Outsourced

“Outsourced” a charming movie about an American guy whose entire team (call center) is outsourced to India. Having to choose between being fired, loosing his stock options and going to India to get the new team up to speed, he decides to pick up the latter. The movie manages to be pretty respectful to both cultures. Personally, I thought the movie was hilarious since I’ve had to contend with it. When calling my bank for information on a credit card results in the guy on the other side (who sounds very much like our uncles from Calcutta/Delhi/Bombay trying to inflect a Midwestern accent) asking me about where in India I’m from and where my parents are from in India, hilarity is just part of the equation.

Although, I must say I am not quite convinced with a few confused points in the screenplay/plot. One such scene would be the romantic? Sultry? Lusty? Confused? Encounter in the motel. I say confused because earlier and latter in the movie Asha’s (the heroine) character is shown to be one with high cultural values who is also outspoken and independent. And to show that public affection is a cultural taboo in India, I found this scene to be too “Western” concept to be acceptable in a movie about India. But after all it's largely a light comedy and, ultimately, a love story movie where enough light is thrown to depict the corporate game being played and the way people get affected. So, I guess it is not too bad! And more over, it does show the predominantly sweet nature of the Indian people which IMO is one of an India traveler’s best rewards. And I guess I also have to agree that most Indian people whilst intelligent have real problem thinking outside the box.

Oh and for the record, there is no rule of thumb that states that Indian food as a whole is gross and gives people diarrhea. While I’ll admit, some Indian food doesn’t necessarily LOOK appetizing (think aloo palak or anything involving palak), it has something that a lot of other foods lack: flavor. If you can’t handle it, that’s your problem and your loss…