''The President Is Coming'' is a 2009 Indian

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

film directed by

Kunaal Roy Kapur Kunaal Roy Kapur is an Indian actor, playwright and filmmaker who works in Hindi films and television shows. Early life and background Kunaal comes from a family of mixed Hindu Punjabi and Indian Jewish heritage. His paternal grandfather, Raghu ...

based on his play by the same title which premiered at the Royal Court/Rage Theatre Festival in Mumbai in January 2006. The film, written by Anuvab Pal, marks Kapur's debut as a director and features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

including

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...

as a Bengali writer and a social activist. The film explores a day in the life of six contestants who will stop at nothing as the US President is coming to town. Konkona plays Maya Roy, one of the six contestants who will represent New India in front of the President.

Plot

In 2006,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, President of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, visits India. In addition to the many diplomatic and political things on the agenda is a rather unusual event — a meeting with the young faces responsible for shaping "The New India". The six contestants are Maya Roy, India's best young writer; Ajay Karlekar, India's best young social activist; Archana Kapoor, India's best young entrepreneur; Rohit Seth, call center accent trainer; Kapil Dev Dholakia, India's best young stock investor, and Ramesh S, software engineer. They have to undergo bizarre tests and activities to top the list. In the end only two are left Kapil and Maya. Kapil is caught cheating in the final round and Maya is selected. However, with a bizarre turn of events she is not the one who shakes the hand.

Cast

as Maya Roy *

Shernaz Patel Shernaz Patel is an Indian film and theatre actor, who works in Hindi and English films, most known for her roles in films like ''Black'' (2005) and '' Guzaarish'' (2010) and English language theatre in Mumbai. She made her theatre debut with ' ...

as Samantha Patel *Shivani Tanksale as Ritu Johnson *

Anand Tiwari Anand Tiwari (born 29 May 1983) is an Indian actor, producer, writer and director known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in films like ''Kites'' (2010), '' Udaan'' (2010), ''Aisha'' (2010), and ''Go Goa Gone'' (2013). As a stage act ...

as Kapil Dev *

Namit Das Namit Das (born 10 July 1984) is an Indian film, television, and theatre actor. He has acted in several television commercials. He belongs to a family of musicians and singers; his father is reputed ghazal singer Chandan Dass. His maternal grand ...

as Ramesh S. * Vivek Gomber as Rohit Seth * Satchit Puranik as Ajay Karlekar *

Ira Dubey Ira Dubey is an Indian actress who has appeared on TV, in theatre and in Bollywood films. __TOC__ Biography Dubey was born in Delhi, India, to former senior vice-president of corporate communications in the Tata Group, Ravi Dubey and Lillete ...

as Archana Kapoor * Imran Rasheed as Mohammed Aslam (Security guard) * Manish Acharya *

Faezeh Jalali Faezeh Jalali (born 1980) is an Indian–Iranian actress, director, writer, producer and activist. She is known for ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), '' Shaitan'' (2011) and the play ''Jaal'' (2012). Personal life and education She is a fourth gen ...

as Nun

Soundtrack

Goldspot Goldspot is a New York-based band. Founded by singer/songwriter/producer and television and film composer Siddhartha Khosla, the group has since received critical acclaim for its debut album ''Tally of the Yes Men'' (''Tally''), and second alb ...

did the soundtrack, featuring the songs "Paper Boats", "Under the House", and "Haath Mein Le Lenge". The film's music was written by Siddhartha Khosla.

Reception

Critic

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...

from indiaFM gave the film a 3 out of 5 rating and concluded that it "...offers laughter aplenty and that is its biggest USP. Recommended for the multiplex junta." ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, concluding, "The film has a raw look and lacks finesse when it comes to production values. But there is a delightful tongue-in-cheek tenor running through it, which makes you overlook the unpolished feel and the loose editing."

Rajeev Masand Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...

from

CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...

described it as "... an enjoyable film that pushes the boundaries of conventional storytelling. Don't miss this film or you'll regret it." Adarsh stated, "Director Kunaal Roy Kapur knows what he's talking and for a first-timer, makes a remarkable debut."

Nikhat Kazmi Nikhat Kazmi ( hi, निखत काजमी; 1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast ...

from ''The Times of India'' wrote, "Performance-wise, it's the uptight and complex-ridden Ms. Konkona who walks away with laurels and laughs even as the film takes a healthy snigger at the desi self."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:President Is Coming, The 2009 films English-language Indian films Films about George W. Bush 2000s mockumentary films Indian films based on plays 2009 directorial debut films 2009 comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films