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The Playback Singer (2013) Online

The Playback Singer (2013) Online
Original Title :
The Playback Singer
Genre :
Movie / Comedy / Drama
Year :
2013
Directror :
Suju Vijayan
Cast :
Ross Partridge,Navi Rawat,Piyush Mishra
Writer :
Suju Vijayan
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 31min
Rating :
7.5/10
The Playback Singer (2013) Online

THE PLAYBACK SINGER tells the story of an aimless, would-be, jungle-gym architect who finds his existence disrupted - and his marriage upended - when his prickly, Indian, B-movie playback singer father-in-law comes to visit and overstays his welcome.
Cast overview:
Ross Partridge Ross Partridge - Ray Tomassi
Navi Rawat Navi Rawat - Priya Rao
Piyush Mishra Piyush Mishra - Ashok Rao
Joe Towne Joe Towne - Nathan
Betsy Beutler Betsy Beutler - Jade
Gregory M. Roudebush Gregory M. Roudebush - Janitor
Aseem Tiwari Aseem Tiwari - Ajay
Cristina Kirsner Cristina Kirsner - Jogger
Adam Marcinowski Adam Marcinowski - Managers voice (voice)
Tanya Anticevic Tanya Anticevic - Leona (voice)
Rohan Blum Rohan Blum - Walking Boy #1
Ashok De Boer Ashok De Boer - Walking Boy #2

Winner of the New Visions Award at the 2013 Cinequest Film Festival.


User reviews

EROROHALO

EROROHALO

Greetings again from the darkness. Kickstarter campaigns will not allow every wannabe director to realize their filmmaking dream, but it did allow writer/director/producer Suju Vijayan to make her first feature. The film has deservedly enjoyed some success on the second tier Film Festival route, and it's done so as a pleasant viewing experience without the exaggerations typically seen in the cultural battles of indie productions.

Priya (Navi Rawat from TV's "Numb3rs") and Ray (Ross Partridge) are a happily married couple who seem relatively content with their life in Van Nuys, California. She is an immigration lawyer who takes her job to heart, while he is a former teacher searching for his place in life … currently designing a jungle gym (he dropped out of architecture classes) while juggling the demands of beer drinking and pot smoking. One morning Priya informs Ray that her 20 year estranged father will be staying with them for awhile during his concert tour with other musicians from India.

Ashok (Piyush Mishra) is an obstinate man who proceeds to interrogate the couple on such hot topics as the size of their home, their status as renters, Ray's lack of a job, Priya's fashion and work outside of the home, and of course, the couple's decision not to have kids. The cultural and generational differences are handled in a grounded, believable manner with a tinge of humor as well as insight. Ashok's overblown ego and pride take a direct shot when it's discovered that the concert tour is not what he expected. It's this development that takes the story in an interesting direction … an obvious ending in sight … but interesting still.

Ray and Ashok are forced to spend time together while Priya works, and it's kind of funny to spot their similarities. Ashok's marital and relationship track record illustrates a similar self-centeredness and lack of direction to what we witness with Ray. Soon enough, these two are bonding over wine and the creative nature they share.

The story is familiar enough, and carries the banner for the "he's family" motif. Despite this, the marital strife and family emotions and personality traits are all well written and well performed. Mr. Mishra's work is especially delightful to watch, and Mr. Partridge bears a striking resemblance to Dermot Mulroney, including the corresponding slacker style. The film covers no new material, but does provide an enjoyable look at family life complicated by cultural and generational differences.
Freaky Hook

Freaky Hook

This movie is very well done. From a production value point of view, it should be in the theaters and not just the film fest circuit. It looks beautiful.

While there are some multicultural aspects to the film, its story, theme, and characters are universal. This movie will appeal to everyone.

The great script calls for a particularly amazing acting performance in the role of the visiting father. He has to be abrasive and make us laugh uncomfortably as he assesses his daughter's life and husband. But we also have to like him and identify with him somewhat, or at least understand him. Probably due to some very skilled directing in addition to the actor's skill, I think they were able to pull this off very well. I think some big kudos go to the casting director here, too.

I am looking forward to more movies from these guys!