Shiv Shastri Balboa - Feelin' strong now...

Shiv Shastri Balboa

2023, Hindi

Director: Ajayan Venugopalan

Stars:

Anupam Kher as Shiv Shankar Shastri

Neena Gupta as Elsa

Jugal Hansraj as Rahul

Sharib Hashmi as Sinmohan Singh

Nargis Fakhri as Siya

Aarav Desai as Advaith

(Courtesy Wikipedia)

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐

Those of you who emigrated here as adults often find those of us who grew up here hard to understand, leave alone explain.  As I told to someone not so long ago, though, what is novelty for the newcomers is old hat to us. And, perhaps that is the reason why I could not completely take in Shiv Shankar Balboa. 

The story is a lovely, sentimental journey of two lonely seniors whose friendship takes them through an unfamiliar world. However, It seems stuck in a time warp straight out of a bad episode of Star Trek. 

Rather than seeing the ethnically diverse America of today, we are caught as always wallowing in racial stereotype and moral indignation. We feel constricted to an America that is rare to find these days, one of arcade games, sleazy bars, and politically incorrect all White biker gangs. While the suburban Indians can't stand the sight of each other, the White folks can't stand us being around. 

Despite his love for the undeniably American Rocky series, Mr. Shastri is just as biased. He jouns Ms. Elsa on lonely bus journeys and all night self pity sessions, all in an effort to put her on a plane for home, using this to recreate the famous run up the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  

His children do little to assuage the situation.  The typical Gen X yuppies, they spend out their lives living out the archetype of the American Dream, without even the slightest awareness that there are fellow Indians around them. In the meantime, they're perfect little children are being bullied by the always racist Whites.

All this in the Midwest and East Coast, where teeming populations of Indian expatriates compete to be President of their local temple board, and Indian restaurants are as well known as Starbucks.

Sadly, however, the delusion continues, giving many of us the lame excuse to say unless we acquiesce to "their" ways, we cannot be accepted here.

Knowing the America of today, however, where the fastest growing language is Telugu  I am sure the shoe will soon be on the other foot.