Thursday July 16, 2026 | 6:30-8:30pm

At the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

$10 | Register to attend via Humanitix

Celebrate Tenderloin Museum’s 11th Anniversary with a special presentation of West is West, featuring director David Rathod and actor Sumati Patel in conversation with novelist Shruti Swamy. 

Shot on location in the mid 1980s, this jaunty rom-com follows Vikram, a would-be student from Mumbai whose college plans quickly disintegrate, as he lands a room and a job in a Tenderloin SRO and falls in love with plucky, punky artist working at a Market St. cinema. While he finds his footing in work and love, his visa runs low, imperiling his new life in San Francisco. Exploits ensue, making for a highly entertaining, fast-paced romp of a film that also happens to quite realistically portray the milieu of the TL at that time, with its network of Indian run residential hotels and seedy culture of movie-going on the bedraggled Mid-Market strip, as well as the ever-present challenges immigrants face attempting to live and work in America. All this, and a love story!

Originally released in 1987, this overlooked gem of local independent cinema stars Ashutosh Gowariker, who would go on to direct the Oscar-nominated Bollywood smash Lagaan, and was directed by David Rathod, who still lives locally and is an active filmmaker. Rathod will present West Is West in person, after which he and Sumati Patel, an actor in the film, will be in conversation with San Francisco based writer Shruti Swamy. 

This public program falls on the day when, 11 years prior, the Tenderloin Museum opened its doors… join us to celebrate our anniversary!