Rekha has had writers block ever since she graduated from college…two years ago. She works a series of mind-numbing jobs in the increasingly futile effort to pay her bills, parties with her friends every weekend, and uses her absentee parents as an excuse for not moving forward in life. Her short temper constantly gets her into trouble, and her frustration over her stagnant life is slowly coming to a head.
When Rekha overhears surprising news about her newly surfaced, suddenly rich father, she decides it’s time to confront him and make him pay (in large bills) for all the trouble he’s caused her over the years since he left. Rekha convinces her best friend, Omar, to take her on a road trip to find her father. Along the way, they rekindle a messy romance, and when Rekha finally sees her father for who he is, she must decide whether to stayed mired in her quarterlife crisis, or if it’s time to finally grow up.
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We’ve seen the movies about arranged marriages, dramatic weddings, spicy cooking, and mystical mango trees. We’ve seen the Indian-American identity crises, the call centers, and the repressive parents. South Asians in the media are often exotified, mocked with overwrought accents, or cast as geeks or terrorists – but the good news is that these perceptions are starting to change, and Troublemaker is part of that change.
Troublemaker is a universal coming-of-age story that happens to have a South Asian-American protagonist. It’s relatable to anyone who has ever been in dire economic straits, or been desperate to find a viable career path, and it also speaks to anyone struggling with the task of growing gracefully into adulthood while trying to come to terms with a dysfunctional past. It appeals, and applies, to a varied and diverse audience in an increasingly diverse world. The judgment of others, the depth of alienation, and the inability to cope with abandonment are all universally relatable themes, and we see this story through the lens of our protagonist’s distinctive, irresponsible, selfish, and ultimately compelling personality.
Troublemaker is a film that hasn’t been made before, and it tells a gritty, realistic story full of heart, humor, and hope. It doesn’t pull punches, and its raw sensibility is what makes it a unique experience in a progressively more savvy and diverse global marketplace.