The London Indian Film Festival hosted the UK premier of Disney’s Million Dollar Arm yesterday and it was attended by producer Mark Ciardi and actor Madhur Mittal amongst a host of other showbiz celebrities including Meera Syal, Kulvinder Ghir, Ameet Chana, Tanveer Ghani, Tanya Franks and Neerja Naik.
The film, which was well received by the excited audience, was followed by a Q&A session with Mark and Madhur, mediated by Sunny and Shay (BBC London 94.9). Much of the audience’s interest revolved around shooting in India, the cast’s chemistry and the film’s basis on a true story.
Mark shared his experiences of struggling in the heat of India, catching Delhi Belly and having to accommodate the incredible Alan Arkin’s requests for filtered water due to his nervousness at catching something whilst filming. He also disclosed his own past experiences of playing baseball and modelling!
As Jon Hamm was unable to be present, Madhur filled us in on what it was like to work with him: “The most helpful thing about working with Jon was that he doesn’t even let you know that he’s helping you. He’s like a tuning fork. He’d come in and just set the scene like a tuning fork.”
When asked about the pressure surrounding the film’s basis on a real story, Madhur said that he was anxious about the real Dinesh’s reception of the film and at the LA premier he had paid close attention to his reactions: “He was weeping, he was laughing..and after the film he gave me a big hug and said the most amazing things so that’s really satisfying.”
Check out some of the photographs from the evening and you can read our review of the film here: http://bollyspice.com/85874/million-dollar-arm-movie-review
Catch Million Dollar Arm in cinemas in the UK from August 29th.
Picture Credit: London Indian Film Festival
