing and I can't believe someone paid money to have it made! The most predictable movie EVER. I can't believe after all the bad movies in the history of film, someone would still be writing this cheese. The Mehta's get respect for effort and actually getting to make the film, but I feel bad for the poor representation of Indian-Americans. It's your classic tradition versus modern tale, but this time with Indian-Americans and music. Bad jokes, horrendous stereotypes, plain bad acting, save me! Take away the dirty jokes and you have something that would most fittingly be called an "after-school special from 1991."