Review : My father’s daughter

MFD is a hinglish film, (actually English) about the immigrant Indians in the US. It is the story of a family which moves from Delhi to Dallas, in the hopes of a better life. Some months down the line, the mother (Hyder) and the two children (both grown-up) have settled down, but the father (Vasavada) misses his family and India. Moreover, the other 3 have occupations, either work or school, while the father is unable to get a job. Coming from a patriarchial mind-set, he gets depressed and dejected when faced with his wife’s scorn, and takes to alcohol, and even beating his wife.

The story revolves around Tara (Bhatia) , the college-going daughter, who is desperate to help her father break-out of his depressive condition and urges her mother to be more patient and loving toward him. The Mom is shown as forward looking and progressive, and we know she loves the US (she says so), but she reacts badly to her husband’s inability to get and retain a worthwhile (in her opinion one paying more than minimum wage) job. Rohit (Dhir), the son, is shown as a wastrel in the earlier part of the film, although later they inject him with some sense. Things continue, until the father attempts to take his own life, and then the family is forced to take stock of the situation.

The story of the film is actually pretty interesting, but the direction and the acting is poor. Some shots are needlessly long, and add nothing to the story, while some are too thinly fleshed out. The script, I’m guessing is not well-weighted and prevents adequate treatment. A good effort, but leaves a lot to be desired. Also, am not sure if the dad’s character was meant to evoke sympathy, because he gets none from me. Yes, stress can make you go bonkers, but the man is shown without any redeeming qualities. His character (actually all the characters) needed to be fleshed out more to interest the viewer.

The film gives you a play-like feel, it’s like its being performed on a stage in front of you. Some shots like that of the brother-sister pair singing and dancing to a hindi film song are awkward. The films songs are pretty decent, although a bit on the melodramatic side. Out of all the charcaters, the mom’s character seems consistent and remotely likeable, Tara’s generates no interest, either because she tries to speak with the eyes and they don’t, or because her dialogue often sounds slurred and unclear.

As the film progresses it gets better; the second half shows improvement. Plus it gets pretty emotional, so even if you don’t give a whit about any characters (which really you don’t), the sheer unfairness of it all drags you in. For all that, this is still rated poor. Decidedly it’s a little below par all the other “immigrant desi” films I’ve seen, save “Where’s the party, yaar ?”. So, maybe worth a watch if you’re a desi in America, and if it’s a sleepy afternoon, and if there’s a famine of watchable Hindi films.