B-Side Community

From the moment you enter Deepti Paul’s world in “Made in India?” you can feel the angst of a young woman who is First Generation America raised by her traditional Indian parents. Now an adult “of marrying age” Deepti is faced with the reality of what life would have been like had she been raised in India, and the archaic practice of Arranged Marriage. As an American it's hard to imagine what it must be like to be forced into an arranged marriage - "Land of the Free" and all, but Deepti Paul draws us a vivid picture of a woman torn between her Culture, her parents wishes and 'The American Dream' of choosing your own spouse based on love. Her inner turmoil is constant throughout this film but is visceral as she decides to go back to India to satisfy not only her parents, but all of her relatives in India - and meet with a man that THEY have picked out for her to marry. It is a true test of a daughters love. Once we all arrive with Deepti in India we are thrust into everyday life in and Indian village; buckets of fly-covered fish for sale on the side of the road, no electricity during a rain storm, dirt roads and a culture that seems as foreign to Deepti as it does to us. As she goes from family member to family member listening to their tales of arranged marriages, we are lead into a world of people who, not knowing any better, feel it’s the only way, and make Deepti and us as viewers feel like WE are the silly ones. There are a few tear jerking moments, but the conversation Deepti has with her Aunt – a woman who admits to never knowing what real love is, is something I’ll never forget. I won’t go into the meeting between Deepti and her “hopeful husband.” But I assure you it delivers a wallop. “Made in India?” is a beautifully shot and haunting tale of two cultures and the clash between Deepti’s two realities. Deepti Paul has made a film that you wont’ forget.