Green Card Fever
* Feb 06, 2003: Green Card Fever
had proved to be a dud at the BO when it released August 22 in the US,
failing to duplicate Desi's $1 million gross in North America.
USA, Aug. 22, 2003
Green Card Fever was released in 37 theatres in North America on Friday.
"Green Card Fever" valiantly attempts to dramatize the disheartening
Alice-in-Wonderland world that confronts illegal immigrants in the United
States. This includes corrupt immigration lawyers, Immigration and Naturalization
Service bullies and an entire judicial system.
The story of the movie is that the U.S. immigration system is designed
to reward deception and punish candor. Its hero, a young Indian (Vikram
Dasu) who has overstayed his visa, struggles to find anyone within that
system who will truly help him get a green card. Instead, he is exploited
by shady lawyers and opportunistic bosses as he hides out in an underworld
of fellow illegal aliens, living a furtive existence that denies everyone
his humanity.
There is one honest character, an attorney (Deep Katdare) with a Sikh
background. But he is such a tiresome snob that even an eleventh-hour
change of heart fails to redeem him. Meanwhile, a fumbling romance of
sorts develops between our hero and an Indian-American woman (Purva
Bedi).
Rajashekaruni underwrites and overdirects every scene, creating a
host of superficial and shrill characters while asking his actors to
exaggerate every dramatic moment. He also favors extreme close-ups of
his actors, a serious disadvantage when one's director adores hammy
acting. Much of the film is downright amateurish. One actor, masquerading
as a Sikh, wears an awful fake beard and a shoddily tied turban. Technical
credits are rudimentary, and many actors appear to be nonpros.
Click here:
Green
Card Fever