Customer Reviews

Other End of the Line (Widescreen)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An enjoyable romantic comedy bringing together Hollywood and Bollywood. Featuring beautiful cinematic shots of San Francisco and areas throughout India, an enjoyable storyline with a good dose of humor and wit. Shriya Saran just shines on this film!

The film directed by James Dodson ("Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil") and written by Tracey Jackson ("Confessions of a Shopaholic") comes a heartwarming and fun storyline that focuses on two individuals in opposite ends of the world.

The first is advertising exec Granger Woodruff (Jesse Metcalfe) who is working on the latest advertising campaign with his co-worker Mike for a major worldwide hotel. Unfortunately, the advertising commercial they have developed so far seems like they are promoting some type of escort service. With his luck starting to run out, he pleads with hotel owner Kit Hawksin (Larry Miller) to give him some time to come up with a good campaign and if he doesn't like it, he and Mike will quite the advertising firm.

For Granger, he's used to these type of challenges but in his personal life, he likes to have fun and dates one of New York's most popular socialites Emory Banks (Sara Foster) but at the same time, messes around with other women.

The second character the film focuses on is Priya Sethi (Shriya Saran), a woman living in Mumbai, India who enjoys American pop culture and works at a call center for City One Bank. Priya goes by the name of Jennifer David and a person supposedly living in the US (despite working at an Indian Call Center). She's able to speak without her Indian accent and sound like an American perfectly and she calls up Granger Woodruff due to suspicious activity on his credit card. Each time Priya tries to call, Granger is either on a date or making love to his girlfriend but Priya manages to get through to him during a day that Granger is sick.

Granger with his flirtatious nature starts having conversations with Priya and suddenly the two start having "business" conversations which lead to personal conversations on the phone.

Priya who sees a photo of Granger on the Internet is just happy when she has these conversations with him but her co-worker reminds her to not get too close to the customer and also that she is engaged, or more like arranged to marry a guy named Vikram who she has no interest in but with family traditions and for her family, she must marry this man.

When Granger invites Jennifer to meet up in San Francisco for a business trip, Priya feels that before she gets married, she wants to have one experience and that is to go to San Francisco and meet with Granger as her call center persona Jennifer David.

Priya then leaves to San Francisco to the dismay of her parents and both are excited to meet each other. But things don't go as expected for Priya. Looking beautiful and all ready to meet Granger, Granger who is expecting Jennifer avoids Priya and starts asking each Caucasian woman if they are Jennifer. Feeling jilted, Priya goes back to her hotel and doesn't know why she bothered traveling to San Francisco.

As for Granger, he feels that Jennifer stood him up and while he heads to the same hotel that Priya is staying, the two accidentally run into each other. Granger then helps Priya and from that point on, the two develop some chemistry and they go out on a date in San Francisco.

After another date with Priya, Granger introduces her to hotel owner, Kit Hawkson who is just amazed by Priya's beauty and how warm she is during conversation and is so pleased that he invites Granger and Priya to his party and even gives Priya a room to stay in his hotel.

Granger, starts to see something special with Priya and the two go on more dates and have fun in their days together as they go throughout San Francisco and have fun.

What Priya doesn't know is that her demanding father Rajeev Sethi (Anupam Kher) and the entire family are just scared out of their wits that some American has captured his daughter's attention and may cause problems with her engagement and her family goes to San Francisco to find her.

With both Granger and Priya starting to feel the attraction towards each other, will Granger find out that Priya is actually Jennifer David? And will he find out the truth that he is engaged? And will Priya find out that Granger may be attached to another woman? Are their feelings for each other genuine?

"The Other End of the Line" is an enjoyable romantic comedy bringing together both Western and Indian culture and thus giving a twist of finding romance with a total opposite, but also someone that lives in another country. Love can sometimes be complex!

In fact, the film is the first collaboration between major Indian film production studio Adlabs and America's MGM. Also, the film was produced by Indian-American Ashock Amritraj and Patrick Aiello.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"The Other End of the Line" is featured in widescreen (1:85:1) and although some shots of New York are stock video, there are some really awesome cinematography in India and San Francisco and creating this romantic vibe throughout the film. If anything, I was amazed of how many location shots there were for this film. But overall, the film has quite a good number of beautiful moments. The only part of the film that was just too fake was the use of an ultra large full moon in different parts of the film that just looked quite fake but other than that, really good outdoor shots and the various colors really come through for the picture quality on DVD.

As for audio, the film is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround and the film is primarily a dialogue film and very easy to understand. The film features a good number of Indian music and thus giving the film a Bollywood type of feel but the music does set the mood for the overall film. Audio and music come clear from your front channel speakers.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Unfortunately, there are no special features which is a shame because I would love to have seen special features of behind-the-scenes shots in San Francisco, India and even deleted scenes or interviews. For a film that features talent shooting in both countries, it would have been great if they included something on the DVD but unfortunately, there aren't any special features.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I really enjoyed "The Other End of the Line". To tell you the truth, outside of "Passions" and "Desperate Housewives", I haven't been too familiar with Jesse Metcalfe's acting for the past five years. And the same goes for Shriya, she's absolutely beautiful and both talents really shined in this film.

What makes the film work is that there are no really over-the-top situations, just two people who found chemistry and enjoying their time in the city of San Francisco and again, I was pretty pleased by the acting and also how the cinematography really elevated the feel of romance throughout the film.

If anything, having Larry Miller (Kit Hawksin) known for his role in "Pretty Woman" (as the clothing salesperson in Rodeo Drive) calling the hotel operator "Mary Pat" and then a scene with "Pretty Woman" being played, I'm guessing that the film creator's wanted to create that magical vibe from the classic romantic comedy film with "The Other End of the Line".

I also enjoyed the humor of the film in regards to Anupam Kher as Priya's father Rajeev going crazy about his daughter leaving to America and seeing how far he and the family would go to find her. Also, just certain scenes of interaction between Granger and Priya. But then of course, there are serious moments as well. Knowing how an arranged marriage to a good (and wealthy) family can be good for the whole family and that a person should not think about their own personal happiness but their own entire family's happiness. Also, a scene where Granger looks to find Jennifer David and he just simply avoids Priya (being the only non-Caucasian woman standing at the bar and looking at him with happiness and hoping to get notice) and just asking every Caucasian woman.

As for the finding love via talking to someone on the call center, it's not as farfetched as it seemed as I know people who like to flirt and have conversations with the person on the other line, especially to find out if the individuals are actually living in the city that they are saying in the conversation. And also, those who managed to develop nearly daily conversations with the women they talk on the opposite end of the line during a service call. So, to me, this ever happening is not as farfetched as it would seem.

If anything, I was very surprised by the actual employee meetings/workshops on how people in foreign countries are trained to say names correctly and also learning about the cities of customers that they talk to. So, it was good to see a glimpse of how people at call centers in other countries get prepared to talk with those in the US.

Now with many scenes that I did enjoy, what didn't I enjoy about the film?

There are some parts of the storyline that I did have some problems with. There is a scene featuring Granger at his best friend's wedding ceremony and as he gives a speech, he stops and runs off leaving everyone at the wedding ceremony a bit surprised. That was a bit abrupt.

Also, there was something about the final end scene which was enjoyable but one of those things was a wee bit far-fetched but I'll give the director the benefit of the doubt on that one.

And of course, the biggest offender for me in the film was to see this superimposed digitally of a huge moon that they kept adding in a few scenes in the city skyline that was a bit unrealistic looking.

But the biggest faux pas of the DVD release is that... if you are going to have this unique collaboration between these two film companies from the US and India, can they at least have given the viewer some sort of special feature on DVD? The fact that there are none, no trailers, no interviews, no behind-the-scenes shots, there was nothing. That is my only disappointment.

But for the film, overall, I didn't know what to expect from "The Other End of the Line" and I wasn't sure if this was going to be a low budget Indie film. But by the end, I came away after watching the film and really enjoying it. Jesse Metcalfe did a pretty solid job but Shriya Saran really made this film work. Beautiful and just really delivered for this film and I hope to see her in more films Internationally.

All in all, I really do enjoy romantic comedies and I just felt "The Other End of the Line" was a fun storyline to combine both Hollywood and Bollywood together but just to showcase the beauty of the city. It's one thing to showcase New York and Paris for love but it was great to see San Francisco showcased because it brought this really nice and cool ambiance to the overall film.

I know some people grow tired of cross cultural romance in films and related it to what's popular at the moment but personally, I find it great to see films like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Kite Runner" exposing the other side of life in another country and then bringing some of those cultural elements to the West. So, I'm all for these collaborations between the West and various production companies worldwide.

"The Other End of the Line" is by no means perfect and it has its flaws but this is one romantic comedy that I did enjoy and in the end, I was entertained.

Sometimes it really does just boil down to the appeal of the actors in the thing. THE OTHER END OF THE LINE tends to get bogged down by its share of cliches and contrived situations, but damn if Indian actress Shriya Saran isn't so endearing onscreen that she pulls and tugs and drags the movie into this side of quite watchable. THE OTHER END OF THE LINE happens to be one of those cross-culture romantic comedies which often gets labeled as sweet and cute but predictable, and, with this movie, that's pretty much on point. But, still, check this out for the terrific Shriya Saran and also for her romantic lead Jesse Metcalf, who rocks them Pete Sampras/Carson Daly looks but who thankfully seems to have more charisma than those two champions of bland.

The plot: Granger Woodruff (Jesse Metcalf) is an up-and-coming New York adman who, whilst falling victim to electronic identity theft, ends up making a strong connection with his friendly credit-card tech support operator, Jennifer David. The phone conversations start out as strictly business, yes, but then something clicks between the two and, soon, their chit chats are wandering into the personal. Since Jennifer is based out of San Francisco, and since Granger has to be there for a crucial business meet, it's only natural that a curious Granger asks to see Jennifer in person.

Ah-ha! but then the rub: Jennifer David from Frisco, it turns out, is actually Priya Sethi (Shriya Saran) who flaunts a flawless American accent and toils at a credit card call center in Mumbai, India. So Priya not only is far, far away from Frisco but she's also engaged to be married, in one of those traditional arranged marriage deals. But Priya nurses a restlessness within her, and she longs for one big adventure before she does get married (her fiance, as we come to learn, is dull as the dickens). So Priya Sethi a.k.a. Jennifer David agrees to a date with Granger and off she flies to San Francisco, her heart a-burstin' and hope, this starry gleam in her eyes.

Absolutely, you've seen plenty of romantic comedies like THE OTHER END OF THE LINE before. But, then again, you don't watch stuff like this for its originality as much as for its familiar warmth and crazy romance and its just plain "comfort food" sensibilitity. THE OTHER END OF THE LINE also functions as an easy intro to Indian cinema. And, believe me, if you at all enjoyed the exotic elements featured here, then experiencing an actual Indian film (whether Bollywood, Tamil, or Telugu) will blow you away. Indian cinema is awesome and will drown you in vivid colors, splendid costumes, all-out musical numbers, unabashed emotion, and sweeping romances. That last sentence is a shout-out for all the ladies who haven't yet experienced Indian cinema. For the guys, all I'll say is that Indian women are absolute hotties. On the down side, Bollywood and its like tend to also indulge in infantile humor and mawkish melodrama, as well as being really long (an average Indian film runs to around two and a half hours). But, odds are, once you get hooked into Bollywood, you're then a fan for life.

If you're hankering for more romantic East Meets West shenanigans, I recommend Outsourced (also about a call center romance) and Bride and Prejudice (which isn't, but it does showcase the stunning Aishwarya Rai).

Going back to THE OTHER END OF THE LINE, the huge plus, as mentioned, is lead actress Shriya Saran, who turns in a self-assured and very sympathetic performance, as well as exhibiting a pretty convincing American accent. Jesse Metcalf is also good. Larry Miller, mischievous in that deadpan way of his, comes in for a great supporting role, playing the owner of an international chain of posh hotels. One subplot centers on Granger Woodruff and his advertising partner struggling to secure the ad campaign for Larry Miller's hotel chain, and it's a tough road to hoe when the most winning catch phrase they can come up with is "Our mini-bars will get you maxi-drunk."

Two miscues really bother me. First, there's an unconvincing scene at a party in which Priya overhears a conversation between Granger and his inebriated buddy and she instantly assumes the worst. To me, this smacks simply of the writer(s) trying to come up with something, anything to generate tension and to temporarily put the two leads at odds. Which is fine, but please come with something stronger and not so trumped-up and lazy. Then there's a scene near the end in which Granger is in the middle of making a toast at his best friend's wedding when he's clobbered by an epiphany and abruptly takes off. Now, given, the man had just realized that Priya is slipping away from him and so he must take immediate steps blah blah blah... But all I could think of in watching that scene is how he left his best friend hanging and probably very unamused. I think these two moments, more than anything else, undermine what otherwise is an entertaining film. See if you agree.

While I dug all the lovey-dovey courtship going on between Priya and Granger, I found the workplace sequences in India to be pretty compelling stuff and very funny. To add to the Ugly American reputation, there seems to be this disturbing insular behavior which the movie attributes to Americans. Thus, polite overseas workers like those in India not only have to pretend to an American accent but also must attend classes on American pop culture. Else, the American customer may not be so accepting. And, sadly, that's probably a valid thing. It's funny that the most undesirable assignment for these overseas operators is the New Jersey section, with its hordes of rude, profane customers. Basically, all new hires start out in Jersey and must work their way out. Which just goes to show that everyone really does poke fun at Jersey. It figures.

3.5 out of 5 stars for THE OTHER END OF THE LINE.

Intercultural love stories are pretty common nowadays, and they all follow a pretty similar pattern: boy and girl meet; they fall in love; one of them hides a secret about his/her past; the traditional foreign family messes up the relationship by forcing the partner to reveal the secret; then one of them flies around the world and proclaims his/her love.

"On the Other End of the Line" doesn't deviate from the pattern, but does improve upon it. The plot idea involves an interest twist: finding love over a credit card customer service hotline. The movie never gets too silly or unrealistic (there's no sudden revelations that, say, the bride had an affair with the best man or scenes of hundreds of brides chasing a hapless groom). Unlike many romantic comedies, this movie actually has some comedy. Even though we have seen plenty of comedies involving Indian families and such scenes could easily become stale, my wife and I found ourselves laughing out loud at some of the conversation between Shriya Saran (Priya) and her family (for example, her father's view on marriage: "Happiness? Do you think I was happy when I married your mother?").

Indeed, the actors were generally warm, likable, and funny. Shriya Saran never overplayed or overdramatized her character's family and culture problems (as happens often in movies about intercultural love stories). The movie also avoids stereotyping Priya's family as "the traditional Indian family" by allowing the her father a few comedic moments to shine alone without the main characters. Even Jesse Metcalfe (whom I only know from Desperate Housewives) plays his character as a realistic mix of the charming "all-American hunk" and a sensitive young man with real fears. Many love movies have a scene when the characters supposedly have a deep, intimate conversation about their hopes and fears, but these scenes are typically shallow and unconvincing. When Metcalfe's character tells Priya about his fears (namely, failing in his career), I actually sympathized with him and could easily imagine such a conversation taking outside of Hollywood.

Overall, "On the Other End of the Line" is both funny and sweet. It may not be the most exciting movie of the year, but is probably better than most of the romantic comedies out there.

This is the best romantic comedy I've seen. They spend a good amount of time with developing the romance. I would have liked to have seen even more but what they show is great. Priya is hot and Granger has Priya's interest when she looks at his photograph! Things pick up slowly because all of their communication is over the telephone. Discussing details too much would ruin the fun so it's hard to get into details without spoiling things. This is the one to watch.

This was a very interesting movie from a cultural viewpoint and i found it very entertaining.

I just finished watching this movie after having a not-so-great day at work. The movie is exactly what I look for on days like this: It was cute, fun and enjoyable to watch, had a plot that was interesting and although a common theme was still not completely predictable. The movie gives me a new appreciation for Metcalf. He now not only ranks high on looks, but he also moved up in my opinions of his acting ability. The movie was very enjoyable. It was more Hollywood than Bollywood (if you enjoyed Bride and Prejudice - this is a great movie but doesn't have the dancing and singing components of typical Bollywood films). Overall, if you are looking for a movie to escape from your day into another life, this is a great choice for you. It's a great Hollywood/Bollywood mix of a chick-flick romance!

The majority of this film is shot in America, but there are some India influences and the Bollywood cast is good. I almost give it 5 stars.

Most of this movie is fun and an easy watch (only 106 minutes, short). I don't recall any dance/music scenes, which is fine for this movie (a few small similarities to the movie "Outsourced" 2006, which also involves a call center in India). Both the female/male lead Characters are believable.

The few Cameo moments by Larry Miller are great, if you liked him for example in "10 Things I Hate About You" as the Dad (1999) & "Pretty Woman" as schmoozing Salesman (1990).

Not your typical Bollywood Movie with singing and dancing. I like the storyline and the characters. You must see this movie it is very cute and sweet.

Cross Culture Romantic Movie : Love at First Call . T

This is true Love at First Sight ( I will rephrase it --> It is Love at First Call

A romance which blooms in a Call center leading to Marriage.

Some points doesn't seem realistic when compared to ideal life . But overall Well made Movie with great Plot , light romantic moments.

If you enjoy the standard Hollywood formula, this movie is certainly for you. Don't expect any enlightenment on indian culture or the ways of that country. The Hollywood view, presented in this movie, is that most indians are sort of primitive call center operators, whose training is to learn the types of burgers sold in the US... Of course, the standard indian is a "marry-arranged-wife-at-home-cow-worshiper", and the american character is a cute man with a heart, who grows up a bit... Americans are the usual free spirited, but brash and a bit immature types, who provide love to the beautiful rebel foreigner, and in exchange mature a bit.

The only danger about watching this movie is sleeping through it, given the number of cliches and beaten up dialogues. Anyway, this passable romantic comedy shouldn't be taken as a cross cultural movie. A more interesting and fun cross-cultural movie, on a very very similar theme, is Outsourced.

PS: Marriage and Hollywood's view of love are completely overrated. It usually leads to 58% divorce rate, and 95% alcohol drinking rate. Interestingly, indians have a much kinder view of the USA, and their movies typically portray americans as mostly what we present ourselves to be... Maybe it is a vestige of colonization in the mind of that country. Someday, someone will make a movie about the gentries (rich and powerful) in the USA, who still have arranged marriages and mangled fortunes. And funny enough, many of these marriages last much longer than the ones in hollywood...