Booked tickets online at Bookmyshow.com, I went to see this new British comedy movie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” at Inox Movies. The movie has quite a star cast of British actors – Judi Dench of “M” James Bond Movies fame, Penelope Wilton of Downton Abbey fame, Maggie Smith of Harry Potter films & Downton Abbey fame, Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame & Tom Wilkinson of many fine movies including The Ghost Writer.
The movie is about a group of British retirees coming to India to spend their last years in a (what they believe) luxury heritage hotel in Jaipur. The hotel turns out to be in shambles but the experience of being together and India charms the occupants in interesting ways. I didn’t expect much from the movie. Thought it will be the stereotyped portrayal of India (spiritual, yoga, bumpy roads, chaos, dirty) like in Eat, Pray & Love. But it turned out to be better, yes there were scenes of bumpy roads and traffic, but that’s about it – little of India cliché. Instead, the movie was about the lives of these retirees, not what they left behind but what they are living currently and their future (yes there is a future for them too).
Dev Patel and Tena Desae have both done a fine job playing their roles. If you want to see a clean fun & a comedy movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel won’t disappoint you and it runs in a theatre near you now!
