How To Talk Australians
If you’ve ever landed in Australia wondering why strangers call you “mate”, why there are giant roadside attractions everywhere, or what Australians mean when they say “have a crack”, How To Talk Australians will feel instantly familiar.
The new comedy film from writer and director Tony Rogers takes those moments of cultural confusion and transforms them into a hilarious, absurd and surprisingly insightful story about belonging.
Adapted from the cult web series of the same name, the film follows a group of Indian students navigating Australian culture through a crash course that quickly descends into chaos.
While the premise lends itself to plenty of laughs, Tony tells Indian Link the story was always about something deeper.
“Humour is one of the quickest ways to connect people,” he says. “I’ve always believed that if the comedy is right, most people will laugh regardless of where they come from.”
That belief was reinforced when the film screened in India, where audiences embraced its distinctly Australian humour and awarded it Best Comedy at the Jaipur International Film Festival.
“The audiences really connected with it,” Tony says. “At the end of the day, people understand what it feels like to be misunderstood.”
The journey from web series to feature film, however, was far from straightforward.
Tony spent years developing the project, navigating funding challenges familiar to many independent Australian filmmakers.
“Getting funding for unusual comedy is incredibly difficult,” he says. “We explored different versions of the concept over the years before deciding to make the film independently.”
Eventually, a group of private investors helped bring the project to life, allowing Tony to preserve the unique voice and offbeat humour that had attracted a loyal following online.
At the centre of the film is Shani, played by Melbourne actor Ria Patel. Introduced as a diligent, rule-following student, she gradually becomes one of the story’s most compelling forces – a transformation that immediately drew Patel to the role.
“Growing up, I often saw Indian female characters portrayed in very limited ways,” Ria tells Indian Link.
“What I loved about Shani is that she starts off as the good student but gradually finds her voice.”
Across the film, Shani shifts from quietly observing the chaos to actively challenging it, becoming a catalyst for change.
“There’s something powerful about showing women, especially South Asian women, embracing their anger in a healthy way,” Ria says. “Anger can be feedback.”
The role resonated personally. Ria describes herself as the quintessential “good Indian daughter”. “I was that student who wanted the A-plus grades,” she says. “Playing Shani let me explore another side of myself and find that fire.”
That understated approach shapes How To Talk Australians, which avoids stereotypes and instead finds humour in the awkwardness of cultures colliding.
One of the film’s strengths is its refusal to caricature either Australians or Indians. Instead, it pokes gentle fun at the assumptions both groups make about one another.
For Tony, his own travels through India as a young backpacker in the 1980s helped shape that view. “The more time you spend with people from different backgrounds, the more you realise how similar we all are,” he says.
Ria admits she wasn’t sure how Indian audiences would respond to the film’s distinctly Australian setting.
“I remember wondering whether people in India would connect with it,” she says. But her cousin laughed the whole way through and her parents loved it.
What struck her most was the story’s universality. “The characters are constantly misunderstanding each other, but most of the time their intentions are good,” she says.
In an era often defined by division, How To Talk Australians offers something refreshingly basic – that laughter may be one of the most effective ways to close the distance between cultures.
For both Tony and Ria, that idea feels particularly relevant in contemporary Australia, where conversations about migration, identity and multiculturalism continue to evolve.
“We live in a time shaped by questions about race, belonging and how we relate to each other,” Tony says. “Comedy gives us a way to talk about those things without preaching.”
Ria hopes audiences leave the cinema with more than just a few laughs.
“With everything happening in the world, I hope the film reminds people of our shared humanity,” she says. “Most problems happen because of misunderstanding. If we take a moment to understand each other, so many of those problems disappear.”
In a country built on migration and cultural exchange, How To Talk Australians offers a simple but timely message: understanding one another does not always begin with grand gestures or political debates. Sometimes it begins with listening, learning – and laughing together.
“I really believe we’re more alike than we are different,” Tony says. “That’s what the film is about.”
How to Talk Australians releases in cinemas on 11 June.
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