Pardes (1997)

I am so glad there are many other posters who feel the same way as I do about this movie. Mr.Ghai portrays Americans and American born Indians in a very poor light while making Indians all saintly and virtuous. Don't people smoke in India? Or drink? Or lust women? Patriotism is a nice thing. But it is cruel to falsely depict other cultures under the pretext of patriotism. Unfortunately, the only way many Indians know anything about Americans is through movies. Movies like this spoil it for Americans and NRIs, because people just jump into conclusion without ever having met an American. And opinions formed from movies like this is why I have to continually argue with friends who try to tell me what a horrible idea it was for me to marry a white American! In all honesty, I think he has way more "family values" than some Indians I had considered as potential candidates to marry. (I still hold my Indian citizenship and don't plan to renounce it and love visiting India and Indian culture - in case any of you are wondering if I fit into the India-hating category. No, I don't hate India at all!).

Briefly, the story goes like this. Kishorilal (Amrish Puri) is an NRI whose heart belongs to his homeland, India (or so he says). On a trip back home, he meets his old friend, Alok Nath (forget his name). Kishorilal is impressed with the traditional values his friend has instilled in his daughter, Ganga (Mahima Chawdhry). So he requests Ganga's hand in marriage for his westernized son, Rajiv (Apoorva Agnihotri) who he hopes will become more Indian with Ganga in his life. To prepare Ganga and her family for Rajiv's visit to India, comes Arjun (Shahrukh Khan), adopted son of Kishorilal. Arjun is a struggling musician who even though has lived in America for a few years is completely Indian at heart. After Rajiv's visit, Ganga is sent off to America to experience and understand the life there before she gets married. There she is entrusted to Rajiv who exposes her to the so called American culture. She is shocked and runs to Arjun for comfort. She begins to get closer to Arjun who is already in love with her. The elders misinterpret their friendship and with the help of Rajiv's skewed mind label Arjun as the enemy. A highly melodramatic climax leads to an obvious ending. So whats the problem with Pardes? Why has it raked up so much controversy you ask. Well the answer lies in the director/storyteller of this enterprise, Mr. Subhash Ghai. His portrayal of Americans and Indians living in America is completely one-sided. He shows them as drunk, sexually obsessed individuals with no values or principles. Mr. Ghai did have a message to send to his audience but somewhere on the way it got lost in all the melodrama. His message was to be careful that we don't let foreign influences ruin what is India's most valuable entity: traditional family values and principles. What he fails to do is show all sides of the coin. There exist people in America, UK and other such countries who hold onto their values, following them to a fault. Also, he should have taken a closer look at India. There are some aspects of Indian culture that are utterly ridiculous, and we might do well to take some advice from outside and NRI's are our link to such changes. The world is not black and white, there's a lot more gray than Mr. Ghai seems to want to acknowledge. Patriotism is a wonderful thing until you begin to stop using your brain because your blinded by it. Everything else in the movie is average and sometimes below average. Nadeem-Shravan's music is hummable at points and loud at others. Mahima Chawdhry, the new find is pretty and decent for a newcomer but is guilty of overacting at points. Apoorva Agnihotri, although a good-looker is below average. His dialogue delivery is his downfall. Amrish Puri and Alok Nath are also guilty of overacting. I'm guessing this overdose of melodrama has to do more with the director than the actors. So they are forgiven. Shahrukh Khan is the saving grace of this film. Coming up with one of his most subtle performances of his career, he is simply outstanding. His silence and subtlety have so much more effect than the rest of the cast's yelling and preaching. He is the only reason I own the DVD of this film. Watch Pardes, if only for the King Khan.

Many claim this movie as one of the best of 1990s Bollywood for its family values. Its family values are only true to a point. It hails Indian values, and makes a not so subtle statement that America is the home of debauchers and drunkards. It insinuates that wayward immigrants to America have to be "redeemed" by Indian virtue. It was so comically bad, hence, the 3 rating.

Mahima Choudhary acted very well considering that it was her first film. Overall a good family movie without violence and sex for a change.