Lions of Punjab Presents

This hybrid language song contest film will leave you feeling fine with its sharp comedy and soulful singing. The twist about Lions of Punjab Presents is that it's also a parody of Bollywood conventions, yet in English, obviously made by Indians but set in New Jersey.
A sleazy pork magnate runs the Devi Idol song competition and before the credits roll (the film runs less than 90-minutes) the hopes and desires, and in some cases the rotten manipulation of same, of seven contest singers materializes before your eyes. Lions of Punjab starts at 100 miles an hour, introducing characters as fast as you breath, but it's apparent they're all involved with Devi Idol.
There's a 17 year-old ingenue whose family wears matching shirts; 2 rappers who're caught between African and Sikh culture but not really a part of either; a self-proclaimed humanitarian who describes herself as "more Buddha than Buddha;" an older gentleman with what would be a common name in India, Saddam Hussein, whose Long Island position with a security company was downsized after 9/11; another older dude whose job was outsourced to India; an aspiring actress who pretends to speak and read Hindi, which leads to predictable embarrassment; and naturally the group's one Anglo, a Jewish dude, who's studied classical singing, knows ragas and dates a babe from Mumbai.
The fix is on though and the singers will have to use their imagination to overcome the rigged jury. Lions of Punjab Presents works like classic Hollywood with its structure: we introduce the characters, we pick out the good guys and the bad guys, there's a rousing speech, the kind that every actor dreams of delivering and in the end good triumphs over evil, because it's nicer. Lions of Punjab Presents is currently unwinding in an exclusive engagement at the Angelika downtown, and it would behoove you to catch this modest sleeper before it leaves.