Phir Bhi Dil Hai Bangistani

While most of the action in Bangistan (2015) takes place in Poland, the film begins in the fictional island nation of Bangistan, a land torn apart by violent conflict between the chilly and Muslim north and the warm and Hindu south and oh my goodness, you guys, I think there may be a hidden meaning here.  The two foremost religious leaders of Bangistan, the Shankaracharya (Shivkumar Subramanium) and the Imam (veteran Bollywood white guy Tom Alter) want to end the fighting, so they plan to make a joint statement at the International Peace Conference in Krakow.

This does not suit ambitious terrorist leader Abbaji (Kimud Mishra), who recruits hapless telemarketer Hafeez (Riteish Deshmukh) to disguise himself as a Hindu extremist and bomb the conference. Corrupt politician Guruji (also Kimud Mishra) is also not pleased, so he recruits struggling actor Praveen (Pulkit Samrat) to disguise himself as a Muslim and, well, bomb the conference.  Both young men are devout and devoted to their respective leaders, so after a pair of religious instruction training montages, they don their respective disguises and make their respective ways to Poland.

Once in Poland, the two coincidentally find themselves staying in the same boarding house, and they slowly become friends while immersing themselves in their assumed expatriate communities.  Of course, they're also preparing the bombs for their respective terror attacks, and both falling for apparently-Christian-but-actually-agnostic-which-is-a-minor-plot-point barmaid Rosie (Jaqueline Fernandez).  So as the appointed hour draws near, both would-be terrorists are feeling very conflicted.

This is not a subtle movie; there is a very definite message, and various characters clearly articulate that message over and over just in case there's someone in the audience who hasn't quite grasped it yet.  However, it's also a good message, and looking at the world today, I think it bears a little repetition.

This is also a really weird movie.  From the fictional island nation to Abbaji's men meeting at a chain restaurant called FcDonalds to the Russian arms dealer/potato farmer to Darth Vader being one of the religious leaders attending the conference, everything is . . . odd.  Bangistan is billed as a black comedy, but it's more surreal than funny.  The movie feels like a fairy tale, or better yet a fable, a feeling which is enhanced by a rich color palette which makes careful use of orange and green.

Bangistan was a box office disaster, making just over eight hundred thousand dollars worldwide, so I am fairly confident that this is one of the many movies that nobody likes but me.  But I do genuinely like it - it's got a timely message and an extra helping of weird.