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AMERICAN CHAI Send This Review to a Friend
The attempts by Indian-American youth to break free of family traditions that hark back to life in India are at the root of the romantic comedy "American Chai," one of the few films to tackle this subject. The result is part charm, part formula, but always underlined with sincerity.
Aalok Mehta plays Sureel, a New Jersey college student majoring in music but lying to his parents, whom he has convinced that he is studying medicine. His strict father (Paresh Rawal) disdains a musical career as unpromising for a secure economic future. Sureel, who plays in a band and writes songs, strews medical books around his flat when his folks come to visit. Mehta is a sympathetic actor with a sensitive face and he nicely telegraphs the passion for music that burns within.
Passion of another kind enters his life when he meets the beautiful Indian-American Maya, a student who longs to be a dancer. Attractive Sheetal Sheth is lovely in the role. There's a twist when Sureel's parents have already seen Maya's parents to set an arranged marriage between Maya and Sureel even though neither is ready for such a permanent step.
It doesn't take long for the cliches to kick in. Sureel has a fight with his band and forms his own. His non-Indian ex-girlfriend visits him and causes a misunderstanding with Maya. The conflict between dating Indian versus non-Indian women is ever present. There's also a band contest with Sureel's group in competition with the old band. Sureel ponders whether to tell his dad the truth. The film is burdened with more plot than it can comfortably support, and will anyone bet against Sureel's parents ending up approving of his aim for a music career? Fortunately there's considerable comic relief along the way, much of it provided by Engineering Sam, played by the impressive Aasif Mandvi, who has the lead in the new Ismail Merchant film "The Mystic Masseur."
One pleasing aspect of the film, written and directed by Anurag Mehta and filled with music by the lead actor and Jack Bowden Faulkner, is the sight of the late World Trade Center Towers in Manhattan shots, including a romantic scene played against the towers in the background. It is good to see them again and wise that no attempt has been made to expunge the footage shot before September 11. From Magic Lamp Releasing.
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