It
helps to know Amar Akbar Anthony was
a smash hit 1970s Bollywood film about three brothers separated at birth, raised
as a Hindu, Muslim, and Christian. These lads are
brothers-from-a-different-mother, but if you swap Sikhism for Hinduism, you
still have the same general deal. These three grown boyhood mates will be there
for each other through thick and thin, whether they like it or not in Atul
Makhotra’s Amar Akbar & Tony (trailer here), which releases
today on DVD from Kino Lorber.
Initially,
Amar had the best prospects (he would be the Sikh, so you should be able to
figure out the other two by process of elimination). He had a job offer from a
London law firm and a ring on the finger of his childhood sweetheart Richa, but
it vanishes in a flash. To protect his mates, Amar stabs the unhinged brother
of the cloistered beauty Tony had been trying to steal a conversation with.
At
least Amar’s prison sentence goes by in a flash of on-screen time. Of course,
the community isn’t so embracing of Amar now. It seems like the family mojo has
shifted to Amar’s Uncle, judging from his beautiful but sad-eyed new wife
Meera. Technically, she is now Amar’s aunt, but there is no denying their mutual
attraction. However, Meera’s circumstances are far more complicated than Amar
understands.
Although
AAT is generally classified as a
romantic comedy, the events that transpire are considerably more serious (and
permanent) than standard rom-com fare. Yet, the inclusive friendship the film
is constructed around is quite appealing.
As
Amar, Rez Kempton broods like a champ and displays genuine leading man
presence. He also develops some tragically romantic chemistry with both Karen
David (probably the biggest star in the ensemble thanks to Gallivant and Once Upon a
Time) and Amrita Acharia, as Meera and Richa, respectively. If things won’t
work with one, viewers will definitely want to see him find happiness with the
other. However, both Sam Vincenti and Martin Delaney really turn up the two
extremes of shtick—smarmy ladies’ man confidence in the case of Akbar and
klutzy sad sack loserdom for Tony.
