Cast: Konkona Sen, Ira Dubey, Shernaz Patel Director: Kunaal Roy Kapur
The fact: US president George W Bush visited India in 2006. Bush besides his diplomatic mission met some young faces of ‘Shining India.’
The fiction: This is where the film begins. The US embassy hires a PR firm to find one Indian youth eligible to meet President Bush. Out of the many aspirants 6 ‘faces of India’ are selected as they all have been featured in India Today as ‘top achievers’. The winner is to rub hands with Bush.
As the amateurish film rolls on we see the contestants being put through a series of trainings and tests that would make one of them raise above the others. There are numerous satirical take on Indian stereotypes as the 20-something youths try to outwit the others.
The good: The loose editing and poor technical setup show the need for a little more effort on the production team, but the delightful rib-tickling humour running throughout the film makes you overlook them. If you are the one who tend to read too much into the scripts of a film then there are good lessons to be learnt. The script talks of feminism, male chauvinism, homosexuality and brain drain, etc.
The well crafted characters despite their drawbacks are lovable. The script with its balanced used of abusive words is another thing to cheer about. Director Kunaal Roy Kapur seems to have a good idea of what he is doing. Shernaz Patel as a PR agent Samantha is as good as Konkana Sen who plays Booker wannabe Maya Roy. Vivek Gomber as the accent trainer is incredibly funny. The minus: The film seems to keep on dragging looking for a saviour. if not for the endless Bushism take it could have fallen apart. The ridiculous climax may be strikingly hard to digest for some.
Overall, The President is Coming is a good lip-stretching exercise and a laughter therapy. Smart, fresh and straight forward fun. You could forget everything and let laugh over Bushism and its effects.
--------------------
English (U/A)
Cast: Konkona Sen, Ira Dubey, Shernaz Patel Director: Kunaal Roy Kapur
