Outsourced 2007

Todd Anderson, Josh Hamilton, a Seattle-based salesman for a novelty-products company, learns his department is outsourced to India and must travel there to train his Indian replacement, Asif Basra Puro. Upon arrival, Todd is frustrated by being called “Mr. Toad” and struggles to make the call-center staff in Gharapuri understand what their American customers expect. He also fears he might never push the Minutes-per-Incident (MPI) below six minutes, which would keep him from returning to the United States.

The trip introduces him to the festival of Holi, a splash of color and a surprising sense of calm that contrasts with his initial impatience. In the call center, the MPI slowly begins to improve, and Todd spots a natural leader in an employee named Asha, Ayesha Dharker. He offers her the job of assisting Puro when Todd eventually leaves, recognizing her talent and potential to lift the team.

Driven to transform the workplace, Todd implements a rewards program and seeks a shipment for the products his team has been selling. Dave, his American boss, initially refuses, but Todd makes a persuasive case that expanding into a market of a billion people could change the company’s trajectory, and Dave agrees to ship the items overnight. Asha soon realizes the shipment has gone to another Gharapuri, an island, and the two set out to retrieve it. Their return journey is perilous: the boat that was to ferry them back catches fire, leaving them with little option but to check into a hotel. There, a heated moment shifts their relationship as Asha accuses Todd of being frivolous with Kali, and the pair briefly give in to passion. When they talk afterward, Asha reveals that she has been engaged to a family friend named Ashok since she was four years old, describing their affair as a temporary “Holiday in Goa”—a short, bittersweet interlude before a marriage arranged for her life ahead. Todd is left confused but accepts the reality of their situation.

With MPI nearing six again, Dave calls to arrange pickup from the railway station. A power outage caused by flooding traps them, yet the workers improvise, setting up their stations on the roof and continuing to work. Dave is impressed—until the news breaks that the business is being moved to China. Todd must inform the employees that they are being fired, while Dave erases all data from the hard disks. Asha confides that she has been writing a novel on her work computer, titled Holiday in Goa, and asks Todd to save it. He understands the hint and they head to Gaurav’s house, where they spend time together. Todd refuses to accompany Puro to China, instead suggesting a replacement; Puro ultimately leaves for China with his new wife.

Back in the United States, Todd calls his mother to reconnect, a lesson he takes from Puro’s aunt. Just then, a call from Asha comes in as the screen fades to black and the credits begin to roll, leaving Todd to reflect on what he’s learned about work, loyalty, and the human connections that endure beyond a single assignment.