A place for an Indian Doris Day?

Recently, I saw the Canadian movie “A Touch of Pink,” an old Hollywood style romantic comedy about a gay Ismaili (Shiite) Canadian man. It’s one of the most wonderfully refreshing movies I’ve seen in a long time, escapist and funny and yet multi-layered. Like movies like the Taiwanese “Wedding Banquet” the movie is about Alim’s relationship with his mother who is convinced that Alim needs to get married to a nice Indian girl, and his struggle to tell her about his relationship with his boyfriend Giles. Throughout this, Alim is guided by the imaginary spirit of Cary Grant, played by one of the actors from “Sex in the City.” But what’s nice about this movie is that it doesn’t tell just the story of Alim’s modern identity in a secular world, but also of his mother. There is a fantastic scene between Giles (Alim’s boyfriend) and Alim where Giles, angry at their hidden relationship, accuses Alim of thinking of his mother as “an uneducated brown Paki.” We find that Alim’s mother had gone to London when she was young, hoping to be like Doris Day, only to find that there was "no place for an Indian Doris Day." I loved this movie and I highly recommend it on many levels. It’s a great escapist romantic comedy, but at the same time introduces themes of crossing generational, and cultural boundaries.

Here’s the link to it on amazon.com so you can check out the reviews: