Dr. Cabbie (2014) Review!!

Synopsis – An Indian doctor emigrates to Canada in the hope of starting a new life, but bureaucracy confines him to life as a taxi driver. When he cannot suppress his desire to practice medicine, he begins illegally treating patients from his cab.

My Take – Before you watch this film, you should know it has been produced by Salman Khan (along with others of course) & unlike its unattractive trailers this Indo-Canadian film is actually not bad, especially if you are looking for an easy laugh & an unrealistic plot. The film combines elements of Bollywood & Hollywood films & sends us down swinging with a number of exaggerated plot twists. Written by the lead Vinay Virmani himself, the film takes a rather serious subject — the fact that immigrants bring vital skills to Canada that are cruelly wasted — and milks the issue for its comic possibilities. It does so in a cheeky and charming way and, although it is clunky in places, it mostly works. The story follows Deepak (Vinay Virmani), who immediately upon graduating from medical school in India, packs up his mom (Lillete Dubey) and moves to Toronto to stay with Uncle Vijay (Rizwan Manji) with the expectation of starting a medical practice in the so-called “land of opportunity.”

But due to no experience, ends up becoming a cab driver along with Tony (Kunal Nayyar). Well yes! This film has a predictable plot and showcases all kinds of stereotypes, but at least the film attempted to address the issue in an approachable manner. Think Slumdog Millionaire, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Million Dollar Arm, Hundred Foot Journey and now Dr. Cabbie! The one thing that sets this film apart from the others in the list is its unapologetic portrayal of Toronto as Toronto one of the finest if not the finest cities in the world. It has all the elements of a classic story: the handsome, charming lead who just wants to help people, a beautiful love interest and single mother, a kooky sidekick and an evil villain with political ambitions. The story occasionally faltered (especially with respect to the politician’s storyline and the scenes with him and his father) and it often went for the cheap laughs, but it is done so with such enthusiasm that one couldn’t help but enjoy the ride! The performances are really likeable – the lead Vinay Virmani plays the role of Dr. Deepak with convincing sincerity and charm, while Adrianne Palicki is lovely and is just so gorgeous, even though its kinda weird to see her dancing to Indian songs.

Isabelle Kaif (Katrina Kaif’s sister) has a the least screen time, but has an excellent screen presence & is marvelous to look at. Lillette Dubey reinforces her position as one of the finest actors of our country. Rizwan Manji, Mircea Monroe & Stephen McHattie went mostly over the top. Even though his character is more of side kick, but its hilarious vulgar commentary & over the top performance makes Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) the star of this show!! The film includes some Bollywood-style music sequences with RDB song Dal Makkahni standing out. On the whole despite the multicultural cast, English language & theme director Jean-François Pouliot cant help but give this film a Bollywood cheesiness, nevertheless Dr Cabbie is an ambitious, earnestly written film with a thought provoking, culturally relevant premise which is watchable if you are looking for an easy laugh and an unrealistic plot line.