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(More customer reviews)There has been a recent deluge of movies that have tried to ride Bollywood's wave of bubble-gum popularity ("Bend it like Beckham", "Bride and Prejudice", etc.). While such movies are enjoyable in their own right, none of them offer any huge revelations about Indian families, and more importantly, never come remotely close to capturing the cultural and emotional complexities of Indian diaspora as does "Second Generation."
This is an insightful film that pulls no punches in portraying the pain, struggles, and strife found in immigrant South Asian families living in the West. Heere (Parminder Nagra) is a Hindu girl engaged to a white man and as a result, is practically ostracized by her family. Despite her best attempts to bring a semblance of normalcy into her life, she finds it impossible without the approval of her father (Om Puri). In addition to playing the daughter to the tragic patriarch, Parminder also appears as his dead wife, by whom he is haunted. Her past (and soon to be renewed) love interest, Sam (Sameer) brings another dimension to the film. He is the rebel Muslim who leads a double-life of clubbing, drinking, and illicit sex unknown to his father (Anupam Kher) and more shockingly, is in love with a Hindu Girl. Heere does eventually find herself and her true love in the end, but only after much emotional trauma and grief.
Parminder plays a more feisty character in this film than she did in "Bend it like Beckham." In her own words (according to a recent interview in the Guardian), she's "more outspoken, edgy and grown-up than Jess, who would never go against her parents." The movie is also definitely star-studded--alongside Parminder are venerable veterans such as Om Puri, Anupam Kher, and Roshan Seth. Granted, there are a few awkward scenes that don't flow too well, but these are minor flaws that are more than just redeemed by the rest of the production. Finally, the film has a fantastic soundtrack with memorable beats by the impressive Nitin Sawhney.
"Second Generation" is touching and poignant, and for those of us who truly are the second generation, it definitely hits close to home.
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Parminder Nagra (Bend It Like Beckham, ER) stars in a vivid drama set chiefly in the curry factories, night clubs, bedrooms, and kitchens of London’s Southall neighborhood. Part King Lear, part passionate romance, the story revolves around the fall of an aging patriarch (Om Puri, East is East) with three daughters. The youngest, Heere (Nagra), a runaway from her repressive family, is engaged to white music journalist Jack (Danny Dyer, Human Traffic). Her father’s illness and her sisters' treachery draw Heere back into the family circle and back into the arms of her first love, record label and club owner Sam Khan (Christopher Simpson, White Teeth). Also starring Bollywood superstar Anupam Kher and featuring an electrifying soundtrack by award-winning British-Asian musician Nitin Sawhney.
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