THE CORNER SHOP (Upinder Raisauda). 94 minutes. Opens Friday (August 19). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: N
The Corner Shop has nothing appealing to sell. The local amateur production deals in cheap jokes and dull stereotypes, with a little Bollywood flavour on the side.
Ajay Athreya stars as Babuji, a paan shop owner who is eager to marry off his daughter Tara (Joanna Webb) to the first Indian doctor who satisfies his caste conditions. Meanwhile, Babuji’s employees, the screeching computer nerd Bunty (Ramy Gawargy) and a Hrithik Roshan-wannabe named Harry (Dan Della Penna, at times recalling a young Michael J. Fox), plot their own get-rich-quick schemes.
With various mobster types aiming to jack Babuji’s safe, the film begins to assume the contours of a Clerks-meets-Snatch heist. However, shoddy editing and camerawork make Kevin Smith’s low-rent debut look slick.
Actors James Byron (as a young mob boss) and Oporajito Bhattacharjee (as a fortune-telling swami) make the most of their over-the-top scenes, but such silliness only stands out because The Corner Shop has nothing more to offer.
RADHEYAN SIMONPILLAI
