the darjeeling limited

the premise might seem cliched- three brothers, who are from NY and whose father has just died in a traffic accident, travelling in north india in a train and having zany adventures with the natives. of course, as expected, they argue, fight, brawl over silly things like a pair of outrageous sun glasses owned by their father, a painted leather belt, an old school shaving razor. except for a little stretch towards the end where the story seems to be lost and slows down to almost a stop like their train does, there is never a dull moment- just like india itself which ram guha aptly called the most interesting place on earth. other things can be disputed but not this. something chaotic, wild, unpredictable always happens in india and in this movie too- whether it is a cobra escaping or a quickie in the western style toilet with the sweet-lime bearing stewardess or attendance at a funeral of a boy who drowns, his brothers having been saved or for that matter the cunning artifice of using a short film screened prior to the main feature, introducing the past life of one of the brothers. of course there are quintessentially indian elements- cows on the road, swigging of cough syrups and sleeping pills easily procured at the local pharmacy, tilaks and marigold garlands, gawking natives, rajasthanis in their colourful turbans and beautifully painted and clean houses, quaint signs like 'ticket window' and 'station tempel [sic]'. it does lose steam in the end and it is not exactly clear why they are in india- supposedly to take their mother, who has become a nun in the NE, back to NY. what is clear is that all three of them are trying to escape their past and looking for salvation but are hopelessly attached to their baggage including the funky hand painted brick red suitcases they lug around or rather have porters lugging around everywhere which they finally symbolically get rid off in trying to get on the train.

the music interestingly enough is a pastiche notably using music from satyajit ray's films- jalshagar, apu trilogy.. overall it was enjoyable and probably more so if you have travelled in india and on indian trains.