American Chai
American Chai
| 01 January 2001 (USA)
American Chai Trailers

The film deals with an Indian American student who wanted to pursue his love of music over the more 'typical' academic endeavors of Indian Americans (e.g., medicine, engineering, law, and business).

Reviews
Hellen

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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Exoticalot

People are voting emotionally.

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Helloturia

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

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Billy Ollie

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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noralee

I felt those moments of discovery watching "American Chai" like I did when I first saw "Greetings" by Brian DePalma, Cameron Crowe's "Say Anything," and Edward Burns' "Brothers McMullen" -- here's a major new talent.Yeah it's yet another son-of-immigrants story, but the dialog is fresh, funny, tender and frank, the conflicts real and contemporary, the characters a rich and rounded variety of personalities and social types reflecting the titular mixed blend tea.Anurag Mehta writes and directs an impassioned movie from the heart, and probably his experiences as an Indian-American artist wannabe growing up in NJ and going to Rutgers. Covering the college years before the young professionals in "ABCD," Mehta managed with no budget and a mostly young, multi-talented cast that's barely gotten their SAG cards, yet sings and writes music (appealing lead Aalok Mehta) and dances (captivating Sheetal Sheth, who was also in "ABCD"), including in funny satires of Bollywood conventions.Like in Burns' own "Sidewalks of New York," the scene and symbolism setting World Trade Center-dominated background skyline will always let us know what day it was filmed before. (originally written 4/20/2002)

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xeslaro

I must say that I hold the (maybe not so) unique position of being a first generation American, born to Indian parents. Given the situation, I can probably relate to this particular movie a little more than your average moviegoer.If you took this film off the reels, added in some commercials, and shortened it to an hour, I could have practically submitted it to A&E as my own personal Biography. I think this serves as a compliment to the Mehta brothers for their believable portrayal of individuals in my situation. Sure, some of the events that transpire may be a little melodramatic, but I don't think that they are enough so to significantly detract from the movie experience.If you want to go see American Chai, be sure to bear in mind that this movie is clearly targeted at Indian American audiences, particularly American-born Indian Americans. Several scenes in this movie had me doubled over in laughter, while the rest of the audience stared at me like I was crazy. This is not to say that the other members of the audience were disappointed with the movie; I just felt that I was in a position to better understand the finer points of the film, and as a result I walked away with a greater appreciation for what American Chai tried to accomplish.What DID American Chai try to accomplish, you ask? I feel that this movie was made to light-heartedly examine the internal struggle that affects all first generation offspring, using Indian Americans as a model. Overall, I would say that the movie succeeds at its mission, despite some rough spots here and there. For a debut production, the pacing, cinematography, and script are all well above average. All characters are well portrayed, with highlights being Aasif Mandvi as Engineering Sam and Paresh Rawal as Sureel's Dad.Bottom line: If either you or a close friend of yours is a first generation Indian American, you absolutely must see this movie. 10/10. Otherwise, this is just another romantic comedy. 6/10. Put those two together, and you get an overall average of 8/10.

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Ahm To Oom

WHAT!? I cannot believe someone wrote this thing and I can't believe someone paid money to have it made! The most predictable movie EVER. I can't believe after all the bad movies in the history of film, someone would still be writing this cheese. The Mehta's get respect for effort and actually getting to make the film, but I feel bad for the poor representation of Indian-Americans. It's your classic tradition versus modern tale, but this time with Indian-Americans and music. Bad jokes, horrendous stereotypes, plain bad acting, save me! Take away the dirty jokes and you have something that would most fittingly be called an "after-school special from 1991."

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mwa

I thought this was a sweet, endearing portrayal of a classic immigrants` dilemma: the struggle to balance assimilation and alienation. The performances and direction were very good; what bothered me most about it was the over-reliance on cliched formulae: boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-almost-gets-girl, a la Woody Allen`s Manhattan; outrage at arranged marriage, a la a range of British south-asian flicks, not to mention Fiddler on the Roof; and pure Capracorn. i know that the American dream is a motivating force of great power, but this movie embodies a go-go 90s blind optimism, which borders on the cloying. Character motivation for the finale is completely unconvincing, nearing deus-ex-machina levels of ineffability. Yet, as a clever and highly commercializable ethnic formula-pic, it is a hit. The blandness and conformity of the engineers and doctors, which the film so openly derides, has seeped into this project as well. But this is the kind of treacle which will probably make a small wave. At least the director`s brother and lead male, Mr. Mehta, will! But, tell me, how is this different from the stories of immigrants from dozens of other cultures? I beg other readers to name some. Finally, and most disappointingly, I learned little about India or Indians from this movie. So, though i applaud the effort to tell the American uber-tale from yet another angle, I found myself wishing it weren`t so predictable and cliched.

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