Mallika Sherawat’s American accent is just about as authentic as the Anglicized Hindi accent that Raza Murad playing a cruel English colonial general, wearing a uniform mothballed at Maganlal Dresswallah for decades, might have in a deeply patriotic film directed by Dheeraj Kumar (not even Manoj Kumar).
I know, I know, even I felt tired writing that. Excuse some very obscure Indian pop cultural references but those of you who are not up to speed with such things will have to just lump this one.
Now that the politics of confrontation has subsided in India I have decided to move on to “Politics of Love.” It is a new Hollywood movie starring India’s very own Mallika Sherawat in what seems from the trailer to be a career defining role for her. What I mean is that if she had a career, it would be defined.
This romantic comedy’s plot summary says, “Politics makes strange bedfellows, but never stranger than when a sexy, savvy, African-American conservative Republican reluctantly falls for his Democratic counterpart: a beautiful Indian-American Obama campaign volunteer. Sparks fly, tempers flare, heads turn, and romance blossoms for his mismatched pair of lovers in the frantic and intoxicating days leading up to Election Day. Can the politics of love conquer all?”
It sounds like a movie which Freida Pinto might have smugly turned down because it does not have nearly the artistic possibilities that excite her. “Politics of Love” is by far the biggest Hollywood film that Sherawat has landed on her own strength.
Pictures :http://www.politicsoflovethemovie.com/
In one scene at a “frenzied” campaign office of Barack Obama, Sherawat is heard saying, “Okay, I need the number for the city hall, something something park (I could not figure out quite what) and inventory of campaign material.” The way she says it makes you wonder whether the movie’s producers had any budget for an accent coach for her. Her intonation is pitch perfect if she were auditioning for a position at a Walmart call center in Gurgaon dealing with irate Indian American callers.
What is admirable about Sherawat is that she is propelled almost entirely by gumption that is so typical of a certain type of young people of Delhi. (A lot of them were seen at the Anna Hazare fast.) Of course, her oomph does add to her overall appeal. It is equally admirable that she has stretched her thin acting talent as far as she has. Her main talent is self-belief. If you pay close attention to her career, you get the sinking feeling that she is actually mocking the whole system of stardom which she has sassed her way through.
I know it does not sound like that but I am actually praising Sherawat as far as it goes.
Speaking of “Politics of Love”, would someone please dim the reflected glory emanating out of Delhi?
