Customer Reviews

Second Generation

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

 

 

There has been a recent deluge of movies that have tried to ride Bollywood's wave of bubble-gum popularity ("Bend it like Beckham", "Bride and Prejudice", etc.). While such movies are enjoyable in their own right, none of them offer any huge revelations about Indian families, and more importantly, never come remotely close to capturing the cultural and emotional complexities of Indian diaspora as does "Second Generation."

This is an insightful film that pulls no punches in portraying the pain, struggles, and strife found in immigrant South Asian families living in the West. Heere (Parminder Nagra) is a Hindu girl engaged to a white man and as a result, is practically ostracized by her family. Despite her best attempts to bring a semblance of normalcy into her life, she finds it impossible without the approval of her father (Om Puri). In addition to playing the daughter to the tragic patriarch, Parminder also appears as his dead wife, by whom he is haunted. Her past (and soon to be renewed) love interest, Sam (Sameer) brings another dimension to the film. He is the rebel Muslim who leads a double-life of clubbing, drinking, and illicit sex unknown to his father (Anupam Kher) and more shockingly, is in love with a Hindu Girl. Heere does eventually find herself and her true love in the end, but only after much emotional trauma and grief.

Parminder plays a more feisty character in this film than she did in "Bend it like Beckham." In her own words (according to a recent interview in the Guardian), she's "more outspoken, edgy and grown-up than Jess, who would never go against her parents." The movie is also definitely star-studded--alongside Parminder are venerable veterans such as Om Puri, Anupam Kher, and Roshan Seth. Granted, there are a few awkward scenes that don't flow too well, but these are minor flaws that are more than just redeemed by the rest of the production. Finally, the film has a fantastic soundtrack with memorable beats by the impressive Nitin Sawhney.

"Second Generation" is touching and poignant, and for those of us who truly are the second generation, it definitely hits close to home.

Shocked to see such a harsh review for this title below. It's enormously enjoyable, and I think some of the points highlighted in the negative review below can be explained by the fact that this drama is based on Shakespeare's King Lear (e.g. the mental father). Nagra and an ensemble cast of Anglo-Indian actors provide support to the storyline very well. It's obvious Ms. Nagra is a star on the rise and here her talents are showcased brilliantly.

As a second generation Cypriot born in London I could very much relate to this programme. Maybe not so much as an Indian person perhaps, but the similarities are there with regards to the oldies set in their ways and wanting to keep traditions and culture going whereas the young want to be free from all of that. I found Parminder Nagra's acting excellent and could really feel for her character and her inner turmoil. Some of the acting was forced but PN turned in a star performance.

Having watched the programme on Channel 4, I was very disappointed to watch the dvd and see that there was no subtitles for whenever any Bengali was spoken. Those parts where important to Heere and Sam's story and also with her mother's. There was actually no subtitles whatsoever - what of the deaf or hard of hearing? Very lazy and that goes to all who produce dvd's without subtitles. So for this reason the dvd automatically loses a star.

Overall, a small insight into Indian life which may not appeal to all but certainly appealed to me.

Even after all this time i remember the potential this had and the way it disappointed. Hopefully something better will be filmed with the same title soon.

The flaws are endless. The story upholds every stereotype and it is actually shocking to find out the director is asian. The director in his own right is very good in "Bradford Riots" which is excellent.

In second generation however, the underlying messeges could not have been better written by a BNP member!

philosophically it is stuck in a dead swamp and does not add anything progressive, distinct or dynamically challenging whatsoever which is ultimately what second generation kids are all about... everywhere, always..in the history of the world.

This is a great film about the turmoils faced by the children of immigrants and a great insight into another culture.

Second Generation is nothing more than a two hour waste of your time filled with over the top stereotypes about evil parents destroying their children's lives, repressed or depressed women, mental fathers, and young adults to hate their roots or are just trying to deny them. These stereotypes and more have already been covered in other horrific movies like ABCD and American Desi.

After her wonderful performance in Bend It, I'm very surprised that Nagra chose to do SG. I thought she had better taste in terms of her filmography, but apparently not. Same goes for Om Puri. He's such an accomplished actor. As I was watching I thought 'why on earth would he choose this?'

This film was so hyped up before it aired in the UK on Channel 4, but it completely tanked in terms of ratings. The reason being that the topics in this drama have already been covered in other Brit-Asian or Indian-American movies. Not to mention the script is poorly written and the performances aren't that good either.

This movie is so bad. It should never have been released in the UK, let alone made it to the US.