6. Hyderabad Blues (1998)

Language: English /Telugu/Hindi

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Starring: Nagesh Kukunoor, Rajshri Nair, Vikram Inamdar

Shot in 17 days this micro-mini budget film made by a chemical engineer-turned Indian filmmaker resident in the US allegedly holds the record as the most successful English language film ever in terms of its investment to returns ratio. It documents the vicissitudes of a young non-resident Indian professional returning to India after a long absence in the US and getting enmeshed in the usual imbroglio of having to refuse a long list of probable brides totted up by his loving parents plus having to weather the culture shock of India itself. The film's success lay in its skilful and witty rendering of stereotypes through dialogue bordering on the slang rife amongst young students training for the professions in Indian and abroad. The situations are edited crisply and the performances from a fresh unknown cast are charming enough to hold the film together. Many films about Diaspora South Asian students and their matchmaking woes have followed.