AllMovie

Screenwriter Meera Syal and writer/director Gurinder Chadha juggle characters and cultures with low-key self-assurance in this winning ensemble comedy-drama. The duo's script verges on the schematic as it charts the challenges faced by Indian women in the West Midlands of England. Yet its well-drawn characters and easy humor stave off the threat of multicultural cliché. Focusing as much on the conflicts among its cadre of Indian protagonists as it does on their relationship to men and to multi-ethnic England, the script uncovers territory that hasn't been explored much on film. Yet a strong grasp of storytelling fundamentals lends the picture universal appeal. In fact, Bhaji on the Beach is closer in spirit to Enchanted April's comedy-of-manners sisterhood than it is to a fiery Spike Lee polemic. Kim Vithana, Sarita Khajuria, and Shaheen Khan are compelling as the trio of young women who seek to balance Western independence with their cultural heritage. Khan, in particular, holds the picture together with her ability to deliver slyly comic, pompous feminist rhetoric with a wry grin on her face and a leather jacket on her back. Yet the film's generous heart rests with Lalita Ahmed, who brings equal measures of befuddlement and melancholy to the role of Asha, the shopkeeper whose regrets take physical form. The inventive fantasy sequences that play out Asha's visions give Chadha the chance to strut her considerable filmmaking chops; elsewhere, she demonstrates the equally important ability to keep a wide-ranging story not only coherent, but enjoyably nuanced. If the melodramatic conclusion seems to have wandered in from another, less easygoing movie, well, the entertaining, thoughtful, and thought-provoking buildup more than compensates for any such flaws.