Phas Gaya Re Obama

Directed by Subhash Kapoor, Phas Gaya Re Obama explores how the recession is impacting the underworld dons. Starring Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Amol Gupte, Sanjay Mishra and Manu Rishi. The film revolves around a US-based NRI and a group of gangsters that operate in western Uttar Pradesh. The director Subhash Kapoor wrote this political satire and I must say he has done a fabulous job. Satire is tough to pull off. A political satire is tougher. Phas Gaya Re Obama manages to do it anyway. If the whole world is reeling under recession, how is the underworld coping with this? How are our politicians dealing with it?Subhash Kapoor wrote and directed "Say Salaam India: Let's Bring the Cup Home" in 2007. You guessed it. It was supposed to coincide with the Cricket World Cup but when the cricket team got ousted, Subhash's movie tanked.  With a name like that, you would think it would, right? This time he has timed his film to coincide with Obama's visit. Udaan, Peepli Live and now Phas Gaya Re Obama - I rate these as the three best films of 2010.Phas Gaya Re Obama (PGRO) traces the journey of Om Shashtri (Rajat Kapoor), an American citizen of Indian origin, who loses all his wealth overnight to the global recession & has to comes to India to sell some ancestral property. He is kidnapped by a 'recession-hit' underworld gang those who think that he is still a millionaire. After all NRIs are supposed to be coming in to India and exclaiming how incredibly "cheap" it is out here.The characters are original. Sanjay Mishra as Bhai Sahab is brilliant. "Mobile mein outgoing nahi, jeep mein petrol nahi." (Trans: Not having fuel in the jeep is like not being able to call someone from your cell). The dialogue is the main attraction of the film. Don't miss gems like - ‘kidnapping karo to ransom nahi milti hai, hafta mangne gaya to log hamse udhaar mangte hain.’ (Trans: If you kidnap someone, you can't recover ransom money. If you go to collect protection money from someone, they ask you instead for a loan.) Kismat mein likhe ho hathaude, to kahan se milenge pakode? Trans: ummm forget it... this one is tough to translate. I found him to be a really versatile actor who can be funny without really trying to.Neha Dhupia as Gangster Munni was a delight. The "phemale version of Gabbar Singh" was an interesting twist of imagination. I will still hold Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983) as the gold standard for political satire in India. This scene from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron is the best:Subhash Kapoor's next film is a satire on the judiciary.  He says, "If you go to a local court in Uttar Pradesh, a judge has to listen to more than 60 cases a day and at times he gets confused about whether the person is accused of cheating or rape, leading to some humorous situations." Can't wait to see it.------------------Read my review of Peepli LiveRead my review of Udaan