Yet another culture clash story

Outsourced
Cast: Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker, Asif Basra, Matt Smith, Sudha Shivpuri
Director: John Jeffcoat
Rating: **1/2

This is a colorful romantic culture-clash comedy that has very few pretensions other than to outsource India's panoramic experiences to the western world. Written by George Wing and John Jeffcoat, the film chronicles the life of a young American manager Todd (Josh Hamilton) sent to a small town in India to train a call center that markets China-made American novelties. Purohit N Virajnarianan (Asif Basra) is the manager and Asha (Ayesha Dharker) is among the smarter call center executives.

The plot is decidedly simple. Todd, recovering from a broken relationship finds a kind of kinship in Asha and they explore this attraction upto a point. It's not mushy or deliberate. In fact the relationship is more incidental. Todd and Asha have to track a shipment and in the process stay overnight in a cheesy hotel called Kamasutra where they end up sharing a room. Jeffcoat handles the relationship nicely.

Asha, though she is a small-town girl, doesn't demand marriage. She is not in love with Todd either. She in fact is already engaged and sees this sexual tryst as a 'Holiday in Goa' (euphemism for pre-marital sex). Even Todd's India experiences are entertaining. He over-tips beggars, pays Rs 100 for an ice gola, rides in an auto-rickshaw and has a young boy plonked on his lap in a crowded bus. Needless to say he also suffers from the Delhi belly and finds an electrical consultant in a dhobi who lives in a slum. Jeffcoat tries to cram in a whole lot of experiences and every one of them smacks of authenticity. There's a Holi episode, magical with a riot of colours.

The humor is cliched no doubt but it's also inventively laid out. Don't expect a barrel full of laughs. Josh Hamilton, Ayesha Dharker, Asif Basra and the rest of the cast is believable. The entire experience will leave you with a smile on your face. Dare we expect more?