Smitten by NZ, Gurinder wants to make a movie here
Celebrated British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha is keen to make a movie in picturesque New Zealand and all she needs is a good script to get her started.
“I just loved New Zealand when I visited last; it is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited,” the maker of the hit movie “Bend It Like Beckham” told the Indian Weekender this week.
“I have heard of some wonderful movies being made in New Zealand and would love to make a movie there. Just give me a good script.”
Chadha, whose other best known movie “Bride and Prejudice” was also a super hit, was talking to Indian Weekender prior to the release of her latest movie “It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”, which hits New Zealand cinemas on August 26.
On her latest release, Chadha said they had lots of fun making the romantic killer comedy.
“We had lots of fun; I’ve always tried to do something different and push the boundaries. I don’t think they’ve ever made a movie of Punjabi ghosts,” laughs Chadha.
“Also, the leading ladies – Shabana Azmi and Goldy Notay – are mum and daughter; they carry the movie well.”
Chadha, who was born in Kenya and brought up in Britain, said she hadn’t never really liked Bollywood movies until she saw “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge” directed by Aditya Chopra.
She rated Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor as “a new breed of actors” who injected a lot of zest into their movies.
One of her favourite films is “Kaminey” directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, whose work she has great respect for, although Mani Ratnam is her favourite director.
Chadha said her latest offering “It’s A Wonderful Afterlife” had been well received among the Indian and non-Indian audiences.
“I often get stopped by people in the streets to tell me how much they loved the movie; some didn’t like the ghosts but then no one had been expecting Punjabi ghosts.
“It’s a movie of a new genre; in years to come, people will come back to it and appreciate it as much as they do it today.”
At the heart of Chadha’s latest movie lies a love story of Roopi Sethi, which actress Goldy Notay brings her to life on screen. Roopi’s in a bit of lacklustre stage of her life.
Her father passed away recently and had a relationship that was sabotaged by her ex-boyfriend. And she has a very determined mum, who wants to find her a suitable match, because Roopi thinks she’s not going to have that happily ever after ending, and no knight in shining armour moment that a lot of women want to experience.
But her mum thinks that’s not an option and poor Roopi follows whatever crazy idea her mum has, whether it’s speed dating, or going to the Sikh temple to try and meet someone. To tackle the role, Notay had to pile on the pounds. “I’d seen Goldy on stage, and on TV, and she’s very good at comedy and very empathetic” explains Chadha. “She’s got a chubby face, but her body is really svelte-like, and she looked really pretty and svelte when I met her for the movie. In fact, I was really worried that it wouldn’t work. I had to ask her to look less presentable. So she put on weight, wore bad clothes, kept her hair unkempt”.
Chadha laughs. “Goldy’s husband loved it. He’s an Italian chef and for the first time in their married life she was eating all his pasta and food and not moaning. And of course she got an enormous bust, which he loved.”
The writer-director goes on to note that Roopi’s size is an important factor in the film. “You just have to look all those magazines, and all these poor girls with eating disorders, to see how unacceptable it is for someone to be overweight. That’s true for all girls. It was therefore important to have a love story with a girl who doesn’t necessarily lose weight in the movie. As the story progresses Roopi just gets healthier.”
To play Roopi’s mother, the inimitable Mrs Sethi, Chadha turned to a woman she describes as “the Meryl Streep of India”, Shabana Azmi, a superstar in her own country, and a veteran of more than a hundred films.
“Shabana is in her 50s but is eye-catchingly beautiful. She has played every role imaginable but she’s never played a British Asian mother, a Punjabi mother, and she was really excited,” says Chadha.
“She read the script and said, ‘I’m going to put on weight, too.’ And blimey, I wasn’t expecting her to put on that much weight. She really wanted to get that ‘three stomachs syndrome’ that a lot of older Indian women have. And she achieved that — she had a glorious triple stomach — and she loved it, because she’s usually so glamorous. I didn’t need to give her any padding.”
“Bend It Like Beckham” was the highest grossing British-financed, British-distributed film, ever in the UK box-office. The award-winning film was a critical and commercial success internationally, topping the box-office charts in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South Africa, and winning audience favourite film awards at the Locarno, Sydney and Toronto film festivals.
Chadha’s advice to budding filmmakers in New Zealand: “Go for it. Make sure you have a good story that has legs; something that will survive 90 minutes and keep people interested; then you’ve got it made.”
Next: An Historic Epic
Gurinder Chadha says her next project would focus on a completely different direction from her past movies.
This time she is working on an historical epic leading to India’s Independence from British rule.
Her own roots, in Jalandar, Rawalpindi, were the inspiration behind the project, Chadha told the Indian Weekender.
Born in Kenya and brought up in Britain, Chadha’s family was from Rawalpindi (then India) and later moved to Kenya.
Chadha said they were working on a script and an impressive international cast was being prepared.
Watch this space.
Celebrated British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha is keen to make a movie in picturesque New Zealand and all she needs is a good script to get her started.
“I just loved New Zealand when I visited last; it is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited,” the maker of the hit movie “Bend It Like...
Celebrated British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha is keen to make a movie in picturesque New Zealand and all she needs is a good script to get her started.
“I just loved New Zealand when I visited last; it is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited,” the maker of the hit movie “Bend It Like Beckham” told the Indian Weekender this week.
“I have heard of some wonderful movies being made in New Zealand and would love to make a movie there. Just give me a good script.”
Chadha, whose other best known movie “Bride and Prejudice” was also a super hit, was talking to Indian Weekender prior to the release of her latest movie “It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”, which hits New Zealand cinemas on August 26.
On her latest release, Chadha said they had lots of fun making the romantic killer comedy.
“We had lots of fun; I’ve always tried to do something different and push the boundaries. I don’t think they’ve ever made a movie of Punjabi ghosts,” laughs Chadha.
“Also, the leading ladies – Shabana Azmi and Goldy Notay – are mum and daughter; they carry the movie well.”
Chadha, who was born in Kenya and brought up in Britain, said she hadn’t never really liked Bollywood movies until she saw “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge” directed by Aditya Chopra.
She rated Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor as “a new breed of actors” who injected a lot of zest into their movies.
One of her favourite films is “Kaminey” directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, whose work she has great respect for, although Mani Ratnam is her favourite director.
Chadha said her latest offering “It’s A Wonderful Afterlife” had been well received among the Indian and non-Indian audiences.
“I often get stopped by people in the streets to tell me how much they loved the movie; some didn’t like the ghosts but then no one had been expecting Punjabi ghosts.
“It’s a movie of a new genre; in years to come, people will come back to it and appreciate it as much as they do it today.”
At the heart of Chadha’s latest movie lies a love story of Roopi Sethi, which actress Goldy Notay brings her to life on screen. Roopi’s in a bit of lacklustre stage of her life.
Her father passed away recently and had a relationship that was sabotaged by her ex-boyfriend. And she has a very determined mum, who wants to find her a suitable match, because Roopi thinks she’s not going to have that happily ever after ending, and no knight in shining armour moment that a lot of women want to experience.
But her mum thinks that’s not an option and poor Roopi follows whatever crazy idea her mum has, whether it’s speed dating, or going to the Sikh temple to try and meet someone. To tackle the role, Notay had to pile on the pounds. “I’d seen Goldy on stage, and on TV, and she’s very good at comedy and very empathetic” explains Chadha. “She’s got a chubby face, but her body is really svelte-like, and she looked really pretty and svelte when I met her for the movie. In fact, I was really worried that it wouldn’t work. I had to ask her to look less presentable. So she put on weight, wore bad clothes, kept her hair unkempt”.
Chadha laughs. “Goldy’s husband loved it. He’s an Italian chef and for the first time in their married life she was eating all his pasta and food and not moaning. And of course she got an enormous bust, which he loved.”
The writer-director goes on to note that Roopi’s size is an important factor in the film. “You just have to look all those magazines, and all these poor girls with eating disorders, to see how unacceptable it is for someone to be overweight. That’s true for all girls. It was therefore important to have a love story with a girl who doesn’t necessarily lose weight in the movie. As the story progresses Roopi just gets healthier.”
To play Roopi’s mother, the inimitable Mrs Sethi, Chadha turned to a woman she describes as “the Meryl Streep of India”, Shabana Azmi, a superstar in her own country, and a veteran of more than a hundred films.
“Shabana is in her 50s but is eye-catchingly beautiful. She has played every role imaginable but she’s never played a British Asian mother, a Punjabi mother, and she was really excited,” says Chadha.
“She read the script and said, ‘I’m going to put on weight, too.’ And blimey, I wasn’t expecting her to put on that much weight. She really wanted to get that ‘three stomachs syndrome’ that a lot of older Indian women have. And she achieved that — she had a glorious triple stomach — and she loved it, because she’s usually so glamorous. I didn’t need to give her any padding.”
“Bend It Like Beckham” was the highest grossing British-financed, British-distributed film, ever in the UK box-office. The award-winning film was a critical and commercial success internationally, topping the box-office charts in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South Africa, and winning audience favourite film awards at the Locarno, Sydney and Toronto film festivals.
Chadha’s advice to budding filmmakers in New Zealand: “Go for it. Make sure you have a good story that has legs; something that will survive 90 minutes and keep people interested; then you’ve got it made.”
Next: An Historic Epic
Gurinder Chadha says her next project would focus on a completely different direction from her past movies.
This time she is working on an historical epic leading to India’s Independence from British rule.
Her own roots, in Jalandar, Rawalpindi, were the inspiration behind the project, Chadha told the Indian Weekender.
Born in Kenya and brought up in Britain, Chadha’s family was from Rawalpindi (then India) and later moved to Kenya.
Chadha said they were working on a script and an impressive international cast was being prepared.
Watch this space.
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