Movie Review: the Other End Of The Line

Thought for the day: I never think of the future - it comes soon enough. Albert Einstein

I haven’t done a movie review since quite some time. But then, maybe it’s because I haven’t had the patience to sit through any recent movies. Give me a movie like ‘Hungama’ or ‘ Bheja Fry’ or ‘ Khosla Ka Ghosla’ and I wouldn’t mind sitting through it all over again.Albeit, on video, not on TV where there umpteen ads to bear in between. I mean, how many snack breaks can you take when you’re trying to follow a strict diet regimen? LOL. But then, that’s a ‘post another day’ tale.

On to the movie. ‘The Other End Of The Line’ is a collaboration between our own Adlabs and USA’s MGM, starring Jesse Metcalfe and Shriya Sharan. It is a nice movie, in the true sense of the word. A simple storyline, almost believable and a smooth flow of scenes from the first to the last.

It’s all about this Indian girl Priya(Shriya Sharan), working at a call centre for an American Bank where they have to make clients believe that they’re calling from the US of A(Non-outsourced, in short). She’s supposed to be calling from San Francisco. One of her clients is Granger (Jesse) for whom the bank is investigating some exorbitant charges on his credit card bill. She looks him up on the internet and is quite intrigued by his details. On his side, Granger quite enjoys talking with the helpful and sexy-voiced Priya, and, one day, after a few tete-a-tetes he tells her that he’s coming to Frisco on business and would like to meet her for dinner.

Now, Priya is a modern girl, engaged courtesy a family arranged match, to a guy whom she does not love . So, the adventurous lady accepts and is off on the next flight to Frisco to keep her dinner date with Granger .

She gets tongue-tied when she first sees Granger who, assuming that he’s meeting an American , walks up to the girl sitting next to her and asks her if she’s Jennifer(Priya’s American name). Disappointed, she’s about to check out when fate plays it’s hand and she bumps into Granger at the hotel where she’s staying. The owner of the hotel, incidentally, is the client Granger has come to meet, nee impress, and he’s staying at the same hotel.

One thing leads to another, and they end up having dinner and a few dates and even some Indian food of the spicy variety.

Priya’s family, on the other hand, specially her Dad(Ably played by Anupam Kher) is scared to death that their innocent daughter has been lured by a wily American and they also land up in Frisco to search for her. He even gives a heavy punch to Granger in one of the scenes. (Can’t you picture the typically protective Indian Dad, and, Anupam Kher in the role? It’s really fun.)

Do they have any misunderstandings? Will Granger find out that Jennifer is Priya’s call centre persona? Will her parents agree to the match? Will they live happily ever after, proverbially speaking? That forms the gist of the rest of the movie, which I wouldn’t like to spoil! Watch the movie-you won’t be disappointed.

(The unbelievable part? How could Priya and, later,her family get a visa for US of A within hours? And, the same thought for the guy who visits Mumbai)
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Joke for the day:

Part of a local story:

.... Meanwhile, back at the oasis, the Arabs were eating their dates.

Till next time, keep smiling.