Chalo America

Piyush Jha has made a funny, quirky film on a shoestring budget. The film stars Aashish Chaudhary, Mandar Shinde and Deven Bhojani as thr...

Piyush Jha has made a funny, quirky film on a shoestring budget. The film stars Aashish Chaudhary, Mandar Shinde and Deven Bhojani as three lukhas with just one dream preying on their minds 8211; to get to the kingdom of Coca Cola and Clinton. The film chronicles their misadventures as they make attempt after attempt to flee from the drudgery and boredom in dreary India to the land of the free and the home of the brave 8211; the United States. They remain undeterred by their failure and woeful incompetence to get there 8211; be it by acquiring a visa or a wife, or smuggling themselves into boats. Their hopes flag, but never quite fade away.

What is funny about the film is that it strikes a nerve. It is a comic illustration of an aspiration that is latent within many, if not all, of us. It is a portrayal of an obsessive fascination for the other, the conviction that the astroturf is greener on the other side, that comes through. This is an ironical reflection of the same sentiment that is in a film like Kuch KuchHota Hai, where the gloss and glitz is nothing if not Yankee. And the film ends with some wisdom gained, but not too much to stop being human. Deven Bhojani8217;s portrayal of the cute Gujju-turned-mod is by far the highlight of the film. It is wonderful to see his talents reined in well by Jha, and hence being used to the full, unlike a lot of the work he does, or is probably asked to do, on television.

Aside from that, it is the little moments, like putting desi cigarettes in a pack of Marlboros, that lend the film a charm of its own. It is encouraging to see that such alternative films are being made, with the express purpose of entertainment, while remaining entirely independent of any pretensions to art cinema.

Unfortunately, given the state of the nation, a few viewers may have to take the title to heart and consider immigration. We are now living in a place where the exhibition of films passed by the Censor Board is threatened by physical violence, in direct violation of our fundamental rights, andwe all stand by and watch mutely.

It is this conspiracy of silence, this fear to stand up to them, that gave the Nazis power in Germany, and it is this that gives these hooligans the power they have today, nothing else.

A few have stood up to defend lesbianism, but I feel that they are missing the point. As a matter of principle, we are all assured the right to determine what is good for us, and we make our choices accordingly. The government has already seen it fit to moderate this when it comes to cinema with the institution of the Censor Board, which filters material for audiences in India. So once they pass a film it is up to us whether we want to see it or not, not anyone else.

It is not about whether a culture that contains within it a history of such crimes against women as sati and daughter-in-laws burnt to death over dowry, is worth preserving and keeping pure of foreign influences, or not.

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It is about whether we are free to make up our minds about these matters as independent citizens ofthis country, or not. I guess that the message of the moment is clearly that for those who are troubled by the fact that the indications are clearly that we are not free 8211; Chalo America!

The writer is a television producer