Flavors

I have seen a fair share of American Indian movies and can safely state that Flavors is definitely the best of the lot. The story follows the lives of different sets of Indians in the US of A like a three jobless bachelors, a desi guy about to marry an American woman and his parents , a bored house wife and two close friends living on the opposite coasts. The film makers have shown the American life from many viewpoints. The best part of the movie was the conversations between Rachna and Kartik. It reminded me a little about of 'When Harry met Sally'. The only flaw in the movie was a slightly confusing plot which tries to follow too many characters.

Some simple but really nice humour. 5 parallel story lines highlighting 5 different aspects of the Indian Experience in the USA. The pressures to get married (the Indian Way), the boom of IT back in the 2000s and of course the loneliness of a homemaker in a foreign land.

This film feels more like one long episode of some sitcom featuring rather stereotypical Indian characters. But that's ok since the humour is on point and the underlying themes hold strong.

The interplay of different storyline felt a little confusing at first, but as the film progressed it helped spice things up. Sadly, it also began to feel more like any other sitcom.

A great watch for any day.

It just happened one bored evening having seen all the movies in the theater. Flavours was last among the available choices, with all the credits unheard and lot of risk putting a few precious hours at stake. Cursing myself, I resigned to the fate of actually buying a ticket.

The film is not brilliant, but close to heart and can be felt. They best part about it, I was not in a dream or fantasy or a rebel with a cause. I was like looking in the mirror and at times I would laugh as well.

The ending was brilliant and one good watch.... The movie is not aspirational but is enjoyable and can be recommended.

Finally, after a spate of I_am_rediscovering_my_Indianness Indo American films, it was really refreshing to see one that is different. Here is a movie you will love for its raw charm, absence of stereotypes and good humor. Not just 'good' humor - 'excellent' humor I must say- I was laughing all the way. Of the four different stories that make up the film, my favorite was that of Vivek, a chocolate-faced, pathetic guy who obsesses about this girl back in India. If you are Indian, you can't help but notice how most characters resemble people you know in your everyday life. Well scripted characters and good performances. Bharti Achrekar and Anjan Srivastava steal the show. If this well-crafted feature is the debut effort of the directorial team, you bet I am going to be watching out for their upcoming releases.

Flavors is the new gold-standard for Indo-American cinema, and sets the bar *very* high. This is the most grin-, guffaw-, chuckle-, and howl-inducing film I have seen in a very long time. Directors Krishna DK and Raj Nidimoru have accomplished something that I have long suspected and seldom seen - that comedy can be fast-paced, clean, heartening, and insightful without compromising the genre.

So go see Flavors for the chattiness and character-development of Robert Altman, the non-linearity and parallel storylines of Quentin Tarantino, and the quirkiness and ultimate humanity of R K Narayan. And then go see it again, this time with a shameless grin of anticipation plastered all over your mug!