Words by Marcha M. Johnson

We’ve been hearing for a while about a feature film starring the King of Soca Machel Montano and now concrete evidence of Montano’s Bollywood-style silver-screen debut has surfaced on YouTube. A tale of star-crossed lovers attempting to maintain a forbidden love affair during Trinidad’s Carnival season, the film, which has its world premiere at Trinidad’s famed Globe Theatre on Sept. 23 as part of this month’s Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival, is appropriately named Bazodee. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term, Bazodee refers to the inability to think straight, a sense of confusion, or simply a sudden onset of inexplicable stupidity that almost seems out of one’s control. You might have experienced this after engaging in an impromptu and lengthy slumber after a long work day, or, in the case of the movie, in conjunction with a strong dose of tabanca. (For more context, just refer to “Iron Bazodee” , the 2000 road hit from Barbados’ Square One featuring Soca Queen Allison Hinds)

What seems to be a modern-day West Indian mash-up of Romeo and Juliet and Mississippi Masala with a bit of Bollywood (it also stars Bollywood actor Kabir Bedi), Bazodee is directed by Todd Kessler, who just happens to be one of the creative minds behind the Nickelodeon children’s series, Blue’s Clues.

Are Kessler’s directing chops good enough to assist the king of soca with a successful crossover into the world of acting? Only time will tell, but for now check out the trailer below.