~KONKONA SEN SHARMA FC ~ New article p.61 - Page 23

The President Is Coming (comedy)
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Ira Dubey, Shernaz Patel
Direction: Kunaal Roy Kapur
Critics rating:

The world shall be eternally thankful to George W Bush. Not for his botched up policies, ideas and ideology, but for opting to don the role of the First Joker rather that the First Citizen. Never have we laughed so much on the antics of a world leader who chose to be goofy even in America's bleakest hour. Remember 9/11 and how he held 'My Pet Goat', a children's story book, upside down, while the airplanes pounded history!

Well, Bush may be on his way out and what better way to bid him farewell than celebrate his Bushisms with a dash of Indianisms. The President is Coming is an amateurish, yet funny satire that not only lampoons Bush, but also takes a rib-tickling dekko at the stereotype of the Indian youth.

Set against the US president's visit to India, the film is a behind-the-scenes of the US consulate which has been given the arduous task of selecting one suitable young Indian who will shake hands with Dubya. Needless to say, this fortunate (read unfortunate) Indian will be the sole representative of India's burgeoning youth population and will have to showcase the mantra of 'India Shining-Rising-Rocking,' all in a split second.

Enter, Shernaz Patel, the quirky, dominatrix PR agent who must select the chosen one with her assistant, the second-sexed Ritu Johnson (Shivani Tanksale). Enter too, the participants: an odd assortment of twenty-something Indians who have to pass a test of their physical and mental skills before they have their tryst with history. And, it's here the fun begins, as the wannabe Booker winner; Konkona tries to outwit the rest with her snooty pseudo-intellectual airs. Of course, she's no competition for the casteist-communal swadeshi MBA pass out, the Yankee-fied accent trainer, the bimbette desi Paris Hilton (Ira Dubey), the gay geek who wants a good wife and the earthy stock broker who believes money can buy everything, even a handshake!

The film has a raw look and lacks finesse when it comes to production values. But there is a delightful tongue-in-cheek tenor running through it, which makes you overlook the unpolished feel and the loose editing. While George Bush himself is reduced to a bunch of raucous snores and a disembodied flick of the hand, India's famous Gen Xer's are themselves a bunch of nerds who think Colin Powell is Nelson Madela and Osama is Bhagwan Rajneesh.

But in the end, despite their foibles, they are all lovable and recognizable, including the 'communal' wannabe entrepreneur who ends up befriending the Muslim guard and applauding his Urdu poetry. Performance-wise, it's the uptight and complex-ridden Ms Konkona who walks away with laurels and laughs even as the film takes a healthy snigger at the desi self.