Touch of Pink

Films are changing with the changing society in which we live. As films try to adapt into the growing world, we find ourselves trying to find the films that do not sugarcoat the truth or deface a positive change. I have seen several films lately that just put the positive changes in our society in a negative light. Thankfully, Touch of Pink is not one of those films. It is an imaginative film that takes the glamour of Hollywood love (through the character of Cary Grant) and combines it with an ever-changing world. While I will admit the Canadian/Muslim depiction in this film is a bit Eurocentric and at times glossy, it is only due to the fact that director Ian Iqbal Rashid has a cornucopia of information on such a small plate. Add to this a mixed bag of chemistry between our two lovers, Alim and Giles, and some definite need for more rehearsals, you may loose sight of one of the greatest assets to this film, the one, the only, Kyle MacLachlan.

The story is simple. Muslim man who happens to be gay tries to tell his mother of his lifestyle to see if it would bring them closer together. It is similar to nearly every other gay film out there that has the underlying theme of family. The story is nothing to write home about, in fact, if this story never went out of the box, I don't think I would be speaking so highly of it, but the genuine greatness of this film is the magical element of Cary Grant. MacLachlan supercedes himself by taking this role and transforming it into quite possibly the best character of the film. His quick tongue and wit really define him as both an actor as well as the best element for this film. He embodies Grant so well that if anyone were to do a biopic on Grant, I think MacLachlan would be the best for the role. His interaction with Alim gives us that invisible/imaginary friend relationship that only those that had similar friends growing up would understand. Created from a lack of father figure and many films, Grant helps Alim go through life's hurdles. He is Alim's security blanket against life. Together, these two work very well together. In fact, they work so well together that I continually waited for more scenes between them or involving them. MacLachlan's involvement in this project propelled Touch of Pink from average love story to something a bit more spectacular.

I wish I could compliment the connection between Alim and the rest of the cast. Sadly, the chemistry between Alim and his boyfriend Giles was horrible. I never once believed that they were in love or a couple. There seemed to be some conflicting emotions ravishing between them and a bit of arrogance that just didn't settle well for the "love" scenes. I don't know if it was the acting of these two actors or the fact that perhaps they were just not comfortable with each other. Either way, they were not able to translate their love through the screen very well at all. The same goes for Alim's interaction with his mother. I just never saw the struggle that the two of them needed to demonstrate. They jumped to easily from one emotion to another, never really allowing us to feel the tension or love between them. This leads me to think that perhaps the casting of Jimi Mistry was the wrong choice. He just didn't seem to fit with anyone in this film except Grant. Was he only supposed to connect to Grant because he was his imaginary friend, a creation of Alim's mind? I don't know, all I do know is that the actors interacting with each other was like water and oil instead of water and water. The mixture didn't seem to gel.

Finally, I think what the story lacked (and I hinted upon this earlier in the review) was the strong culture that Alim was fighting against. I felt too much time was spent in London, where his gay lifestyle is a bit more accepted, than in the Muslim culture where he would have to fight for acceptance. I wanted, in fact, I needed to see more interactions with Alim's family than what was allotted. There was also a confusing element thrown into the end that just should have been left out. It did not progress the story, only build confusion and unbalance in the overall scheme of things. The culture element is what I was hoping for in this film. I wanted to see a Muslim love story with imagination and creativity that broke social boundaries and I kind of did, but it wasn't bold enough. That is my biggest problem with this film. I felt that hidden somewhere between Jimi's troublesome acting and Ian Iqbal Rashid's choppy direction there was a strong message that wanted to be said about homosexuality in the Muslim culture, but it never came forward. It was almost as if there was a "scared" factor built somewhere in this film.

Overall, this was a decent film. There could have been a stronger message about Muslim homosexuality and family values, but it was countered well with Kyle MacLachlan's stunning portrayal of Cary Grant. It was his character's element that really impressed me about this film. Perhaps stronger editing or direction would have strengthened the story, but I had MacLachlan, and that was joy enough. I would suggest this film for couples looking for a date film or anyone interested in gay cinema, but for me there was just this tugging sensation that this film could have gone further, deeper into the "rabbit hole" so to speak, but chose to play it safe.

Grade: *** out of *****

I just got through viewing this movie and now intend to buy it. It's worth every penny of the price.

The movie takes place in London where Alim, his boyfriend Giles, and Alim's imaginary friend and confidant Cary Grant are living happily in their cozy little flat. That is until Alim's mother decides to pay a visit from Canada to find out when her son is going to find a nice girl and settle down. That's when his loving relationship with Giles become's strained and things take a turn for the worst.

I simply loved this movie. I thought Jimi Mistry as Alim and Suleka Mathew as Nuru played their roles to perfection.


The chemistry between Jimi Mistry and Kristen Holden-Reid was wonderful. This made their relationship on screen totally believable.


The kissing scenes between the men were passionate and beautiful. Those scenes alone are worth the price of the DVD.


I hope to see more from these actors, especially Jimi Mistry, whose face is just so beautiful. It's a blessing to look at him for two hours on screen.


I also hope a soundtrack from this movie is forthcoming soon. The music was total class.

A very slow moving script, misdirected direction, and a sappy, and do I mean sappy ending really throw this film a curveball. I enjoyed these characters, especially the real relationship between a gay Muslim man and his mother. I didn't care much for his boyfriend, he was manipulative and a cheater. Frankly our hero could have done better, and derserved better. The ending was a little too tidy for me. These were complex characters in a complex situation. The really stupid part of the film is the imaginary friend/spirit guide in the guise of the ghost of Cary Grant. This part was very distracting, and was used to lighten the mood. For the collector this movie has very little importance nor entertainment. Watch "Torch Song Trilogy" again. It'll have more suprises and laughs even on the third go around. A real disapointment.

Ian Iqbal Rashid is a sensitive director who is bringing the two poles of Indian Bollywood and Indie 'Hollywood' closer together. In TOUCH OF PINK he has taken the best of both and created a tender, charming, warmly funny tale of the struggle of a Pakistani young cameraman Alim (Jimi Mistry) in coming to grips with his sexuality. Yes, the story has been done many times, but rarely with the genuine tenderness Rashid has found.

Alim, a transplanted Pakistani youth born in Kenya, raised in Toronto, Canada and living in London, has a guardian angel in the form of Cary Grant (Kyle MacLachlan) who has replaced his father he never knew and who is his constant companion in his flat in London - giving advice Alim wants to hear while acting as a curtain to shield Alim from the more difficult facts of his being an openly gay male. Alim is in love with Giles (Kristen Holden-Ried) and they live a happy life together - until Alim's mother Nuru (Suleka Mathew) comes to pay them a visit.

Nuru has lived alone since her husband's death, always longing for a fantasy life of fleeing the restrictions of Indian culture to become a star like Doris Day. Her life is one of frustration and her hopes for something better seem to rest on her only son Alim's getting married so that Nuru can compete with her sister currently planning an extravagant wedding for her own son Khaled.

Once in London, Nuru finds Alim cold, living with a British man, and finds her hopes for a possible wedding quashed. Giles takes the reluctant Nuru for a shopping and dancing day and wins her heart. But when Nuru finally discovers Alim's secret, she leaves London, hurt, sad, and despondent. Giles is angry with Alim's harsh handling of their relationship and leaves Alim to the sole companionship of his Cary Grant. Through a series of discoveries and introspection Alim flies to Toronto to the wedding of his cousin, to appease Nuru, and there Pandora's Box opens resulting is a series of surprises that bring the actions to resolution. Though many will have seen the end coming, for those who have not seen the movie, telling the plot ending would be a sad disservice!

The dialogue is smart, the use of the Cary Grant guardian angel is excellent (especially given the fine performance by Kyle MacLachlan), and the characters as portrayed by this talented and attractive cast are indeed loveable. This is a feel-good movie, a fine statement about being true to one's self, and a healthy look at gay relationships that are not either 1) candy coated or 2) sadistic or doomed. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 2005

Why imitate a movie if you are going to do a worse job of it? "Touch of Pink" is nothing but "Wedding Banquet" and "Bend It Like Beckham" mixed together and made worse. The Cary Grant character is just filler for a vacuous film. Don't be fooled: this is just as Eurocentric as it can be. Just because a man of color is on the cover doesn't mean that people of color aren't thrust to the margins. In this film, the white lover's body is seen in stages of undress and with other partners. We never get to see much of the Indian man's body. He is chaste while his lover gets to taste the smorgasbord. This film and "Chutney Popcorn" can battle for the worst, sell-outish movies of all time. Don't get me started on how vexed I was that I spent money to see this waste of film. When awesome movies like "Khush" and "Fire" exist, don't waste your time on lightweight fodder like this.