After seeing "Tropic Thunder" (2008), it has become clear that Hollywood actors, directors, and writers need to do background research on the characters they are portraying.Just the film's title alone makes the audience aware that we should 'Americanize' people, and make them 'generic Americans'. And, in doing so, we should bury or hide their culture. Right? Wrong. Americans need to become 'culture sensitive', so they convey a positive message that someone else's culture is on an equal level with Americans. I'm okay. You're okay.A number of Indian people attended a film festival in Connecticut. Those that had become 'Americanized' were not offended by the film. But, some felt that their Indian culture was portrayed in a negative light, and should have been given the dignity and respect of being on an equal level with the American culture. A significant number of Americans act like other cultures are inferior. This is wrong, and not at all true. 'Shelley' is given an American name, and is taught how to act, feel, and think like Hollywood-stereotypical Americans.The Indian culture needs to be researched, and the script needs to be further developed. But, even with all of its flaws, the film is worthy enough to be seen. Truly, there are some very enjoyable, very funny, and very poignant moments. For a fair attempt, I rate this film a 6 out of 10. With some polish, and more work, the film would rank at least an 8 or 9.

When we rented this film, we had no clue or expectation from this movie as I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. But being a fan of Bollywood Lite, I thought I'd give it a shot, as I enjoyed The Guru and Bride and Prejudice. But the next couple of hours turned out to be such a fun experience. I'd say its a chick flick but my husband loved it too. The lead actress is not only a great looker but also a true performer. The African-American actor had us laughing so hard with his little quips. The lead guy's acting seemed a little staged but not enough to detract from the film. The supporting cast were all pretty good in their roles and we'd recommend this film to all fans of the romantic comedy or foreign-indie genre. All in all a very fun time.

This so rates 10 on my scale. Not only is it a terrific romantic comedy, but as someone of East-Indian descent, I am able to identify with so much of Shelly's dilemmas and the film's humor. No spoilers, but one of the best thing about the film is Shelly's turning 30 and the dilemma that ensues. I loved her mom in that scene and she definitely did as well as she did in "Bend it like Beckham". the turning 30 scenario had me in stitches and reminded me of the similar situation in "My big, fat Greek Wedding" but done with a very clever take. Although, the humor is so funny and the one liners keep coming, THE BEST thing about the film is the decision that Shelly makes in the end. It totally lends to the heart of the film and i actually welled up at that point. Not to give away too much but this is just a super, super cute movie...and it is so nice to see Indians succeeding in Hollywood.

This film has offended me on so many levels, it is amazing! The only thing mildly good about the film is that Gujral looks beautiful on screen, but that is hardly any saving grace when I found out that she was also the writer! To start of, the filmmakers conveniently assume that the audience has no clue what so ever about India and her culture, ancient or contemporary. The filmmakers are able to trivialize every aspect of Indian culture they reference. In this global world with so much interaction between countries and cultures it is appalling to see such trivialization of Indian culture. It is hard to believe that Indians were associated with this film, this film is able to show Indians in a worser light than what Peter Sellers was able to do with his fake Indian accent.The story, direction and acting in this film is awful. Its amazing that the film was even released. i hope Gujral does not ever write a script, at least nothing that even remotely deals with India. Just an awful film.