It's a Wonderful Afterlife
| It's a Wonderful Afterlife | |
|---|---|
Icon Film Distribution | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
It's a Wonderful Afterlife is a 2010 British comedy film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay centres on an Indian mother whose obsession with marrying off her daughter leads her into the realm of serial murder. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue.[2] The title is a reference to Chadha's personal attachment to Frank Capra's film It's a Wonderful Life. Chadha also co-produced the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with her husband and producing partner, Paul Mayeda Berges. The lead role is played by newcomer Goldy Notay, joining Shabana Azmi, Shaheen Khan, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Sally Hawkins in the cast.
Plot
Mrs Sethi (Shabana Azmi) is a widow living in Southall who wants to marry off her only daughter, for she is alone and unhappy. Her daughter, Roopi, (Goldy Notay) is a little plump and opinionated. Mrs Sethi finds that all her matchmaking efforts are rudely rejected. She avenges this behaviour toward her daughter by murdering the failed dates using her culinary skills. A police hunt begins for a serial murderer using a killer curry.[3]
Mrs Sethi does not feel guilty until the spirits of her victims come back to haunt her. They are unable to
The spirits realise that helping Roopi find a suitable husband before the police catch Mrs Sethi is in their best interests, and everyone begins to work together. Meanwhile, Roopi catches the eye of the young Sergeant investigating the case.
Cast
- Shabana Azmi as Mrs Sethi
- Goldy Notay as Roopi
- Sendhil Ramamurthy as Raj (D.S. Murthy)
- Sally Hawkins as Linda/Gitali
- Zoë Wanamaker as Mrs Goldsmith
- Sanjeev Bhaskar as The Curry Man
- Catherine Balavage as Waitress
- Shaheen Khan as Manjeet Kahl/The Kebab Woman
- Adlyn Ross as Mrs Chakra/The Rolling Pin Woman
- Ash Varrez as Mr Chakra/The Naan Man
- Mark Addy as D.I. Smythe
- Preeya Kalidas as Karishma
- Jimi Mistry as Dev
- Ray Panthaki as Jazz
- Don Warrington as Chief Superintendent
Production
The film is a comedy which uses
Development
Chadha conceived the film while watching 'The 100 Greatest Family Films' on Channel 4 when narrator Bob Hoskins introduced a wedding scene from her earlier film Bend It Like Beckham at position 71.
“It was the Indian wedding scene and the party, which was inter-cut with the football,” says Chadha, “and immediately I remembered how much fun we'd had shooting that scene. The wedding is so integral to our culture that I suddenly thought ‘How can I do another wedding scene without repeating myself?’ So I thought maybe I could do it with a horror spin, where everything goes awry. Much like the prom scene at the end of Carrie.”[4]
Working with long-time collaborator and screenwriter Berges, Chadha spent two and half years writing the script. “I started seeing this crazy film, set in Ealing, in the world of Bend It Like Beckham and yet in a completely different genre,” continues Chadha. “We worked on the script, came up with the idea of the mum, the plump daughter and these spirits that return.”
Starting with the working title My Bloody Wedding, Chadha and Berges created the character of Roopi, a young British Indian woman, and Mrs Sethi, her meddling mother. “Really it's an Ealing comedy about an Indian mum who lives with her daughter. The daughter is a little bit overweight, not exactly beautiful and has a broken engagement behind her,” explained Chadha. “People in the community have been really mean about this girl and the mother has had enough. So she devises all kinds of ways of killing people off, using Indian cooking methods. And of course, being Indian, we believe in reincarnation. The people she kills come back as spirits and these spirits can't work out why they've not been reincarnated.”
Goldy Notay gained weight to play the role of Roopi, which she then promptly had to shed for her part in Sex and the City 2.[5]
Funding
It's a Wonderful Afterlife was co-produced by the AIM-listed The Indian Film Company (TIFC) and Bend It Films in association with
Filming
Principal photography began in London on 28 March 2009.
Music and sound
| It's a Wonderful Afterlife | |
|---|---|
| Length | 62:02 |
| Label | Sony Music |
| Producer | Sony Music |
The soundtrack features a mix of licensed tracks, remixed tracks and original compositions, including mainstream music such as
| No. | Title | Artist | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Punjabi Soldiers A Team Theme" | Stayin Alive" | Bee Gees | 3:24 |
| 13. | "It's Love" | Mica Paris Andrew Griffiths, Syrona Marie and Bally Sagoo, Gurinder Chadha & Paul Mayeda Berges | 4:16 | |
| 14. | "Ghosts of Ealing" | Craig Pruess and Bally Sagoo | 3:09 |
Reception
The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with
References
- ^ "It's A Wonderful Afterlife". Icon. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ "International cast announced for Gurinder Chadha's It's A Wonderful Afterlife". AsianNews.com. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
- ^ "Gurinder Chadha's big fat Punjabi wedding". Hindustan Times. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
- ^ "It's A Wonderful Afterlife – Gurinder Chadha interview". IndieLondon.
- ^ "It's A Wonderful Afterlife – Goldy Notay interview". IndieLondon.
- ^ "Here comes summer: The cultural events of the season". London: Independent. 16 April 2010.
- ^ "Gurinder Chadha begins shooting for It's A Wonderful Afterlife". Business of Cinema. 30 May 2009.
- ^ Film review:It's a Wonderful Afterlife" The Scotsman 21 April 2010 Retrieved 24 April 2010
- ^ It's a Wonderful Afterlife Radio Times.com Retrieved 24 April 2010
- ^ Express.co.uk April 23 2010 Retrieved 26 April 2010
- ^ Parasara, Noyon Jyoti. "It's a Wonderful Afterlife Review". AOL India. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
External links
- It's a Wonderful Afterlife at IMDb
