Gurinder Chadha, Sendhil Ramamurthy & Goldy Notay
Gurinder Chadha fans who have been waiting for their Bend-It fix, will be happy to know her new comedy ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ has been selected for a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival which runs January 21-31.
The feisty film-maker did a quick Q and A with Lassi with Lavina about the making of the movie which has a colorful, volatile cast headed by Shaban Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sally Hawkins, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Zoe Wanamaker and Jimi Mistri. Be prepared for some fun and some fireworks!
Q: What do you think fans will be most surprised by in this movie?
A: They will think I have gone mad with motherhood and crazy hormones – at least that’s what Karan Johar said when he read the script! He went on to say it was the funniest thing he had ever read! I think fans are going to go for the ride and be rewarded with a heart warming ending.
Q: What was the inspiration behind ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ and the casting that you’ve done?
A: I wanted to do another movie that satisfied all the people who keep asking me to make another Bend it like Beckham, but naturally I did not want to repeat myself, so ‘It’s a Wonderful Afterlife’ is certainly from the same stable as ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ but a different genre, a kind of cross-generational comedy with a supernatural twist. Casting wise, I love my cast who have come from different countries but all ‘fit’ in the film… and who would not want to work with Shabana Azmi, please!
Q: Is there an equivalent in this film to the soccer which drove Bend It?
A: Yes finding the perfect man to make your daughter happy – when she doesn’t look like a typical pretty, skinny cover girl.
Q: The heroine is fat – a rare phenomenon in cinema. Is that your contribution to breaking some serious stereotypes which exist in the real world?
A: YES! Of course, I love my heroine in the movie and she goes on a great journey that does not necessarily mean she has to be thin to get what she wants. This is the pleasure of making films as a woman – I get to break the rules.
Q: Your thoughts about the Sundance selection?
A: I am delighted the film is showing at Sundance as I have a long history there. My film ‘What’s Cooking’ opened the festival in 2000 and I have taught at the Directors’ Lab. ‘Bend it like Beckham’ played there too – everyone said it was too English a film to ever do well in the US! And of course no one knew who David Beckham was either…
Q: If you had to describe your film in 140 characters, as in Twitter – what would you say?
A: This is a fun movie about living this life to its best and realizing and rectifying your mistakes before moving on to the next. We all deserve to be happy and if you are a good person you will always live happy ever after and after and after….
Well, that’s 245 characters, Gurinder, but we all get the picture! Now we can start by each of us seeing the movie, being a good person and thus living happily ever after and after….
It’s a Wonderful Afterlife Fact File
- The film, which has been produced by Indian Films and Bend It Films in association with Studio 18, has been selected to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (January 21-31, 2010) in Park City, Utah
- It stars Shabana Azmi as Mrs. Sethi, a ‘hysterical North Indian mother who is desperately searching for a son-in-law for her fat daughter.’
- It stars a multicultural cast including Goldy Notay (My Own Country, Sex & The City 2), Sally Hawkins (Cassandra’s Dream), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes), Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Kumars At No. 42), Zoe Wanamaker (Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone) and Jimi Mistri (2012, The Guru)
- The film is shot in London and the producers are billing it as ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Shaun of the Dead’.
- Movie-goers in the UK, India and Pakistan will get to see it in April. No date yet on the US release.
A first peek at the movie:
