The Other End of the Line (2008)

37% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(1,935 ratings)

Jesse Metcalfe, Shriya Saran, and Anupam Kher star in director James Dodson's lightweight romantic comedy concerning an employee at an Indian call center who travels to San Francisco to be with the man she has fallen in love with over the telephone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: James Dodson
Written By: Tracey Jackson
Genres: Romance

In Theaters: Oct 31, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Mar 31, 2009
Studio: Blue Sky Media

Critic Reviews

John Anderson, Variety
A winning Stateside debut for beautiful Indian actress Shriya Saran.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
The Other End of the Line ends up being a five-minute ad for buyer's insurance instead of an interminable interracial, international, intercultural romantic comedy.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
The movie is like a glass of Sprite that has been left on the counter too long: transparent, sweet and flat.
Jason Anderson, Toronto Star
A feather-light romantic comedy that's laborious when it ought to be effervescent; The Other End of the Line is the latest exchange in an awkward conversation between two film industries.
Bob Mondello, NPR.org
It's not fair to ask that a romantic comedy be entirely realistic — but some level of plausibility would make the jokes go down easier, as would a touch of delicacy in the writing.
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
A charming old-fashioned romantic comedy transposed to today's global dating world.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
This example of the cross-cultural romance makes the genre seem hopelessly exhausted.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
...contrivances to the point of absurdity...
Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine
At its simplest level, this is a sweet, if forgettable trifle starring two healthy, bright-eyed young lovers who look great on each other's arm.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Superior to a lot of the bigger-budgeted, starrier-cast romantic comedies that come out of Hollywood...but too lightweight and rough around the edges to amount to anything more than a harmless time-waster.
John Hazelton, Screen International
The film settles into a pattern of predictable romance interspersed, thanks to the antics of Priya's relations, with broad family farce.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
The Other End of the Line isn't always convincing on the romance front. As a comedy about culture clash, however, The Other End of the Line works nicely.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
By the time the filmmakers have set up all the story lines that will blend for a very long third act, the predictability factor has become all but unbearable.
Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
... a buffet of romantic comedy comfort food: the good old American standbys complemented by bland international dishes.
Tim Grierson, L.A. Weekly
At a time when our global standing is sinking like a stone, it's comforting to know that, at least on the big screen, we can still land the babes no matter how obnoxious we are.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

Sweet movie, something a bit different in a romantic comedy. Not overly convincing, I guess, but so nice that I was able to overlook it. Story is that Priya works in call centre in India for an American bank. To avoid getting abused, the staff there pretend to be American and… More
Sweet movie, something a bit different in a romantic comedy. Not overly convincing, I guess, but so nice that I was able to overlook it. Story is that Priya works in call centre in India for an American bank. To avoid getting abused, the staff there pretend to be American and that's how she starts talking to Granger, after he has had some fraud on his credit card. In all honesty, Granger is pretty shallow and seems to be a womaniser, so that part didn't really work for me, as I didn't see what beautiful, smart Priya would see in him, really. Pretending to be an American called Jennifer, Granger becomes attracted to her too and asks if they can meet. The obstacle here is, not only is Priya in India, but she is also due to have an arranged marriage. I liked this enough to suspend my disbelief at the whole situation. Sweet.
Dannielle A

How cute! A feel-good, funny love story.
Deb S

Priya Sethi (Shriya Saran) works in a call centre in Mumbai India belonging to CitiOne Bank as a tech support phone operator putting on a perfect American accent as her alter ego, Jessica David. However her daily night shift (to be on the same time zone as the USA) gets frowned upon… More
Priya Sethi (Shriya Saran) works in a call centre in Mumbai India belonging to CitiOne Bank as a tech support phone operator putting on a perfect American accent as her alter ego, Jessica David. However her daily night shift (to be on the same time zone as the USA) gets frowned upon by her conservative family (Anupam Kher as Dad and Sushmita Mukherjee as Mum) even though she is earning good money. She strikes up a friendship with one of her customers, Granger (Jesse Metcalf of Desperate Housewives) who was a victim of credit card fraud and the two make a date with Priya pretending to be in San Francisco even though she is actually in India and engaged to the very nice Vickram. Being her dreamer, she decides to go, but under the disguise of her real self, Priya pretending to Granger that the girl he has just met by accident is just a random Indian girl on holiday and not the very girl he has been speaking to on the phone. A very sweet movie portrayed from Indian angle, that interracial couples will enjoy.It's kind of like Bend It Like Beckham, without the sports, and with an even cuter guy. I enjoyed watching this one despite its flaws (Can Indian citizens get a visa to the USA so quickly and why did he not finish his speech at his best friend's wedding?)
Sylvester K

Too predictable, terrible acting from Priya's family. Jesse and Shriya didn't make a good couple at all. It's unbelievable (And racist)
d j

Jesse Metcalfe is so hot! Couldn't help it - had to lead with that comment! Yes, it's a chickflick. Yes, it's pretty predictable and has all the rom-com cliches, but that's what makes it such a feel good film. If you're in the mood for some light-hearted… More
Jesse Metcalfe is so hot! Couldn't help it - had to lead with that comment! Yes, it's a chickflick. Yes, it's pretty predictable and has all the rom-com cliches, but that's what makes it such a feel good film. If you're in the mood for some light-hearted romance, this is definitely the movie to watch. So get that cuppa, and get comfortable and enjoy!
Donna D

Movie was adorable and sweet. ;) Loved the characters in this endearing romantic comedy. :)
Leo L

Here's an interesting movie with an intriguing story plot that centralizes around Priya. She work as an operator at a credit card company, and assumes the identity of an American. Granger is an up-and-rising advertising salesman whose identity is stolen and all sorts of charges… More
Here's an interesting movie with an intriguing story plot that centralizes around Priya. She work as an operator at a credit card company, and assumes the identity of an American. Granger is an up-and-rising advertising salesman whose identity is stolen and all sorts of charges appear on his credit card. As Priya is trying to resolve the issue, she and Granger vastly become friends and they decide to meet in San Francisco where Priya claims that she is located at. As they decide to meet, Priya believes this is her true love even if she is already engaged to another. Priya then decides to travel to America to meet Granger, and this hasty decision leaves her family in turmoil. Great cast- Shriya Saran, Jesse Metcalfe, Anupam Kher, and Larry Miller. Worth seeing!
Daisy M

A beautiful credit card phone operator works in an Indian call center but pretends to be American to her callers. Soon she travels to the United States without telling her family in order to meet a New York man that she's met over the phone. But problems arise when they meet in… More
A beautiful credit card phone operator works in an Indian call center but pretends to be American to her callers. Soon she travels to the United States without telling her family in order to meet a New York man that she's met over the phone. But problems arise when they meet in San Francisco and she decides not to reveal her true identity. <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=2008_the_other_end_of_the_line_0031.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/2008_the_other_end_of_the_line_0031.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> The Other End of the Line is a standard romantic comedy, However, like most east-west films made by Hollywood on Indian culture or aspects of India, it does get romanticized a great deal, and shots of Mumbai looked far too much like it's being lifted from a tourism board promotional video. <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=The20Other20End20of20the20Line81.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/The20Other20End20of20the20Line81.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> As with any romantic movie, the chemistry between the couple is important for it to be believable that they're falling for each other, and in this aspect both Jesse Metcalfe and Shriya are excellent in, looking good on screen as they share plenty of romantic moments the plot had thrown at them.Could have put more romances in, like some more kissing part when they are walking by the beach, more real, but that is the problem when you use Indian actors, they simply don't kiss and also NO nudity in movies, that is what I remarked after seeing several Bollywood movies. It is the conflict with the type of characters they are,(Indians) strong-willed and stubborn toward tradition and culture that the modern generation do not buy into, or just don't buy into spending time with someone they don't believe in. Since it's after Valentine's, this movie is released now for a reason, to have you participate in some love movie with comedy courtesy of a traditional family. Need a movie for a romantic night out? Then The Other End of the Line will satisfy that. Nothing fancy,it may work for you. <a href="http://s420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/?action=view&current=The20Other20End20of20the20Line81.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp286/ladypink_2009/The20Other20End20of20the20Line81.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>