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Why so much hype?

Don't Believe the Hype

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie is a bit kitsch, and true, this story's been told through many an immigrant, from many a race, but as an American-Desi it's still kinda cool to see someone who looks like you and shares your specific familial idiosyncrasies on a screen. Growing up I didn't see people who looked like me on TV--aside from the occasional caricatures with goofy accents only there as a side-joke. Oh...wait... yeah, it's still sorta -like- that!If you're not of South Asian descent I don't think you'd be as excited about this work, but it does offer a good point; that the fusion of cultures advents an altogether new baby that everyone can appreciate; like the protagonist's music. And if nothing else, the movie is a window to a culture not seen by most people outside of it--however-much of a sketch it is; it improves our understandings of our fellowman. I give it more points than I usually would for that.

I would love to have more movies like this one. I loved it because it shows the truth about how the life for indians are in USA to be more one target Gujus. I loved it i would like to see more or lees something like this for other cultural backgrounds as well. I mean is people from all over India.

I must say that I hold the (maybe not so) unique position of being a first generation American, born to Indian parents. Given the situation, I can probably relate to this particular movie a little more than your average moviegoer.If you took this film off the reels, added in some commercials, and shortened it to an hour, I could have practically submitted it to A&E as my own personal Biography. I think this serves as a compliment to the Mehta brothers for their believable portrayal of individuals in my situation. Sure, some of the events that transpire may be a little melodramatic, but I don't think that they are enough so to significantly detract from the movie experience.If you want to go see American Chai, be sure to bear in mind that this movie is clearly targeted at Indian American audiences, particularly American-born Indian Americans. Several scenes in this movie had me doubled over in laughter, while the rest of the audience stared at me like I was crazy. This is not to say that the other members of the audience were disappointed with the movie; I just felt that I was in a position to better understand the finer points of the film, and as a result I walked away with a greater appreciation for what American Chai tried to accomplish.What DID American Chai try to accomplish, you ask? I feel that this movie was made to light-heartedly examine the internal struggle that affects all first generation offspring, using Indian Americans as a model. Overall, I would say that the movie succeeds at its mission, despite some rough spots here and there. For a debut production, the pacing, cinematography, and script are all well above average. All characters are well portrayed, with highlights being Aasif Mandvi as Engineering Sam and Paresh Rawal as Sureel's Dad.Bottom line: If either you or a close friend of yours is a first generation Indian American, you absolutely must see this movie. 10/10. Otherwise, this is just another romantic comedy. 6/10. Put those two together, and you get an overall average of 8/10.

entertaining movie that falls short of being the movie that it could've been, but i must applaud the effort. of the three "indian americans growing up" stories (american chai, american desi, abcd), i would rank this in the middle. though chai may have had the best cinematography, the low budget american desi was still the most entertaining. if there were a more charismatic hero chosen than aalok mehta to play sureel, the film as well as the relationship between him and the drop-dead gorgeous sheethal sheth would have been not only more compelling but infinitely more believable. though i must concede that the recurring theme "all things indian are not bad" was well developed, especially in its culmination when ajay naidu's character took in a drunk sureel and let him see what he was all about. good try.