American Chai opens with a burst of sitar noodling, gradually giving way to the rap-rock stylings of its assimilated Indian-American hero. In the process, the film immediately establishes a tone of glaring obviousness from which it seldom strays. An almost perversely straightforward comedy-drama, notable only for its status as one of the first American films to explore Indian-American issues, American Chai stars Aalok Mehta as the conflicted collegiate son of traditional Indian parents. An aspiring musician, Mehta longs to pursue music full-time, but his parents insist that he take up medicine, settle down with a nice Indian girl, and otherwise follow in their footsteps. As a result, Mehta chooses to conceal much of his life from his parents, particularly his relationship with a white groupie girlfriend who's so vacuous and shallow that it comes as no surprise when she dumps Mehta immediately after he's kicked out of his band. But he finds a far more suitable love interest in Sheetal Sheth, an Indian-American dancer whose beauty and hypnotic movements quickly mend his broken heart. Looming in the background: a mammoth battle of the bands that, for the sake of narrative convenience, is scheduled directly after graduation, and pits Mehta's old band against his new, more fusion-friendly outfit. Like a middling garage-rock band, American Chai attempts to compensate for its lack of talent and vision with energy and affability. While its intentions are honorable, its grasp on storytelling, comedy, romance, and filmmaking is remedial at best. Early on, shots of parents stiffly discussing the temperance, virtue, and studiousness of their children are intercut with shots of the aforementioned kids engaged in various acts of hedonism. Unfortunately, that's about as wickedly satirical as the film gets. A movie so tame that even Mehta's stern parents could recommend it, American Chai subscribes to a view of youthful sexual politics that's so wholesome, it would come as little surprise if the lead couple's dates consisted of trips to the malt shop. American Chai's tagline bills it as "a non-traditional blend," but the ethnicity of its leads is the only novel aspect of an otherwise bland exercise.