Mad, Sad and Bad

Mad, Sad & Bad is about a family that pulls no punches: “Crap skin, crap hair, crap body,” a man tells his sister, before trying to seduce his brother’s girlfriend. It’s about a family who are so self-involved that they don’t even notice their mother is trying to kill herself. Meera Syal, Nitin Ganatra and Zubin Varla play the siblings in this gentle if somewhat torpid debut from writer/director Avie Luthra. Exploring the difficult issue of mixed-race relationships, gender inequality and family loyalty Mad, Sad & Bad is at times insightful, when Rashmi (Meera Syal) declares to a stranger that she may not in fact like men and funny, when Atul (Nitin Ganatra) tries to compose a song about cheese. The performances from the three leads are subtle and engaging but the overbearing mother (Leena Dhingra), who spends the whole time chastising her daughter and moaning about being abandoned puts a dampener on an otherwise broadly enjoyable film. [Marjorie Gallagher]