Director: Narendra Nath

Cast: Keerthy Suresh, Jagapathi Babu, Nadhiya

Language: Telugu

Before jumping headlong into the plot, it is interesting that Miss India’s release (on Netflix) coincided with US election day, the conjunction made prominent by how the film’s story revolves around two immigrant entrepreneurs chasing their ‘American dreams’.

Lest the film’s title mislead you, the story has nothing to do with a beauty pageant (beau’tea’ maybe, but more on that later). In fact the title is ironic, and even a little sarcastic, given how the film addresses the issue of ambitious women often left frustrated by the opposite sex refusing to see beyond the beauty of their external façade.

Miss India is the story of Samyuktha, or rather as Samyuktha herself would say, it’s the story of a brand. Early scenes in the film capture her childhood. Youngest of three siblings, and petted by a doting grandparent, she’s bitten by the entrepreneurial bug even before her teenage years (wish I’d had so much clarity in life)!

But as she grows older, realities of the middle-class milieu begin to dawn. Business is forbidden territory here. Graduate, land a decent job, get hitched and secure your future- this is the typical four-point manual every Indian girl from a ‘middle class’ family is expected to strictly adhere to.

Things are even more challenging in Samyuktha’s case. Her father, who’s the family’s main breadwinner, is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Circumstances prompt the family, now headed for all practical purposes by her elder brother, to move to the USA.

Life’s good in America for Samyuktha. Initially bogged down by an equal measure of homesickness and grief (she’d lost her grandpa just before taking off), she reinvents herself, and even gets into a relationship of sorts. But there’s something that’s amiss. She’s not meant for employment. Or a checklisted life. She wants a serious shot at her business idea.

Ever since she’s landed in the US, it’s bugged her that the only hot beverage she’s seen everywhere is coffee. Samyuktha is a tea person, if there ever was one. In her own words, coffee isn’t really her cup of tea! And so ‘Miss India’ is born, America’s first brand of Indian Chai.

But things aren’t easy of course. For starters, she doesn’t find any support at home, where people are obsessed with getting her married off. Business talk is still taboo. Her relationship gets broken off. On the business front, she faces major competition from…a coffee brand, also run by a man of Indian origin (KSK played by Jagapathi Babu). As one investor puts it, she has a 0.001% chance of success!

Miss India is a film that gets a lot of ideas right. To begin with, all the toxic masculinity Samyuktha has to deal with, I wish I could put my foot down and say it was overly exaggerated. But 8 out of 10 women in real life would probably testify otherwise. On the business front, the story outline of how she tastes success first and then gets stabbed in the back by an ally sounds promising, albeit cliched. There is even a cool twist in the end, if a little over the top. Sadly though, the film lacks finesse in its writing and staging of any of these ideas.

For starters, I really didn’t get why every ‘American’ in the film spoke with one weird accent. Budgetary constraints in recruiting extras perhaps, I’m not sure, but a big misstep for a film set in the USA (Nishabdham had a similar issue). Worst of the lot are a bunch of ‘board meeting’ scenes that are borderline comical! Jagapathi Babu’s portrayal of the villain is loony, and at times it’s unclear if he’s playing an entrepreneur or a gangster (the way his cronies announce his achievements in his introduction scene is cringeworthy and hilarious at the same time).

Some credit has to be attributed to Keerthy Suresh for standing tall amidst a narrative that sags like a biscuit dipped in hot tea (not too different from her situation in Penguin). She plays her role with near perfect poise and pitch. I loved the way her father’s character was written too (played by Naresh). What’s initially a serious turn of events, with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, evolves into a cool and genuinely funny running gag about his forgetfulness. In one scene, he gets his wife’s name wrong, and quips back nonchalantly if she’s had it changed after moving to a new country! I really wish we’d seen more of his character. Miss India is a film that had a few such moments, but the serving turned lukewarm too soon.

Overall rating: 2/5