Bombay To Bangkok (2008)

just watch it!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The plot revolves around a poor Bombay-based cook called Shankar Singh (Shreyas) who mistakenly steals from Khan Baba (Naseeurudding Shah), a fearsome Don who sends his son to recover the amount from Shankar as he tries to flee India to Dubai, but eventually ends up on an Indian Medical-team chartered flight to Bangkok. Once in Thailand, he encounters Jasmine (Lina Christianson), a beautiful massage parlour "make you happy" girl. Their slow romance development is the main theme of the movie. The apparent cultural disparities as evident in Shankar's lack of Thai skills (neither does Jasmine know English) have been realistically portrayed and are delightful to watch (I remember having had similar encounters with Thai girls on my trip). Also, Shankar is portrayed shocked by his clear failure to understand unique aspects of Thai/South-East Asian culture e.g. a society with easier morals compared to India (there was one funny debate between the Indian man and the Thai girl about their respective views of prostitution - also, Shankar made a faux pas when he mistook Jasmine's brother as a thief because he took his bag only to return it later. It became apparent when he entered into the fold of monks and that was his last "fun night"). Being of the easy and gullible Indian male mentality -Shankar didn't waste time to fall in love with his Thai enchantress whereas she was visibly mad at him after it became clear Shankar was a fugitive and in deep trouble; Jasmine got arrested by Police for her involvement with Shankar - there was some action. Of course, in the end after a few twists and turns; both Shankar was finally able to convince his sweetheart how much he was in iove with her and by the time of credits, they were shown carrying a 6-year old kid.Among side-plots: my favorite character was that fat Thai Sardarji who doubled as interpreter and assistant to Shankar in his numerous adventures. Man, I would have loved someone like him around when I had an unpleasant encounter in Thailand- communication is SO DIFFICULT in that country! Another character called Javed Khan, the son of Khan Bhai the Don was interesting - he's a wannabe rapper and has a personality disorder which is cured by a beautiful doctor on the Indian Medical team, Dr. Rati. They have a funny romance! Having travelled to Thailand 2 years back, I have fond memories of its beautiful Buddhism-based culture, accepting/hospitable people and of course, such pretty girls. "Bombay to Bangkok" for me is a refreshing and nostalgic journey into that phase of life. Needless to say, I really enjoyed this movie; Nagesh Kukunoor has written a brilliant script (coming from Nagesh Kukunoor of Hyderabad Blues fame, I take it as original and not cheap Bollywood plagiarism.

While 'Bombay To Bangkok' may not rank among Kukunoor's best films, it is a very entertaining, adventurous and sweet flick. Hearing all the negative comments, I was still hoping that the film wouldn't be as bad. It wasn't bad. Yes there are flaws. I found the pacing to be slow and I thought Kukunoor could have added some more spice by building more humour. Some have complained that there wasn't enough of the beauty of Thailand in the film. While that may have made the film more pleasant to look at, it's still a film not a travel documentary. So I don't hold this as a major flaw and we still get to see some sights and sound of the country.In a few scenes, Kukunoor parodies his other film 'Iqbal'. He includes the cast: Shreyas Talpade, Yatin Karyekar and the great Naseeruddin Shah. There's part of the 'Aashayein' song which is hilariously used. There are plenty of such laughing moments. The love story between the doctor and the gangster rapper is hilariously endearing.The songs are quite funny too. 'Sama Same but Different' is quite catchy while most of the other songs (there aren't as many) are included in the background.Debutante Lina Christianson adds an exotic freshness to the cast. She has a lovely smile, good screen presence and shares a wonderful chemistry with Talpade. Shreyas Talpade totally owns up to the character. The actor is showing more of his versatility and becoming one of the finest actors of the current generation. Vijay Maurya is laugh out loud as the gangster rapper. One just has to watch it to see what I mean. Naseeruddin Shah is only there in one scene but he further adds to the comic relief.I also liked how Kukunoor, in a subtle way brought forth taboo issues such as prostitution. There's a splendid scene where Shankar tries to convince Jasmine to leave her job and Jasmine cleverly answers to him that it's just a regular job for which she works hard. One has to listen to the dialogue to understand the full essence of the scene.I would like to add that one shouldn't expect anything from 'Bombay to Bangkok' other than a fun comedy. It's certainly not as bad as critics have labelled it to be. It may not be as great as Kukunoor's 'Dor', 'Iqbal' and 'Teen Deewarein' but it is one that can be easily enjoyed with friends.

Bombay to Bangkok is the story of a small time cook in a dingy restaurant named Shankar (Shreyas Talpade). Faith leads him to Bangkok... well actually local Mafia goons makes him escape because he had stolen the money that they had received. There Shankar meets Jasmine (Lina Christianson). She is a masseur at a local club. Shankar falls in love with her. Because Shankar pretends he is a doctor and the Mafia keeps on chasing him Shankar hides the bag of money into one of the medical supplies going with the team of doctors that he is a part of now. Now after reaching Bangkok Shankar must take the help of his lady love to get the money hidden into one of the numerous medical supply boxes... Thats Bombay to Bangkok for you. The rest is all running around (read riding around)and some poor attempts at making this a comedy. The only highlights of the film are the songs that plays in the background whenever Shankar meets Jasmine and his dialogue "Ab bas mooh mat kholna!" (Now just don't open your mouth!) whenever Jasmin walks towards him because Jasmin cannot speak English properly and the only words that come out of her mouth are in Thai. Overall just a time pass film, that too if you have nothing else to do. Its hard to believe this as a venture of Nagesh Kukunoor. The same guy who gave us films like Hyderabad blues and Dor. Nagesh should stick to making 'his kind' of cinema and not try to be commercial. He has just proved he is not good at it at all. Good acting by Shreyas (as usual) and the man who played his friend 'Rashminder singh' or Rashes. The guy who plays KMK, the mafia Don's son definitely deserves special mention too. Other than that the whole cast of the film is a waste. Lina has a long way to go as far as acting is concerned. Lets face it - she is too wooden to act. Go watch it... if you have absolutely nothing else to do. NOTHING.

Even though I would have to confess that I can be categorized as a cult follower of Nagesh Kukunoor, I haven't let that bias this review of the movie. The movie is narrative at its best. The director has a grip on the screen play and knows exactly the plot and the purpose of the characters played. The casting is apt. Even the Thai actors deliver their best. The naissance of any movie is in its details. The scene in particular where the "sardar" guide uses war as a metaphor to choose what food to "attack" first. Last but not the least, the social taboo of prostitution is aptly dealt with. What ever amount of modernization that you bring into a society, selling sex for money is still looked down upon. Kukunoor brings about this social issue may not be deliberately but the subject does brush off. Then there is the epitomizing of "Love" beyond boundaries and language. The kind of chemistry the film showcases between "Shankar" and "Jasmine" is commendable. Anyone would agree that to make viewers believe that two people from different parts of the world with nothing in common to be in love on screen is as difficult as making a "Zonkey" or "Zeebrass". Do excuse the metaphor.Do see the movie to enjoy the humor and story telling.