Basmati Blues

Story:

A young American scientist travels to India to sell a genetically modified rice strain to help Indian farmers but she doesn’t know that the same grain will end up ruining the same people she plans to help.

Review:

When the trailer of ‘Basmati Blues’ was released, there was a lot of hue and cry about how the movie suffered from the white saviour complex and that on some level it was racially insensitive; something not all that unfounded when one watches the film. But there is a lot more to the film.

The basic concept of the film, that American seed companies have been waging an overt and covert war to get their GMO seeds into Indian farmlands is not fiction; is true. That is the main point the filmmakers seem to be making here. While their heart seems to be in the right place, their limited knowledge about the country and the filter that the west views India with, seems to have resulted into several cringe-worthy moments. While the music in the film is quite entertaining, the way that the songs are picturised is more bizarre than trippy. There are funny moments in the film, chiefly those between Rajit (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and Linda. Lakshmi Manchu as Rajit’s sister and Bugs Bhargava Krishna as his father have small yet fun roles to play. Donald Sutherland as the baddie is a joy to watch and he brings a sort of Dr Evil like comic intensity to his role as the CEO of the evil seed company.

Better as a political comedy than as a musical, this Basmati dish will leave you longing for something a tad spicy.