UnIndian

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UnIndian is an Australian/Indian produced movie starring Brett Lee, a former Australian cricketer and Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee. Cricket is a popular sport in both countries so having Brett Lee as a lead was a draw card. I don’t watch cricket at all, but I was curious to see Brett Lee in a film. This film was a passion project for producer and writer Anupam Sharma who has been working in the film industry showcasing Indian cinema. Many patrons helped to produce this film and there is a lengthy amount of credits thanking organisations and individuals in the opening.

Meera (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is a single mother to Smitha (Maya Sathiamoorthy) and working in Public Relations for Cochlear. She is pressured by her parents to marry again. Her parents are convinced that is the only way she’ll ever be happy.

 Will is an English teacher, who teaches Australian culture to international students. He meets Meera at a Holi festival and is instantly smitten. Will’s best friends Tinku “TK” ( Arka Das) and Mich (Adam Dunn) help him, telling him the differences in dating an Indian girl. Meera and Will have to fight for their relationship, against the wishes of her family and culture.

I thought the movie was okay. I didn’t find it funny, but I thought there were some cute moments. I could relate to trying to balance two cultures. The acting in the film was amateurish. I didn’t think there was much chemistry between the leads. The dialogue was a bit corny which may have attributed to some of the poor acting. Brett Lee tries his best, fully embracing his role. Maybe he’ll get better with practice.

The parts of the movie I did like were the dance numbers which is the norm in Bollywood movies. The dance scenes were so entertaining, over the top and frivolous which is exactly how it should be. I loved the ending credits where they had a dance scene with the production staff.

I would watch this film again despite its flaws. It’s an entertaining and feel good film. You can see the love and effort put in the film.