Some marriages are made in heaven
and others, as the directors of Matrimonials.com inform us, are made
online. Befittingly, both directors of this romantic
comedy are software engineers and inform us that 'they
were brought up in India on a steady diet of academic,
cricket and movies'. Now, in a fresh, funny look at the
quirkier side of the Indian expatriate success story,
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna 'DK' Dararakothapalli bring to
our attention that omnipresent NRI dilemma: desi
singleness.
Matrimonials.com tells the story of two
young NRI bachelors, Ajay and Raghu. Although successful
and well-established, their lives are ruled by the
monotony of daily schedules (at work Ajay and Raghu plot
obsessively about how to do nothing till lunch) and late
night TV (having lost the remote, they spend three
nights in a row watching a woman scientifically colour
her hair), and are in constant danger of getting lost in
mass-cooked Taco Bell oblivion. Needless to say, they
also drive a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that badge of
desi-techie pride.
In the midst of this anomie,
Ajay and Raghu undertake a brilliant statistical
analysis of the 'singleness dilemma' that NRI's face.
Dividing the available women into American Born Confused
Desis (ABCDs) and Desis Confused By America (DCBA) they
proceed to tabulate the number of available desi women
in America (The answer incidentally is one in a
hundred). Raghu decides to solve the situation by
posting an advertisement on an online matrimonials
website. His initial effort prompts Ajay to hilariously
compare his online proposal to a job application (IT
Engineer, working for four years…). While Raghu waits
hopefully for thousands of replies, Ajay spends his time
conversing with a girl who he of course insists is a
'friend and nothing else' much to Raghu's
amusement.
We are also
simultaneously introduced to Aarti and Divya, two ABCD
best friends who also happen to be facing the marital
gallows. Divya in particular is being pressured by her
'family' into marriage and so proceeds to log onto the
matrimonials.com website in search of a suitable hubby.
The audience is eventually dragged along with her to a
series of 'arranged meetings'. In a series of snapshots
we are made to gladly suffer the hilarious antics of the
prospective grooms. These include one caste-spurned
lover, a failed comic, a quiet boring chap, another
obsessed with the dollar cost of everything, one
self-assured fool, and a guy who is an aunt's, sister's,
uncle's brother's son.
Needless to say, in
fairytale fashion Raghu eventually visits Chicago (after
dragging Ajay along because Ajay's girlfriend also lives
in Chicago) in order to meet the person who has
responded to his ad. Along the way he suffers a crisis
of confidence in the happiness that such an 'arranged
marriage' would provide. After some uninspiring dialogue
about life, love and longing we are mercifully allowed
to return to lighter stuff as Raghu finally decides to
hold out for a dreamier, romantic alternative. He
nevertheless manages to convince Ajay into proposing to
the 'friend but nothing more'. The plan ultimately
works, but not without a hilarious detour through a
sequence that involves a phone booth at a rest stop, an
answering machine and an out-of-key AR Rehman
tune.
***
SPOILER ALERT ***
The directors cleverly play on the
audience's expectation in the final, closing moments of
the plot. For example, we are led to believe that Ajay's
girlfriend is actually the same woman who Raghu is
supposed to marry. Later we also realise that Ajay's
girlfriend is Divya's best friend - Aarti. Raghu and
Divya finally hook up after intermittently glancing
toward one another in an elevator (where they had both
gone to turn down prospective partners). A truly
wonderful moment, the scene hints at the enormous warmth
and sensitivity of the directors, quite apart from their
skill at tugging on the heartstrings after an hour of
relentless comedy.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
In a more critical vein,
Matrimonials.com is a mildly exaggerated film that
blanches at being entirely realistic in its description
of the expatriate situation. One clear deficiency is the
lack of a truly bilingual dialogue. This often results
in the two actresses engaging in soul-searching
monologues haltingly delivered in Hindi. Consequently,
there are moments of relief for both cast and audience
when the women suddenly break into their heavily
accented English, making the tone and pitch of the
dialogue meet the demands of the moment.
Further, desi singleness abroad often has much
more to do with the pathological inability of desis to
stop working 24/7, not to mention a strong anti-social
streak that encourages comfort in one's own kind. This
aspect is left entirely unattended. Finally, one must
ask where in America are migrant employees allowed to
bide time in office and leave at the dot of five? The
directors themselves, for example, were unable to make
it to the film festival because their firm would not
give them leave.
Pedantic criticism apart, Matrimonials.com is a deeply enjoyable film that
succeeded in provoking mirth through some unconventional
means including a random list of marriage jokes that
preceded the opening credits. As such the film has
fulfilled the promise of digital by giving the directors
a chance to tell a unique story that resonates with some
of experiences of a wide, disconnected diaspora (the
film is a veritable chest of 'insider' expat jokes). A
vast improvement over disastrous NRI produce like
Inscrutable Americans, it is certainly the
best surprise flick at the Festival.
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