Perhaps the real goat fight was the friends we made along the way.

 Chopsticks (2019) is a hard movie to classify.  Is it a comedy that feels like a drama?  A crime story about the importance of being kind to people?  A mockumentary about goat fighting?  An inspirational family drama about safecracking?  Or perhaps it's a simple love story about a girl and her first car.

Nirma Sahastrabuddhe (Mithila Palkar) shares her name with a popular brand of laundry detergent, and she has heard all the jokes.  She'd never complain, though, because she is painfully shy and awkward.  Nirma works as a Mandarin translator, though she isn't happy in her job; all the mean girls in the office get the glamorous assignments, while she's stuck leading groups of Chinese tourists on "reality tours" of Mumbai's slums.  Her parents are overbearing, she doesn't seem to have any friends in the city, and the assertiveness tapes she listens to are not helping, but Nirma does have one thing that makes her happy: a brand new car, bought with her own money.

Or at least she had a car.  She bought the car in the morning, and that same evening, while visiting the temple, she handed the keys to the valet to have it parked.  However, the temple doesn't have valet parking.  Once she realizes what's happened, Nirma goes to the police to report the theft and the police inspector says he'll help, but he doesn't seem very enthusiastic about it.  A friendly thief suggests that she contact a guy named Artist for help, instead.

Artist (Abhay Deol) is a safecracker and occasional con artist, though he enjoys cooking more than anything else.  Most importantly, he knows people, and he's able to use his web of contacts to track down the missing vehicle.  At first is seems that the car has already been stripped for parts, but a picture in the newspaper reveals the truth; the car is in the hands of local crimelord Faiyaz Bhai (Vijay Raaz), who kept the car because his beloved fighting goat Bahubali liked it.  It seems that the only way for Nirma to get her car back is with a crazy scheme, though according to Artist there is always another way . . .

That's the plot, and it's pretty straightforward.  Normally, a Bollywood movie would fill out its running time with subplots, a bit of romance, dance numbers, and maybe Johny Lever mugging for the camera.  Chopsticks doesn't do that.  Instead, the movie takes its time, because the plot is merely a means to an end, an excuse to explore the personalities of its two leads and the friendship that springs up between them.

Nirma's problems run deeper than her name.  She has no confidence, so she's nervous all the time, and the people around her sense that.  Because she's so awkward, she has never had the chance to develop any street smarts at all, which is why she was able to lose her car so easily.  Artist is a much-needed guide, but along the way he helps her to learn how to stand up for herself.

Artist, on the other hand, is very unusual for a Bollywood hero with a shady background.  He's calm, competent and confident, but he's not cocky; he does what he needs to do with a minimum of swagger.  Artist has genuine friends rather than just contacts, and watching Nirma struggle to find her car inspires him to step out of his own comfort zone.  There isn't a hint of romance between the two of them, and that's just fine.  They become friends, and it's more than enough.

In theory, Chopsticks is a comedy, and it's often funny, but everyone takes their situation completely seriously, and it has the rhythms of a drama.  Nirma and Artist travel in some seedy circles, but the movie still feels gentle, and in the end kindness wins the day.  It's also got a different pace than the usual Bollywood fare.  It takes its time, and it doesn't feel bad about it.  It's clearly not a movie for everyone, but if it sounds like it might be for you, than it's worth looking into.