The "Illegal"
Recently, Vishnu and I watched "Illegal", a 2019 drama film directed by Danish Renzu. This powerful movie tells the story of a young man who comes to the US on a student visa to pursue his dream of becoming a film director. However, his journey is far from easy and the story sheds light on the many struggles he encounters along the way. As I watched the film, I was overwhelmed by a sense of melancholy and gratitude. The melancholy came mostly from my thoughts of my parents, aunts and uncles, in-laws, and other cherished people in my life who had faced similar challenges when they arrived in the United States nearly three decades ago. Although they seldom discuss their experiences, I know that life was incredibly difficult for them back then. Many of my loved ones worked arduous jobs, sometimes multiple jobs simultaneously, just to ensure that there was food on the table. They took on this demanding work despite holding college or graduate-level degrees in India. In their pur