Meet the Patels

Alchemy

We all fell in love with Ravi Patel in his turn on Aziz Ansari's critically acclaimed hit "Master of None." Recently he has been a featured player on the show "Grandfathered," and is now getting some needed buzz from this documentary, which he made with his sister Geeta. Geeta follows Ravi’s quest to find the perfect Indian woman to marry, which he does by giving complete control over the entire enterprise to his parents. His parents are emigres from India, and have traditional Hindu values and customs that they want to see included in the next generation of Patels. They pressure their children to get married, especially to another Patel, but really to anyone, and soon.

 Ravi Patel is an affable but misguided first generation American, who found love with the sweet Audrey. They have broken up partly because Ravi wanted someone more traditional and Indian. In letting his parents take over his dating life he is forced to go on a lot of first dates with nice but not spectacular women, in the hopes of settling down. He also uses online dating, uses wedding season in the Indian community to troll for dates, and even goes to a Patel wedding expo where he meets tens to hundreds of women also looking for the perfect Indian man. While Patel seems to have a more liberal and relaxed attitude to the idea, and is willing to be a part of the American melting pot, he is still terrified of his parents' reaction to the idea of Audrey, who he has kept quiet for two years.

 Throughout the film you are rooting for Ravi to find the perfect Indian woman of his dreams, because the picture he paints of a life with a wife who cares about his culture sounds like a fairy tale. At the same time it's obvious that Patel is experiencing bitter denial and has a major hang-up for a girl who already loves him and is willing to accept him as is, but isn't Indian. Patel seems to know this himself as he is again and again attracted to Audrey and they become friends once more. Geeta lends a critical, behind the scenes running commentary, about how silly Ravi is being, but also explains the pressure of being an Indian woman in the same situation. Overall this film is definitely worth checking out, either for the romantic comedy aspect of the narrative, the humor of Ravi and Geeta, or a general education on being Indian in America.