Heralding the debut of an exciting genre in British filmmaking, dynamic, Asian family business-driven, UK-based production and distribution company, Aviary Films, launches the first ever ‘BollyBrit’ film – Naachle London – a unique cinematic offering that presents a British take on the classic Bollywood genre, releasing in UK on 24th February 2012.
A feelgood, romantic comedy drama centring around two single parents that meet and fall in love when their children attend a West London, Bollywood dance class in preparation of a competition at the London Mela, Naachle London will appeal to cinemagoers of all ages and backgrounds. The film’s USP is that the entire film was created in the UK. From the scriptwriters, the music composer, the playback singers and dancers to the actors, the cinematographer, the editor, producers and director, the entire team is UK-based.
Adopting the classic, Bollywood narrative structure and influence, Naachle London intelligently retells the rich girl-poor boy love story in a contemporary British setting, while dealing with issues that face British society today such as the recession, interracial relationships, the stigma attached to divorcees among Asian communities and self-esteem and acceptance issues facing teenagers in modern Britain. Naachle London seamlessly blends Bollywood with international film stylistics and techniques. The Bollywood genre inspires six, catchy song-and-dance numbers and traditional themes such as family respect and honour, while international cinema, most notably Hollywood, inspires multi-layered characterisations, nuanced themes and fast-paced editing.
Naachle London is produced and directed by maverick filmmaker, Neville Raschid, among whose earlier credits are indie Brit flicks, Ealing Comedy, which was hailed “the best movie I’ve seen since Juno” by BBC’s Nikki Bedi and Lost Dogs, which Lisa Snowdon described as her “favourite Brit pic” on ITV1’s This Morning.
Departing from the archetypal, poster pin-up male and female leads adopted in most Bollywood film products, Raschid purposefully showcases Naachle London’s lead stars in more true-to-life, boy and girl-next-door type avatars, presenting Raj Ghatak (BAFTA nominated for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical, Bombay Dreams) and the inimitable Sofia Hayat in lead roles that articulately demonstrate their respective acting prowess. Joining Raj and Sofia on screen is an ensemble cast of seasoned British acting talent including Kulvinder Ghir (Goodness Gracious Me, Rita, Sue and Bob Too), Harvey Virdi (Bend it like Beckham) and heartthrob Jake Canuso (TV’s Benidorm, Shameless and City Rats, and films including Rob Marshall’s Nine). Naachle London also launches the screen debut of a host of impressive junior artists such as Alyssa Sharma, Gursimran Deu, Aaron Pandher and Shiv Datta.
The vibrant mise en scene of Naachle London is complimented by an infectious soundtrack courtesy of acclaimed Music Director, Jayanta Pathak, who has skilfully crafted six, hypnotic songs for the film including the addictively captivating title track.
Synopsis
Set against the backdrop of the London Mela, Naachle London tells the story of ‘Vijay’ (Raj Ghatak), a struggling musician and doting father to his daughter ‘Krishna’ (Alyssa Sharma) with whom he lives in a West London council flat, and ‘Rani’ (Sofia Hayat), a woman balancing a successful business with extended family life, looking after her daughter ‘Jesse’ (Gursimran Deu) and son ‘Amit’ (Aaron Pandher), her widowed, orthodox father ‘JT’ (Kulvinder Ghir) and wild child sister ‘Pooja’ (Fagun Thakrar).
A top film producer announces that Indian Cinema’s biggest star, ‘Amitav Mahajan’, whose 40-year career has included blockbusters such as ‘Deewal’, ‘Ajay, Aamir, Andrew aur Ardeshir’ and Indian cinema’s greatest hit ‘Jwaley’, will be searching for a young performer as well as dancers and singers for his new, England-set blockbuster. The once-in-a-lifetime competition acts as the catalyst that unites single parents Vijay and Rani. However, the path of love is never an easy one, as family members, the wider community, circumstances and destiny itself play their part in distancing the lovers from each other.
Naachle London releases in UK through Aviary Films on 24th February 2012.
