Why would such an apparently minor and lightweight movie attract stars like Donald Sutherland and Brie Larson? Because there's a surprise inside!
Basmati Blues is, superficially, a simple, Americanized version of a Bollywood romantic comedy. It contains the usual elaborate song & dance numbers, many of them adapted to a Western audience, sometimes rather cleverly; and a fairly typical plot of a developing romance between two seemingly different and incompatible people who eventually find a way to be together. For a serious Bollywood fan, an American take on the genre might be worth watching as a novelty, and some of the musical numbers are not bad.
What caught my interest, however, is the use of the movie to deliver a political message. The basic storyline involves a pretty young American woman, Linda (Brie Larson), something of a prodigy who works as a research scientist for a company called Mogil. (Mogil is very obviously intended to represent the Monsanto corporation; it even uses more or less the same logo.) Linda has developed a new genetically engineered form of rice. The company's CEO, Gurgon (Donald Sutherland), sends Linda to India to win over the farmers and convince them to sign on for the new rice variety.
The scenes in India make good use of the beautiful landscape and give a positive impression of the close-knit farming communities. An idealistic young agriculture student from one of the farming villages begins a half-flirting, half-disputing relationship with Linda. As their romance slowly develops, the more serious part of the plot comes to the fore: the Indian farmers are at first unaware of the implications of accepting Mogil's engineered rice, and how it will change and possibly destroy their livelihood and way of life.
One of the high points of the film is Donald Sutherland leading a song and dance number involving Gurgon and the Mogil executives, singing "The Greater Good," a musical explanation of Mogil's right to spread their product where possible, regardless of the possible loss of customers' savings, land, and way of life. Gurgon is a villain, but one who rationalizes his actions as benefiting the world in the long run, as it is right and natural for the superior person (himself) to control things. When the Indian farmers belatedly discover what signing on for the engineered rice might mean to them, a minor rebellion begins, and Linda must choose sides. A very well done musical interlude expresses the farmers' mass rebellion. Because this is a Bollywood-style movie above all, we are given a happy ending - and of course the elaborate Hindu wedding scene - along with the warning message.
It may not be the most informative film about GMO crops in India, but it's certainly the most fun.
Basmati Blues is, superficially, a simple, Americanized version of a Bollywood romantic comedy. It contains the usual elaborate song & dance numbers, many of them adapted to a Western audience, sometimes rather cleverly; and a fairly typical plot of a developing romance between two seemingly different and incompatible people who eventually find a way to be together. For a serious Bollywood fan, an American take on the genre might be worth watching as a novelty, and some of the musical numbers are not bad.
What caught my interest, however, is the use of the movie to deliver a political message. The basic storyline involves a pretty young American woman, Linda (Brie Larson), something of a prodigy who works as a research scientist for a company called Mogil. (Mogil is very obviously intended to represent the Monsanto corporation; it even uses more or less the same logo.) Linda has developed a new genetically engineered form of rice. The company's CEO, Gurgon (Donald Sutherland), sends Linda to India to win over the farmers and convince them to sign on for the new rice variety.
The scenes in India make good use of the beautiful landscape and give a positive impression of the close-knit farming communities. An idealistic young agriculture student from one of the farming villages begins a half-flirting, half-disputing relationship with Linda. As their romance slowly develops, the more serious part of the plot comes to the fore: the Indian farmers are at first unaware of the implications of accepting Mogil's engineered rice, and how it will change and possibly destroy their livelihood and way of life.
One of the high points of the film is Donald Sutherland leading a song and dance number involving Gurgon and the Mogil executives, singing "The Greater Good," a musical explanation of Mogil's right to spread their product where possible, regardless of the possible loss of customers' savings, land, and way of life. Gurgon is a villain, but one who rationalizes his actions as benefiting the world in the long run, as it is right and natural for the superior person (himself) to control things. When the Indian farmers belatedly discover what signing on for the engineered rice might mean to them, a minor rebellion begins, and Linda must choose sides. A very well done musical interlude expresses the farmers' mass rebellion. Because this is a Bollywood-style movie above all, we are given a happy ending - and of course the elaborate Hindu wedding scene - along with the warning message.
It may not be the most informative film about GMO crops in India, but it's certainly the most fun.
