Pardes (1997, Subhash Ghai)
A review by David M. Arnold
Robert Burns conjectured what a marvelous gift it would be to see ourselves as others do. The Indian film "Pardes" gives Americans a glimpse of how others might view us. About half the footage in "Pardes" was shot on the American west coast, in Hollywood, Las Vegas and Vancouver.
"Pardes" opens with Kishori Lal (Amrish Puri), a NRI (Non Resident Indian) returning to India to arrange the marriage of his son Rajiv (Apoorva Agnihotri). Kishori Lal left India for America 35 years ago with a few dollars in his pocket. By now he has built himself a fortune, and lives in a mansion in Hollywood along with many members of his extended family. Rajiv was born in the US and has never set foot in India.
Rajiv has a poor cousin with the auspicious name of Arjun (Shah Rukh Kahn) who came to America after his parents died. Arjun is employed by his uncle, for whom he runs an automotive repair facility and has a recording studio above the garage.
Kishori Lal wants Rajiv to wed an Indian girl in hopes of stirring some appreciation of his heritage in his son. Kusum Ganga (Mahima Chaudhry in her film debut), the daughter of a childhood friend is his selection. Arjun and Rajiv are sent to India to fetch Ganga home to America for the nuptials. Arjun dutifully sells Ganga and her family on Rajiv's virtues. Once she gets to America, however, Ganga discovers that Rajiv is not as advertised.
"Pardes" represents America as a land of plenty, and one commodity that there is plenty of is licentiousness. Rajiv is a pathetic character, truly at home neither in the US nor in India, full of self-loathing, and spoiled by the affluence. The film walks the center path, cautioning against the indulgences of Western culture while at the same time acknowledging the evils of an Eastern patriarchal tradition in which women are not much more than their fathers' chattel (Ganga's father loves her, but he values the traditions and family honor above her life).
The film has excellent production values and features lots of gorgeous location photography in rural India. The plot moves along well, although a subplot about Ganga's rival suitor could very well have been left on the cutting room floor. Typically for the Hindi movie genre, the filmmakers invent sly contrivances for segues into the requisite half-dozen or so musical numbers. Performances by two of India's top stars (Shah Rukh Khan and Amrish Puri) are first rate.
I recommend "Pardes" to thick-skinned Western viewers who would not be offended by a less than flattering portrayal of Americans, and who are intrigued by the exotic sights, sounds and culture of India.
"Pardes" is available on DVD from DEI. The disc is letterboxed to approx. 2.0:1 aspect ratio, and includes a good-sounding stereo soundtrack. The video transfer is good if less than excellent, but does exhibit some transfer anomolies (in particular, shifting aspect ratios). The film is in Hindi with optional English subtitles.
Essay copyright (C) 2000 David M. Arnold. All rights reserved.
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