Griffen Powter

For Here or to Go?

 

For our third field trip we traveled as a class to FunAsia, a Bollywood theatre in Dallas. There was only one movie that was screening in English so we bought our tickets for the film “For Here or to Go?” I will give credit to the Bollywood theatre because they do not ramp up charges for popcorn or candy like normal theatres do usually.  I had four dollars and I ended up with three pieces of candy and a drink. We got situated into our seats, and watched trailers for other Bollywood films as we waited for the movie to start. The film opened up and showed the main character Vivek Pandit who has come over from India on a visa and is working in Silicon Valley. Pandit’s life before India is a little bit hazy but it shows that he had a long term relationship with a girl that he really loved. The movie depicts their memories in a song form of way that appeared frequently in the movie and is very common in Bollywood films. The story follows Vivek’s life and studies the hardship and trials faced by millions of legal immigrants from the flawed government system. Vivek is stuck working at a job that does not appreciate him and is unable to change employment because his visa is about to run out of time. Vivek has two friends in the movie that he meets in very different circumstances. Vivek two friends Amit and Lakshmi are juxtaposed together and play off each other well due to their polar opposite personalities. Amit was friends with Vivek’s previous roomate and starts as a nuisance to Vivek but becomes one of his best friends. Lakshimi is a smart and shy who is a colleague of Vivek comes out of his shell throughout the movie to eventually grow the courage to tell his parents about his sexual identity. Lakshimi is gay, and to his family this is incredibly prohibited. Lakshimi’s role in the movie shows a powerful message of strength and societal changes being accomplished in his ability to overcome his fear and address his parents. Vivek’s life is turned around when he meets a beautiful Indian woman named Shveta. Shveta comes from a very wealthy family and takes an interest into Vivek because he is a change of pace from who she normally has been with. Vivek and Shveta have a brief love story before it is about to be uprooted by his dwindling visa. Shveta’s father ends up taking a liking to Vivek and uses his connections to help Vivek overcome his problems; however, he urges Vivek to consider going back to India and using his skills to help benefit his homeland. The movie flashes forward to the future where Vivek has built a success for himself in India and is being interviewed about his work. I believe Vivek ended up going back to India because he realized the importance and beauty of his country and the people he loved. Vivek shows that success can be accomplished anywhere if the effort is willing to be put in. I was a fan of the movie as a whole, but believed that the ending could have been done a little bit better as they left the fate of Shveta and Vivek a little uncertain.

 

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