It's a Wonderful Afterlife

Last updated

It's a Wonderful Afterlife
Its-a-wonderful-afterlife-april-21-film-poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Gurinder Chadha
Written by
Starring
Cinematography Dick Pope
Edited byOral Nottie Ottey
Music by Sony Music
Distributed by Icon Film Distribution
Release dates
  • 26 January 2010 (2010-01-26)(Sundance Film Festival)
  • 7 May 2010 (2010-05-07) [1]
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

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.

Contents

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 reincarnate until their murderer dies. Mrs Sethi must kill herself to free the spirits, but vows to get her daughter married first.

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

Production

The film is a comedy which uses satirical and Ealing-style humour. Depicting life amongst the Asian community in Britain, it is set in the west London suburb of Southall.

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 Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales and distribution, and pitched the film as My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Shaun of the Dead . Icon Film Distribution is the UK distributor. [6]

Filming

Principal photography began in London on 28 March 2009. [7] Most of the filming took place in Southall in London and at Ealing Studios. Chadha and Berges took inspiration for the horror elements from Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic Aliens , Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie , and John Landis’ 1981 horror classic An American Werewolf in London . Several scenes required SFX to create the effect of ghosts and supernatural phenomena.

Music and sound

It's a Wonderful Afterlife
Compilation album by
Various Artists
Released9 April 2010
Genre Punjabi, blues-rock, Britpop, hip hop, Bhangra, indie rock
Length62:02
Label Sony Music
Producer Sony Music

The soundtrack features a mix of licensed tracks, remixed tracks and original compositions, including mainstream music such as disco and hip-hop with the Desi dhol and Bhangra. It includes songs by popular British-Asian and Bhangra artists such as Panjabi MC and Taz of Stereo Nation. It has 14 tracks in total, including Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Neeraj Shridhar of Bombay Vikings, a makeover of a disco track by the Bee Gees, "Stayin Alive", re-composed by noted British-Asian DJ and music producer Bally Sagoo. Bally developed the track "Staying Alive Desified" by fusing traditional Bhangra beats with a performance from the Bee Gees tribute band Stayin' Alive UK. In a nod to the film's title, "Wonderful Life" by the British band Black features in its original form on the soundtrack. Promotional music videos feat. Stereo nation are choreographed by Rohit Chawla.

Track listing
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Punjabi Soldiers A Team Theme" Punjabi MC 3:32
2."Bhangra Chic / Bhangra Rap"Kidd Skilly3:05
3."So Real So Right" San-j Sanj featuring Natty A4:01
4."Larl Larl Buleeya" Taz with Stereo Nation featuring Mumzy3:35
5."Do the Nach"Chillitown featuring 10shott3:11
6."Wonderful Life"Colin Vearncombe/Performed by Black 5:46
7."Disco Bhangra" Bally Sagoo Featuring Niraj Shridhar3:27
8."Crazee" Taz with Stereo Nation3:42
9."Nikkiye (Madhanian)"Parminder Chadha2:20
10."Ghum Suhm" Sukshinder Shinda and Rahet Fateh Ali Khan3:22
11."Stayin Alive Desified"Bally Sagoo and Stayin' Alive UK4:39
12."Stayin Alive" Bee Gees 3:24
13."It's Love" Mica Paris Andrew Griffiths, Syrona Marie and Bally Sagoo, Gurinder Chadha & Paul Mayeda Berges4:16
14."Ghosts of Ealing" Craig Pruess and Bally Sagoo3:09

Reception

The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with The Scotsman calling it an "exceptionally lazy effort, which, like the similarly weak Bride and Prejudice , is more of a pun in search of a story than an actual fully-fledged idea". [8] The Radio Times suggested, "The gags are brash, the plot is messy and there's an element of mild horror (culminating in a send-up of Carrie ) that feels totally random." [9] It was described as "the worst British film of the year" by The Express. [10] Noyon Jyoti Parasara of AOL India stated "Every filmmaker has their bad days. And after watching ‘It's a Wonderful Afterlife’ I am confident that Gurinder Chadha is in one of hers." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southall</span> Area of London Borough of Ealing, England

Southall is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns.

<i>Bend It Like Beckham</i> 2002 film by Gurinder Chadha

Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jesminder Bhamra (Nagra) and Jules Paxton (Knightley) chase careers in professional football despite their parents' wishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shabana Azmi</span> Indian actress (born 1950)

Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi film industry has spanned over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist parallel cinema, though her work extended to mainstream films as well as a number of international projects. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres. She has won a record five National Film Awards for Best Actress, in addition to five Filmfare Awards and several international accolades. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurinder Chadha</span> British film director

Gurinder Chadha, is a Kenyan-born Indo-British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and how they must reconcile their converging traditional and modern cultures. Although many of her films seem like simple quirky comedies about Indian women, they actually address many social and emotional issues, especially ones faced by immigrants caught between two worlds.

<i>Bride and Prejudice</i> 2004 film

Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 romantic comedy drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha, director of Bend it Like Beckham (2002) and other films. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 6 October 2004 and in the United States on 11 February 2005. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Mayeda Berges</span> American screenwriter and director

Paul Mayeda Berges is an American screenwriter and director. He is known for his work on films such as 2002's Bend It Like Beckham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parminder Nagra</span> British actress

Parminder Kaur Nagra is a British actress of Indian Punjabi Sikh heritage. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama ER (2003–2009). Her other television roles include Meera Malik in the first season of the NBC crime drama The Blacklist (2013–2014) and a recurring role in the ABC/Marvel series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016–2017) as Ellen Nadeer for season four. More recently, Nagra has starred as the titular character of the ITV series DI Ray (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimi Mistry</span> British actor

Jimi Mistry is a retired British actor. He is known for appearing in numerous films such as East Is East (1999), The Guru (2002), Ella Enchanted (2004), The Truth About Love (2005), Blood Diamond (2006), Partition (2007), RocknRolla (2008), Exam (2009), It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010), and West is West (2010). He is also known for his roles, as Dr. Fred Fonseca in BBC1 soap opera EastEnders, Latif in Cinemax series Strike Back, Kal Nazir in long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, and as Tom Bedford in Kay Mellor drama The Syndicate.

<i>Khamosh</i> 1985 Indian thriller film by Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Khamosh (transl. Silent) is 1985 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Soni Razdan and Pankaj Kapoor. The film became notable for actors Palekar, Razdan and Azmi portraying fictional versions of themselves.

<i>Khandhar</i> 1984 Indian film

Khandhar is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Mrinal Sen, based on a Bengali short story, Telenapota Abishkar by Premendra Mitra. The film stars Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai</i> 1980 Indian film

Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed and written by Saeed Akhtar Mirza. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in the lead roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuljit Bhamra</span> British musician

Kuljit Bhamra MBE Hon DMus is a British composer, record producer and musician whose main instrument is the tabla. He is best known as one of the record producers who pioneered the British Bhangra sound and for his many collaborations with musicians from different genres and continents. His MBE was awarded in the Queen's Birthday Honour's List 2009 with the citation For services to Bhangra and British Asian Music. In July 2010 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Exeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaukat Kaifi</span> Indian actress (1926–2019)

Shaukat Kaifi, also credited as Shaukat Azmi, was an Indian theater and film actress. Her husband was the Urdu poet and film lyricist, Kaifi Azmi. The couple were leading lights of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and the Progressive Writers Association (IWA), which were the cultural platforms of the Communist Party of India.

Goldy Notay is a British-Canadian film, television and stage actress. She played 'Roopi' as the lead role in the Gurinder Chadha film It's A Wonderful Afterlife. She has appeared as Shireen in the Mike Bartlett drama The Town and Amar Akbar & Tony a comedy Brit flick on Netflix. She is currently in the 6 part ITV series Beecham House, directed by Gurinder Chadha.

Rifco Arts is a theatre company which focuses on bringing British Asian stories to the stage, and audiences from the community into theatres. The company was founded in 1999 by director Pravesh Kumar.

<i>Viceroys House</i> (film) 2017 fictional drama film

Viceroy's House is a 2017 historical drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha and written by Paul Mayeda Berges, Moira Buffini, and Chadha. The film stars Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi, and Michael Gambon. It was selected to be screened out of competition at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.

<i>Jwalamukhi</i> (1980 film) 1980 Indian film

Jwalamukhi (transl. Volcano) is a 1980 Hindi movie produced by Babboo Mehra and directed by Prakash Mehra. The film stars Waheeda Rehman, Shatrughan Sinha, Reena Roy, Amjad Khan, Vinod Mehra, Shabana Azmi, Kader Khan, Pran, and Bindu.

Shaheen Khan is a British film, television and stage actress and playwright of Indian descent, based in London.

References

  1. "It's A Wonderful Afterlife". Icon. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. "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.
  3. "Gurinder Chadha's big fat Punjabi wedding". Hindustan Times. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
  4. "It's A Wonderful Afterlife – Gurinder Chadha interview". IndieLondon.
  5. "It's A Wonderful Afterlife – Goldy Notay interview". IndieLondon.
  6. "Here comes summer: The cultural events of the season". London: Independent. 16 April 2010.
  7. "Gurinder Chadha begins shooting for It's A Wonderful Afterlife". Business of Cinema. 30 May 2009.
  8. Film review:It's a Wonderful Afterlife" The Scotsman 21 April 2010 Retrieved 24 April 2010
  9. It's a Wonderful Afterlife Radio Times.com Retrieved 24 April 2010
  10. Express.co.uk April 23 2010 Retrieved 26 April 2010
  11. Parasara, Noyon Jyoti. "It's a Wonderful Afterlife Review". AOL India. Retrieved 7 May 2010.