Watched a rom com as in romantic comedy that plays more like a documentary cum autobiography of a desi born in the USA. The movie is called 'Meet the Patels'. The last name Patel is common to a large section of society native to the Western Indian state of Gujarat.
India's current Prime Minister is himself a Gujarathi, although not a Patel. The Gandhi also hailed from the same state.
The film stars the entire Patel family as in the elder mom and dad along with their son Ravi (real and film name) and their daughter (Geeta) who spends most of the time behind the camera doing shaky filming.
Now having grown up in India and interacting with several Patels in real life, I could relate to a lot of the comedy in the movie about how a conservative first generation couple would interfere in the life of their only son (the daughter stays behind the lens providing a running question and answer session through the film) who in their lexicon has reached 'marriage age' and is clearly turning out to be a turnip having not found a wife.
Notion of 'finding a wife' is sort of ass backwards in many parts of Indian culture in that it has consistently focused on short listing girls after figuring out the compatibility via socio economic calibration. In India through the ages parents and village elders have played the match maker roles in determining that the girl is wife material and therefore suitable for a pitch to the groom to be. It is metaphorically sort of a sport in which the guy on the horse goes hunting for game with a rifle in hand. Then the kill is the prize. Here the identified girl tends to be the wife (no questions asked - as in the girl is not usually a participant in the process but merely the hunted).
Of course there are many variations to the plot and the older Patels in the movie are at least intellectually willing to consider the two sides of the matrimonial equation and let Ravi figure out who he thinks might be interested in him,
The film got a little long in the tooth toward the end but all in all was a candid riot to watch.
India's current Prime Minister is himself a Gujarathi, although not a Patel. The Gandhi also hailed from the same state.
The film stars the entire Patel family as in the elder mom and dad along with their son Ravi (real and film name) and their daughter (Geeta) who spends most of the time behind the camera doing shaky filming.
Now having grown up in India and interacting with several Patels in real life, I could relate to a lot of the comedy in the movie about how a conservative first generation couple would interfere in the life of their only son (the daughter stays behind the lens providing a running question and answer session through the film) who in their lexicon has reached 'marriage age' and is clearly turning out to be a turnip having not found a wife.
Notion of 'finding a wife' is sort of ass backwards in many parts of Indian culture in that it has consistently focused on short listing girls after figuring out the compatibility via socio economic calibration. In India through the ages parents and village elders have played the match maker roles in determining that the girl is wife material and therefore suitable for a pitch to the groom to be. It is metaphorically sort of a sport in which the guy on the horse goes hunting for game with a rifle in hand. Then the kill is the prize. Here the identified girl tends to be the wife (no questions asked - as in the girl is not usually a participant in the process but merely the hunted).
Of course there are many variations to the plot and the older Patels in the movie are at least intellectually willing to consider the two sides of the matrimonial equation and let Ravi figure out who he thinks might be interested in him,
The film got a little long in the tooth toward the end but all in all was a candid riot to watch.
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