Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : May, 2012
Time : 124 minutes
Director: John Madden; Writer : Ol Parker, based on Deborah Moggach’s novel ‘These Foolish Things’; Music : Thomas Newman
Starring : Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Tena Desae, Lilette Dubey, Diana Hardcastle, Seema Azmi

Judi Dench, a recent widow, gets her wake up call while talking to a call centre worker from India. Tom Wilkinson, a high court judge, gets his while listening to a colleague’s retirement speech. Bill Nighy and his wife, Penelope Wilton, get theirs while looking at a small flat meant for seniors. And for the racist Maggie, she is left with no choice, given her medical condition and the long waiting list in the National Health Service. Soon, somehow, seven of them (including Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie) unconnected, disparate senior Brits, find themselves making their way to India to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in Jaipur, India. Run by the harried Dev Patel, for whom, making the hotel run is the only way he can marry his sweetheart, Tena Desae and overcome the objections of her brother and his own dominating mom, Lillete.

All of them take to India, the hotel, life and its imperfections differently and I guess there is a lesson in that, especially relatable for those who’ve shifted amongst different cultures. Each character has their own personality, motivations, own past, own way of tackling things and that comes through nicely, as does the humour in the inherent situation. It’s a slightly condescending look at India, but only slightly. There is a genuine attempt to immerse the characters into their new environment and this makes for interesting viewing, including how some cling on to their past while others move on without missing a beat. Its a nice, bitter-sweet film, moves at a languid pace but is packed with good performances and relatable character sketches.