Umrika

Making his Bollywood debut after scoring in "Life of Pi", Suraj Sharma plays Rama, a village youth who grows up dreaming of Umrika. The title is a mispronunciation of "America," and for Rama and his family, as for so many, that nation is the land of hopes and dreams. It's the late 70s, and everyone is thrilled when Rama's big brother Udai (Prateik Babbar) leaves home for the US. They await his letters home with baited breath. At first, there is nothing, and the family is crestfallen. Then, three months later, the letters start to arrive: cut-outs of Reagan and Times Square, tales of adventure and success. One day Rama's father dies, and our hero discovers a horrible secret. Disillusioned and angry, he ventures into Mumbai looking for answers.

Prashant Nair's tale about hope and illusions is a critique of "success" as it's so cruelly defined in our world. It's also a riveting mystery, a warmhearted melodrama and a richly detailed look at Indian culture in the modern age. The idea of America looms over that culture like a shadow, and it's in darkness that the truth reveals itself.

"A straightforward, ingratiating drama… Sharma carries the pic with an attractive gravity that makes it clear his virtual one-man show in "Life of Pi" was no lucky newcomer's fluke." — Dennis Harvey, Variety

India 2015