Through his journey to India, he realizes that the inner workings of his culture that inevitably lead back to the semi-arranged marriage might not be so terrible. In his family, everyone has the last name Patel.
Patels marry other Patels. It’s not incest, it means they are from the same 50-square mile radius in India. Struck with how overwhelmingly happy the marriages are of his Patel family and friends, Ravi decides to embark on a worldwide search for another American Patel just like him.
(Above): Mom and Dad give a thumbs up.
He enlists the help of his legendary matchmaker mother and his life-advice-spouting father, and can’t seem to shake his documentarian sister who follows him around, inserting unhelpful commentary at every whim. Over the course of a year, Ravi’s parents send him on a whirlwind of dates around the United States via the “Biodating” system, a chain of weddings, online matrimonial websites, and the “Patel Matrimonial Convention.” But there is a twist to this story and the only thing in the way of Ravi finding love ... is his family ... and a little secret.
Witty and brutally honest, this comedy explores the questions with which we all struggle: What is love? How do we find it? And even then, how do we keep it?
With clever use of unique animation and a soulful soundtrack that will have audiences dancing in their seats, Geeta and Ravi, along with their quirky parents keep audiences entertained and glued to the screen. Meet the Patels is a film everyone can relate to regardless of gender, age, or cultural background — after all we have all been there.
(Above): Animated family in airport en route to India.
In addition to the witty comedic nature of the film, the documentary also uses humor to address a timely social issue: In early 2009, directors, sister and brother team, Geeta and Ravi Patel began to explore and document the societal pressures of marriage in their first-generation Indian American family. Through research in India and America, they discovered that their “Indian Issue” was more of an “American Issue” – the majority of Americans with strong cultural and religious roots shared a serious psychological conflict when it came to dating (and marrying) outside of their skin color, culture, religion, and ethnicity.
(Above): Movie Poster
“You know that girl in
Eat, Pray, Love? She goes through a break up, goes on the existential journey to India to get over depression, find out what she really wanted in life?
I was that girl. Except, my family was with me the entire time.”
— Ravi
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