American Desi
American Desi is a 2001 American comedy film with Indian influence, notable for featuring many prominent South Asian American actors. Also featured is an a cappella version of Nazia Hassan's Urdu classic "Aap Jaisa Koi", sung by Penn Masala and originally from the movie Qurbani. The term Desi in the title refers to the peoples and cultures of the Indian subcontinent.[3][4][5][6]
| American Desi | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Piyush Dinker Pandya |
| Produced by | Deep Katdare Cyrus E. Koewing Gitesh Pandya Piyush Dinker Pandya |
| Written by | Piyush Dinker Pandya |
| Starring | Deep Katdare Purva Bedi Ronobir Lahiri Rizwan Manji Kal Penn Ajay Pandya Anil Kumar Sunita Param Aladdin Ullah Eric Axen Sanjit De Silva Sunil Malhotra Ami Shukla Krishen Mehta Smita Patel Bina Sharif Tirlok Malik Ravi Khanna |
Release date | 2001 |
Running time | 100 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $250,000[1] |
| Box office | $1,104,408[2] |
Plot
The film centers around an American son of Indian immigrants, Krishnagopal Reddy (or "Kris" as he prefers to be called, to distance himself from his heritage), who does not associate with the Indian culture that his parents have pushed upon him. Upon arriving at Rutgers University, he finds out to his dismay that all of his roommates are of Indian descent, and all except one are international students from India. His roommates include Ajay (Kal Penn), who idealizes African-American culture; Jagjit, who loves art but studies engineering to please his father; and Salim, who is very traditional and conservative, feeling that Indian-American girls are too Westernized to make good wives.
Kris meets Nina, a girl he immediately falls for, and is surprised to find out that not only is she of Indian descent, but she is also quite connected to Indian culture and speaks her parents' native language. The movie revolves around Kris trying his best to win Nina over - from joining the Indian Students Association to be near her, to learning how to perform a Dandiya Raas. Kris eventually begins to enjoy the company of his roommates, all of whom put together their knowledge and skill to help Kris impress Nina through various ways involving Indian culture, which he eventually comes to love.[7]
Cast
- Deep Katdare as Krishnagopal "Kris" Reddy
- Purva Bedi as Nina Shah
- Ronobir Lahiri as Jagjit Singh
- Rizwan Manji as Salim Ali Khan
- Kal Penn as Ajay Pandya
- Anil Kumar as Rakesh Patel
- Sunita Param as Farah Saeed
- Aladdin Ullah as Gautam Rao
- Eric Axen as Eric Berger
- Sanjit De Silva as Chandu
- Sunil Malhotra as Hemant
- Ami Shukla as Priya
- Krishen Mehta as Mr. Reddy
- Smita Patel as Mrs. Reddy
- Bina Sharif as Mrs. Saeed
- Tirlok Malik as Mr. Saeed
- Ravi Khanna as Mr. Singh
References
- "American Desi (2001) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
- "American Desi (2001) - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- "American Desi (2001)". imdb.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- "American Desi". metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- "American Desi (2001)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- Patel, Nina. "American Desi (12)". viewlondon.com.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- Holden, Stephen. "FILM REVIEW; He Wants To Be What He Can't Be". nytimes.com. Retrieved 29 November 2013.