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Loins of Punjab: Indo-American Talent Gone Right

Turns out Loins of Punjab isn’t really about Loins at all, it’s about soul. I saw this delightful movie at the 3rd i SFISAFF this weekend, and even had the pleasure of coaxing a song out of the Director. Maneesh Acharya, at the Q&A session that followed.

The premise is one we’ve seen before: the Indian talent show, but the portrayal of the participants and their circumstances is original, and heartfelt. From the persistent Patels to the sultry Sania, the characters comfortably maintain an authenticity that often evades those who attempt to capture the dual identity of the Non-Resident Indian. But what Acharya masters is the comic precision and nuances that had the entire audience, South Asian and not, howling with laughter at his cue every time.

When asked how to avoid clichés in filmmaking, Acharya confessed that if you are going to be true to the character, you will run into clichés and stereotypes, and he truly embraces them in the movie. We have the Punjabi society lady looking to be one up on everyone else, the Tupperware-packing, pidzha eating Gujarati clan, the adrenalin-pumping, bhangra rap-spouting Sardar, the Bollywood crazed ABCD and the clueless American Indophile who ultimately wins everyone over with his devotion. And I think that it is this genuine quality that had everyone that left the theater feeling satisfied, as if they had experienced something real, something tangible.

Loins of Punjab is testament to “You can take the people out of India, but you can’t take the India out of the people” especially in New Jersey. It will be released in the States soon, and is definitely worth your ten bucks.

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