It's a romantic killer comedy
Movie: It’s A Wonderful Afterlife
Cast: Shabana Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sally Hawkins, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Zoe Wanamaker, Mark Addy, Jimi Mistry.
Releasing in New Zealand: August 26
The phrase “I could murder for a curry” is taken to hysterical new heights in Gurinder Chadha’s latest movie being released in New Zealand next week, August 26.
“It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”, starring Bollywood’s “Shabana Azmi” is a killer romantic comedy from Chadha, the British filmmaker who have given audiences hits like “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bride and Prejudice”.
The movie also stars Goldy Notay, who plays Shabana’s chubby daughter Roopi Sethi, Sendhil Ramamurthy from “Heroes”, and Sanjeev Bhasker from “The Kumars at No.42”.
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Shaun of the Dead” meet in this charming and fun comedy romp about an Indian mother taking her obsession with marriage into frighteningly funny territory.
Mrs Sethi (Shabana), a widow, can't bear the thought of her daughter being alone and unhappy. Ok, she's a little plump and opinionated …but she would make a great wife for some lucky man, if only she were given a chance.
When Mrs Sethi can no longer stomach the rudeness of families who refuse her daughter, she takes matters into her own hands with the only way she knows ... suddenly a police hunt begins for a serial murderer who cooks a killer curry.
Mrs Sethi doesn't feel too guilty until the spirits of her victims come back to haunt her as they are unable to be reincarnated until their murderer dies. Mrs Sethi has no problem killing herself – she'll get to see her dead husband again – but how can she go before her daughter is married?
The spirits realise that helping Mrs Sethi’s daughter find a suitable husband before the police catch her is their only chance for a wonderful afterlife.
It all began in 2005 when Chadha was watching “The 100 Greatest Family Films” on telly. Somewhere in the middle of the programme the narrator introduced the wedding scene from “Bend It Like Beckham”.
“It was the Indian wedding scene and the party, which was inter-cut with the football,” begins Chadha, “and immediately I remembered how much fun we’d had shooting that scene. The wedding is integral to our culture that I suddenly thought ‘How can I do another wedding scene without repeating myself?’ I wanted to do another one but to do it slightly differently. 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.”
Working with screenwriter husband Paul Mayeda Berges, Chadha spent two-and-a-half years crafting 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,” said Chadha.
“We worked on the script, came up with the idea of the mum, the plump daughter and these spirits that return.”
Starting out 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,” explains Chadha.
The film opens and you see an Indian man sitting at a kitchen table. He’s in front of a huge bowl of curry and it looks like he’s been eating for hours.
Suddenly you see a knife thrust towards him and you realise that he is being force-fed and he doesn’t want to eat anymore, he eats the last bite and collapses on the table.
He gets wheeled into the hospital, he screams and all of a sudden his stomach bursts open and there’s this big curry explosion.
"It's an alien moment but with curry and it shows you're in for a fun ride,” said Berges.
Be In To Win Double Passes
Be in to win double passes to the movie “It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”. Simply log on to www.indianweekender.co.nz and sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletter, and you’ll go into a draw to win free passes. Existing subscribers are already in the draw. Winners will be announced on the website.
Movie: It’s A Wonderful Afterlife Cast: Shabana Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sally Hawkins, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Zoe Wanamaker, Mark Addy, Jimi Mistry. Releasing in New Zealand: August 26 The phrase “I could murder for a curry” is taken to hysterical new heights in Gurinder Chadha’s latest...
Movie: It’s A Wonderful Afterlife
Cast: Shabana Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sally Hawkins, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Zoe Wanamaker, Mark Addy, Jimi Mistry.
Releasing in New Zealand: August 26
The phrase “I could murder for a curry” is taken to hysterical new heights in Gurinder Chadha’s latest movie being released in New Zealand next week, August 26.
“It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”, starring Bollywood’s “Shabana Azmi” is a killer romantic comedy from Chadha, the British filmmaker who have given audiences hits like “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bride and Prejudice”.
The movie also stars Goldy Notay, who plays Shabana’s chubby daughter Roopi Sethi, Sendhil Ramamurthy from “Heroes”, and Sanjeev Bhasker from “The Kumars at No.42”.
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Shaun of the Dead” meet in this charming and fun comedy romp about an Indian mother taking her obsession with marriage into frighteningly funny territory.
Mrs Sethi (Shabana), a widow, can't bear the thought of her daughter being alone and unhappy. Ok, she's a little plump and opinionated …but she would make a great wife for some lucky man, if only she were given a chance.
When Mrs Sethi can no longer stomach the rudeness of families who refuse her daughter, she takes matters into her own hands with the only way she knows ... suddenly a police hunt begins for a serial murderer who cooks a killer curry.
Mrs Sethi doesn't feel too guilty until the spirits of her victims come back to haunt her as they are unable to be reincarnated until their murderer dies. Mrs Sethi has no problem killing herself – she'll get to see her dead husband again – but how can she go before her daughter is married?
The spirits realise that helping Mrs Sethi’s daughter find a suitable husband before the police catch her is their only chance for a wonderful afterlife.
It all began in 2005 when Chadha was watching “The 100 Greatest Family Films” on telly. Somewhere in the middle of the programme the narrator introduced the wedding scene from “Bend It Like Beckham”.
“It was the Indian wedding scene and the party, which was inter-cut with the football,” begins Chadha, “and immediately I remembered how much fun we’d had shooting that scene. The wedding is integral to our culture that I suddenly thought ‘How can I do another wedding scene without repeating myself?’ I wanted to do another one but to do it slightly differently. 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.”
Working with screenwriter husband Paul Mayeda Berges, Chadha spent two-and-a-half years crafting 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,” said Chadha.
“We worked on the script, came up with the idea of the mum, the plump daughter and these spirits that return.”
Starting out 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,” explains Chadha.
The film opens and you see an Indian man sitting at a kitchen table. He’s in front of a huge bowl of curry and it looks like he’s been eating for hours.
Suddenly you see a knife thrust towards him and you realise that he is being force-fed and he doesn’t want to eat anymore, he eats the last bite and collapses on the table.
He gets wheeled into the hospital, he screams and all of a sudden his stomach bursts open and there’s this big curry explosion.
"It's an alien moment but with curry and it shows you're in for a fun ride,” said Berges.
Be In To Win Double Passes
Be in to win double passes to the movie “It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”. Simply log on to www.indianweekender.co.nz and sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletter, and you’ll go into a draw to win free passes. Existing subscribers are already in the draw. Winners will be announced on the website.
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