Or in other words, where in hell was the local press? The hunger fast went on for days and days, but it was nearly a full week before the one, single TV reporter on scene managed to get the pronunciation right, so apparently there were no stories explaining that Our Hero, nicknamed for a Hindu god, was attempting the kind of non-violent resistance that Mahatma Gandhi waged so successfully against the British Empire? Hint: Fasting and sitting-in were not the only means he used; Gandhi was also big on protest marches to take his campaign directly to the opposition. Pacificism does not mean passive-ism.
So it's only a story, not something particularly related to the real world-- and not just because the Good Guys win. That said, it is also thoroughly entertaining. For one thing, Ryan Reynolds says was only 14 when they were shooting major segments in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), though his character is supposedly 15 and raised in India (and he was 17 in 1993 when the picture was released. While he spends a surprising amount of time without a shirt, he's still just a kid with improvable teeth and not yet the romantic silver screen success he became later. He could, however, definitely act even then. While young enough to hold a number of difficult yoga postures, Ryan's craft is strong enough that he can sell an Indian accent successfully, and to be convincing alien from being raised in another cultural world entirely.
Actually raised in the Toronto area, which is where the bulk of the story was shot, Reynolds's only previous screenwork was on a Nickelodeon series shot in Florida with fellow Canadian, and later romantic link, Alannis Morisette. Villainous Paul Anka, a former teen idol who does not seem to get mentioned in the cast list on this site, is a fellow countryman. That all gives gives me a good feeling, though none of the non-US factors may interest anyone else.
In the same way, I was thoroughly annoyed by the absence of newspapermen, of any attempt to get publicity for the protest or to whip up support, the lack of outrage from anyone over either the potential destruction of what should be a town landmark built by one of its leading early citizens, or the economic catastrophe for the town and many of its individual citizen investors when the entire megaproject is threatened, along with the loss of profits from the promised flood of international tourists. None of such pesky details and considerations get in the way of this fairly simple-minded story.
And while such a casual connection to the actual world irritated me, probably none of that matters if all you want is some time pleasantly idle on your tension-free way to the guaranteed "feel good" ending. You could do definitely do worse than spend awhile with one of today's most attractive leading men and appreciating the chance to enjoy his work as an unknown starring as the lead in the very first motion picture he ever made.
So it's only a story, not something particularly related to the real world-- and not just because the Good Guys win. That said, it is also thoroughly entertaining. For one thing, Ryan Reynolds says was only 14 when they were shooting major segments in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), though his character is supposedly 15 and raised in India (and he was 17 in 1993 when the picture was released. While he spends a surprising amount of time without a shirt, he's still just a kid with improvable teeth and not yet the romantic silver screen success he became later. He could, however, definitely act even then. While young enough to hold a number of difficult yoga postures, Ryan's craft is strong enough that he can sell an Indian accent successfully, and to be convincing alien from being raised in another cultural world entirely.
Actually raised in the Toronto area, which is where the bulk of the story was shot, Reynolds's only previous screenwork was on a Nickelodeon series shot in Florida with fellow Canadian, and later romantic link, Alannis Morisette. Villainous Paul Anka, a former teen idol who does not seem to get mentioned in the cast list on this site, is a fellow countryman. That all gives gives me a good feeling, though none of the non-US factors may interest anyone else.
In the same way, I was thoroughly annoyed by the absence of newspapermen, of any attempt to get publicity for the protest or to whip up support, the lack of outrage from anyone over either the potential destruction of what should be a town landmark built by one of its leading early citizens, or the economic catastrophe for the town and many of its individual citizen investors when the entire megaproject is threatened, along with the loss of profits from the promised flood of international tourists. None of such pesky details and considerations get in the way of this fairly simple-minded story.
And while such a casual connection to the actual world irritated me, probably none of that matters if all you want is some time pleasantly idle on your tension-free way to the guaranteed "feel good" ending. You could do definitely do worse than spend awhile with one of today's most attractive leading men and appreciating the chance to enjoy his work as an unknown starring as the lead in the very first motion picture he ever made.