Southall and the rather predictable predicaments

Mona

AS the title rightfully gives away, ‘Munda Southall Da’ is a Punjabi comedy set on foreign shores. The film opens with a shot of a young boy, Daler (Shane Grover), bullied by classmates on school grounds. Being raised by a single mum and his maternal grandfather, the little one wants to know all about his missing father.

The first half of the film is in flashback. It charts the love story of Raavi (Tanu Grewal) and Arjun (Armaan Bedil). She lives in London and he in Southall. They meet at a party and fall in love with each other’s fierce nature. As their friendship/relationship grows, it’s time for Raavi to fulfil her duty as a daughter; and her father to be a responsible brother to ensure that his nephew gets a visa to England. The plan is to do ‘vatta satta’, two fake marriages — Raavi to marry a boy and bring him to England and her cousin to marry a girl with valid England papers. Things go downhill as Raavi is caught in the web of lies, and a heartbroken Arjun meanders along. Raavi’s son, Daler, drives the second half, hoping to bring his mum’s happiness back and get himself a dad.

A predictable storyline, ‘Munda Southall Da’ is the debut film for Armaan Bedil. His co-star Tanu Grewal has a few films, including ‘Yaar Mera Titliaan Warga’ to her credit. The two give passable performances. They are, however, supported by an able cast: Pakistani actor Iftikhar Thakur and Gurpreet Bhangu. While Bhangu as Banto Tai impresses in her short cameo, the gifted Iftikhar is rather wasted in an exaggerated role.

The film has five songs even before the interval, two follow in the second half. Credit it to Canadian film director Sukh Sanghera, who has numerous music videos in his list. Among the songs, only foot-tapping ‘Jaago’ is somewhat fun. Little less than two hours, many of the scenes are repeated, making the film feel like a drag. While the film packs in a lot — immigrant issues, ‘shareeke di majboori’ that follows Punjabis to their acquired lands, single parenthood — it remains a superficial, passable fare.