Director: Piyush Dinker Pandya
Country: USA
Year: 2001
Runtime: 100 minutes
English
AMERICAN DESI is the first feature film to tell the story of Indian-American college students growing up in the United States who are trying to balance their traditional roots with their modern Western upbringing. Krishna or Kris as he likes to be called has always dreamt of the day that he would leave home for college and escape the sights, sounds, smells, and traditions of his culture in order to be the all-American guy he has always wanted to be. Those hopes of freedom are soon dashed as he arrives on campus and discovers that all three of his roommates are desis! They include Jagjit Singh, an artist at heart who is forced to study engineering to please his strict father; Salim Ali Khan, an old-fashioned lad who believes that Indian girls growing up in America are corrupt with Western ideals; and Ajay Pandya, the afro-centric Hindu homeboy. On campus, Kris meets and falls for Nina who he discovers is also Indian. For a young man who has never considered dating a young woman of Indian descent, Kris must now struggle to catch the attention of Nina, who unlike himself, has managed to balance her Indian and American identities. Adding conflict to the situation is the devious Rakesh Patel who also has an eye for Nina but is well-versed in Indian songs, movies, religion, and culture making Kris look like a guy with no chance of winning the girl. Through meeting the captivating Nina and living with his roommates, Kris learns that the Indian culture he had turned his back on is actually wonderful and unique.
Principal Cast: Deep Katdare, Purva Bedi, Anil Kumar, Ronobir Lahiri
Writer: Piyush Dinker Pandya
Producers: Deep Katdare, Gitesh Pandya, Piyush Dinker Pandya
Editor: Robert Tate
Cinematography: Renato Falcão
Website Link: www.americandesimovie.com