A daily part of too many of our late twenty-something, early thirty-something lives seems to revolve around the question of finding someone, simply to get our parents off our backs. 37 year old Priti Chowdhury, who is a pediatric anesthesiologist in Chicagoland, decided to finance and film a semi-documentary about her search for Mr. Right titled, Finding Preet. From the Philadelphia Inquirer [free registration required]:
At first glance, the dilemma sounds familiar: A successful woman in her late 30s isn’t married, and her well-meaning but old-fashioned mother and father nag her to find a husband.
But two things set this story apart.
The victim in question, Priti Chowdhury, 37, a pediatric anesthesiologist named one of Chicago’s most eligible women, spent a quarter of a million dollars to make a movie about her misadventures in love and dating. (And instead of objecting, her proud South Jersey parents are in it.)
I can already imagine dozens of my female friends looking for advanced tickets to this movie. Hell, with that many girls going, I may as well go too :)
Chowdhury’s film offers madcap moments from her East meets West attempts to find a suitable boy. She signs up for a $10,000 dating service run by a woman named Lana Forsight, M.D. (Master of Dating), while her mother Kanti scouts out suitors on a Web site called IndianNuptuals.com (fictional).
In real life, Chowdhury resisted her parents’ attempts to set her up with an array of “nice Indian boys” and married a blond, blue-eyed, all-American boy instead. They divorced after six months.
“I went by my own instincts and got divorced,” says the South Jersey-raised physician, who suddenly found herself in the position of having it all - except a man. “What do I trust now? Do I trust my own instincts or my parents?”
It seems that she has suffered her share of the usual suspects when it comes to dating:
“Another boy is from a very good family,” her father says.
“He is not a doctor,” her mother interjects, “but both his parents are.”
In another scene, she sits at a computer screen encircled by her mother and aunts, who have zeroed in on an IndianNuptuals.com suitor pictured in traditional Indian clothes.
“Look. Perfect choice. Manoj Chablani is 35 years old and he owns a computer business,” an aunt says.
“Ooooh, C-o-m-p-u-t-e-r-s,” Chowdhury’s brother says in a thick mock-Indian accent.
“Indian people in I.T.,” her mother begins.
“Make a lot of money. I get it,” Priti completes her thought.
Classic. Stills from the movie can be viewed here.
