The Bong Connection

Anjan Dutta delivers a dud. (Bow Barracks Forever was better any day.)Totally clichéd and lacking subtlety, Bong Connection left me cold. Does Mr Dutt actually know what the usual Bong does when he/she goes to "phoren" lands these days? Parambrata, who fails miserably as an actor here, seems to get into all sorts of trouble the moment he lands there. The situations are unreal and ridiculous, and the De Niro-ish (hope the great actor doesn't ever get to watch this) over-the-top performance by the Bangladeshi taxi driver is laughable.

Halfway through, I felt Shayan Munshi would salvage the film. I could see he was trying his best, and I give the two stars to the film for his role (and also for the gorgeous Raima Sen, who sadly doesn't have much to do), and a song that he sings in a club.

You don't need much imagination to do a remix of Tagore's "paagla hawa" (and it is the "in" thing these days); yet, the director fails even in this. The song doesn't touch you, the visuals don't move you. It seemed forced, as if they were conscious they were doing something new, something great. Ha! In the end, I wished Mir had more footage: he could have tried to at least make me laugh; but laugh I did, at the immaturity of the production and the lack of intelligence of everyone involved in the making of Bong Connection.

its a film that reflects the "bong" spirit. its like on one hand you see loads of beer-bellied people just drinking for the heck of it and then there's this guy who wants to find a meaning to his life. the film made me question my so-called love for my culture.i guess now i really appreciate the culture that has been handed down.and though i may hate the communist-minded people i like the spirit.

i love shayan's character. because it takes a lot of guts to set out on a journey to discover yourself. most of us just remain stuck in the rigmarole of life.

i like the director's conception of the idea.also victor banerjee's character provides an insight into the kind of people "available" in the world.

the best is perhaps the songs.paagla hawa is the best as its been remixed to suit our needs-the needs of the young generation and yet that need to make us realize the richness of our culture remains.i don't know whether its a deliberate attempt or not.but it sure serves the purpose.

the film has its share of laughs and is an interesting watch.

For one who has stayed abroad for a considerable amount of time and been in touch with the ex-pats community, this movie comes as a reflection to ones own self.

All the characters are defined to perfection and everyone of them did play his or her job neatly. The characters are real, the situations apt and the portrayal of bengalis be it from kolkata or from houston are made with perfect light and I can proudly say that in recent times, I have not come across another PERFECT movie as this. A few veteran actors were though wasted and could have been done away with.

The character of Hasan is as true as my taxi driver in Abu Dhabi and the typical bengali chit chat gossip in a idle get together on weekends are lifted from my times in London and made me nostalgic.

Thank you Mr. Dutt for giving us a brilliant movie with all perfect cast and technicians. The use of music was good too but the durations could have been cut short by a few minutes each time.

Its a TENner from me.

Impressive acting by the entire young bunch! Kudos to each one of them for uplifting the film to a classic height. Looking at their spontaneous acting, its hard to imagine a camera rolling before them. reminds me of those Latin American movies about life. awesome plot and superb direction from one of my favourite directors, Anjan Dutta. the humour is very Bong, very clever and superbly handled. never a moment felt dull or plastic. Reeks of immense homework on the psyche of the NRI Bongs out there.

The film made me homesick for my beloved city. wish to go back. thank you for a great film, Mr Dutta. you made us prouder.

I just couldn't relate to this film-everything is over-the-top & cliché-ridden. Particularly the American part is filled with the stereotypical distorted view of America many Indians have-street crime committed by minorities, homosexuals, constant drinking & throwing up, gun-toting cops shooting a fleeing suspect & the racist, homophobic Bengali-turned ugly American. And of course the Bengali girl who becomes a slutty American teenager. I doubt any American successful businessman, no matter what his real feelings are, would openly spout such racist & homophobic nonsense in this day and age. The Kolkata part wasn't that much better either, it sure gives the feeling all older generation Bengalis are losers & younger generation are all aping the West, again stereotypical characterizations. Andy-the paragon of idealism-comes off as a mixture of an idiot and a snob. One other thing. I doubt Rahul's girlfriend Sheela-with her obvious Westernized ways, would be so averse to going to America. The less said about Hasan the better. The one character I liked was Rakesh...the mixture of neither feeling he belongs in America fully, but at the same time knowing he cant go back, and dealing with both realizations is indeed something many expats go through (altho' I haven't heard the term second class citizen too many times these days). While one may forgive Andy's naiveté at thinking Kolkata is still the Baul music city of his dreams, his lecturing to people right & left about how to live comes off as annoyingly snobbish rather than an artist reaching out.