"I For India"

"I for India" (England/Italy/Germany) 2005 Dir. Sandhya Suri

I For India is a colourful montage of images. Suri contrasts two very different worlds using footage from videos that her father, Yash, sent his family when he moved from India to England. Yash moved in 1965 to received medical training and found that the best way to communicate with his family was through the medium of film. For years they sent videos back and forth depicting cultural and scenic differences and also documenting social changes in their respective countries. The film also, perhaps without meaning to, reveals what happens to a family when separated for so long. Yash could not be there for the death of his mother or the marriage of his sister, and found himself torn between the need to be with his family in India and his desire to earn a decent living and bring up his daughters in a good environment. The two worlds are so different, one sort of experiences a degree of culture shock just through watching it. There was an intimacy about this film; it really demonstrated how important the people closest to you become when faced with so much that is entirely foreign. I for India is sometimes comical, at others, very moving; it is consistently dynamic and exciting. The film's conclusion sends a message that one must handle change gracefully, and take ownership of one's life.