In my own personal experience, most South Asian households seem to define success in terms of superficial attributions and accomplishments. Have you become a doctor, lawyer, or an engineer? How much money do you make? How big is your house? Have you married and had children yet? Are you helping your close relatives in India apply for visas, so they can stay with you? That’s not to say these things don’t come with struggle and hard work. But there has always been this strange, unspoken contract between the parents and the children. I will do what I have to in order to make sure you have the kind of relatively easy childhood that I never had, and in return, you’re have to prove that my investment was worth it.
That might sound harsh and cynical, but it is an experience that many sons and daughters of immigrants, not just of South Asian descent, have to reckon with in some way or another. And because the world is the way it is, not everyone meets the ambitions set by their parents. That is the area where the film Definition Please resides in. It follows Monica Chowdry (Sujata Day), a woman who won the Scripps National Spelling Bee when she was very young, and has gone on to…well, that’s the problem. She’s living with her ailing mother, Jaya (Anna Khaja), in a quiet Pennsylvania town, coasting through life mostly doing tutoring, seemingly afraid to take the step into a dream job in Cleveland.
She spends most of her time either working, helping her mother, sneaking off to the treehouse to paint and smoke weed, or hang out with her best friend, Krista (Lalaine). The film begins in the days leading up to the anniversary of her father’s death, which brings her older brother, Sonny (Ritesh Rajan), in from California so the family can take part in a puja, a memorial service. It soon becomes clear that while the siblings seem to be getting along well, there’s something boiling under the surface, something isn’t quite right, that isn’t being addressed, and is being prevented from coming to the forefront.
It turns out Sonny is dealing with bipolar disorder, and is apparently refusing to seek help and medication. Mental illness is still one of those taboo topics in many Indian households. Perhaps it’s because we don’t like the idea of us having no control over something we can’t see that is creating problems and inconveniences. Perhaps it’s also due to ignorance. I can’t imagine mental illness being a common topic in Indian education (it sure as hell isn’t in America), and as I mentioned in my review for Bulbbuul, a film I otherwise really liked, there’s a weird Bollywood tradition of portraying mental illness in a very simplistic and misguided way that reduces all the complexities of mental illness down to “adult acting like a child.” We see Jaya do her best in trying to comfort Sonny through his episodes, sometimes it helps, other times it does not.
To me, it’s always seemed like one of the hardest thing for an Indian parent to do is to admit that they’re wrong, especially when saying it to their children. Jaya admits that mistakes have been made, and flashbacks show in a tasteful way how abuse was allowed to thrive in the house. While the source of that abuse is gone, the ripple effects have left a lasting impression on the family, especially in the dynamic between Monica and Sonny. They do their best to support one another, especially when guilted into working with each other by Jaya, who is quick to blame them for her diminishing health (boy, I sure know how that feels), but right when it’s time to get real, they get cold feet, leading them to put it off until it reaches a point where it finally can’t be ignored.
This all sounds incredibly heavy, but the film is actually quite funny and enjoyable. The film not only stars Sujata Day, she is also a producer, the writer, and the director, a quadfecta (a real word, by the way, I looked it up) that you would typically see with auteurs like Orson Welles, Clint Eastwood, and Tommy Wiseau. But Sujata’s work feel less like an ego trip, and more like the passion project that it clearly is. She balances the tone well, going from wacky comedy to intense drama, which is nothing new to anyone who grew up watching classic Bollywood movies or Indian soaps, both of which are referenced throughout.
What helps keep the balance is Day’s gentle and empathetic touch. She’s very much in tune with the emotional headspace of all her characters, and she is able to dramatize it very well. One of the more obvious examples of this that I found amusing were these moments where Monica will look at someone, and the whole screen goes blue and she spells out and defines a word that fits what she sees. In a film that keeps overtly stylistic elements to a minimum, it’s a wonderful touch. Those grounded aspects also allow her to touch on the everyday realities of many South Asian American households without feeling like it’s trying too hard to be relatable to its audience. There’s a very lived-in quality that allows all the emotional beats to ring true even in situations that stretch the tone in different direction.
Day also makes sure to bring others into the spotlight. Ritesh Rajan is practically a co-lead, and he’s absolutely terrific here. Not only does he have a natural dynamic with Day, but in moments where he has to go for these emotional high notes, he’s like a bomb just waiting to explode. You can see numerous feelings and ideas through his eyes, and the way he oppresses the space around him. It’s so impressive, he nearly steals the whole thing right from under Day. Anna Khajais a total delight, bringing a different kind of Indian mother that we don’t see too often on screen. One that is more open minded and fun, even if she still hates hearing her children curse around the house. Sonal Shah makes a really strong impression as Jaya’s friend and doctor with only a handful of comedic scenes. Other smaller supporting players like Jake Choi, Lalaine, and Parvesh Cheena each get a moment to shine, adding to the lighthearted mood and grounded atmosphere of the town.
I think what I admire the most about Definition Please immediately upon watching it is the confidence, the confidence in its approach to the material, the confidence in the filmmaking, and the confidence that it can present Indian traditions and references without a ton of context, and still be sure that it can connect with an audience regardless of where they come from. Is it flawless? No. A reveal in the third act feels like it comes and goes despite it theoretically being a really big deal. And there’s some occasionally clunky expository dialogue to establish characters and relationships. However, these are ultimately minor gripes. The experience it provides is one that is deeply felt, and earnest in its exploration of flawed and messy yet achingly human characters. Since it’s an otherwise modest little directorial debut about a person dealing with arrested development, which is arguably a bit too plentiful in the American indie scene, it may not be considered to be the kind of big declaration of a new cinematic voice as I think it deserves, but at the very least, it makes a strong case for Sujata Day as filmmaker that is worth supporting not just because we could use more desi filmmakers out here, especially women, but given the film’s independent spirit and homegrown style, it seems like she’ll make space for herself in Hollywood whether you’re ready for her or not.
Definition Please is now out on Netflix.