EVERYBODY SAYS I'M FINE!
Directed & Written by: Rahul Bose.
Produced by: Viveck Vaswani.
Director of Photography: Vikas Sivaraman.
Edited by: Suresh Pai.
Music by: Zakir Hussain.
Released by: Panorama Entertainmnet.
Language: English.
Country of Origin: India. 103 min. Not Rated.
With: Rehaan Engineer, Koel Purie & Rahul Bose.

This 2001 Hindi film consists of strung-together episodes that play like a TV sitcom pilot. Revolving around the eccentric customers of a Bombay hair salon, it relates how salon owner Xen (Rehaan Engineer) - able to read minds since undergoing a childhood trauma - changes their lives. His ability (explained in a torturous expository scene) originated when Xen witnessed his singer parents die in a recording studio accident. The movie's ominous shots of clouds and a couple of gratuitous subplots contribute to a lack of focus, making it feel as if writer/director Rahul Bose combined a bunch of ideas into a single film. Bose also plays Rage, a failed actor and genuinely amusing, albeit similarly distracting character.

This is a shame. With his overarching notion of the damage wreaked by repressed emotions, Bose seems to have tapped into something fruitful, which is evident in how deftly he manages to make the tonal shift at the climax believable, as well as in the impact of its final moments. And Bose has some valid points to express about the effects of a global culture and the caste system. These, however, get lost, as does the development of Xen's character. He is never credibly haunted by demons, and how he uses his power is adjusted to suit the given circumstances. Furthermore, Engineer's portrayal results in Xen coming off as an exotic "other" in a film meant to make the "other" understandable. The supporting cast is more effectively sympathetic than their would-be anchoring force, Xen. Though some of its individual strands are fine, the overall film is not. Reymond Levy
September 1, 2004