So Humbert Humbert fathers Lolita's Hlaf-sister and leaves them. Years later the half-sister embarkes upon a quest to find her father that brings her from Brighton to a Mumbai massage dump that delivers happy endings. there you go, story and spoiler. By the way, the yellow boots have nothing whatsoever to do with the movie except that they look good on Kalki's super-fair legs.
At first the movie starts off as a solo half-firang girl's experience of Mumbai and search for her father; then you discover the deliciously tacky sleaze-dump spa where she delivers happy endings for a thousand rupees; then enter a coke-head boyfriend who's more like an annoying pet and a bangalore gangster. If you start expecting a thriller at this point, you'll have to settle for the leftovers from Anurag's affair with the cinematic Mumbai underworld. its the flavour people, not the main course. The relish changes btw, At first its peppered with references to Pondicherry, the Ashram, Bhagwan and spiritual awakening. fear not, it evaporates soon. leaving some seriously obtuse language politics between english, hindi marathi and kannada. so watch out. Anyhow, so here she is, Ruth, half-British half-Indian with an expired visa, looking for her father, bribing generously and bestowing free 'handshakes' to lubricate her way through the bureaucratic labyrinth. Oh and she gets slapped pretty often btw, though less often than she gets stoned. which is when she tries conversation as condiment for her 'handshakes'. But it doesnt work for her clients or her boyfriend.
Why does she live the way she does? because she wants to be loved unconditionally. And, apparently, that is what estranged fathers stand for.
There are a number of good things about the movie, but it lacks something: sustained character development, a strong emotional logic and... soul. It doesnt quite strike a chord.
But watch the film, because:
1. Its different, in a good way.
2. Nice shots. documentary-like camera work.
3. First (to my knowledge) representation of ex-patriot life in mainstream Indian popular culture.
4. Some excellent actors: the fat funny and sexed-up spa receptionist/manager; Chutiyappa Gowda the Bangalore gangster; Naseeruddin shah who is quite inexplicably the only clinet who comes for a massage without a happy ending. Though why he would choose such a dump in the first place is never explained. The coke-head boyfriend who desperately needs house-training; and Kalki, the beautiful lady of the luscious mouth, quite aptly described as 'Bugs Bunny meets Julia Roberts' (I'm guessing Kashyap's words, not mine) she makes watching anything for two and half hour quite worth it.
5. Rajat Kapoor.the man. Just a tiny little glimpse of him. drool. drool.
6. If you really, really, really hate Delhi movie goers: their inane comments, their unending phone-calls, their unhinged talent for laughing out loudly at a crucial cinematically sad moment, their need to explain/translate the movie to the person sitting next, the slurping, the munching. all of these little gestures that make movie watching such a beautiful experience. If you really hate them, then go watch this movie, because nothing shuts people up like a paedophile father getting daily handjobs from an estranged daughter. The film is worth it just for the sudden silence it creates amongst the rarefied classes of slurpers and munchers and phone-call takers. Five stars, just for shutting them up. thank you, dear Kashyaps.
