Marigold (2007)

Director:

Willard Carroll

Writer (WGA):

Willard Carroll (written by)

Release Date:

17 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Ali Larter plays an American actress who becomes immersed in the Bollywood film world.

Plot Keywords:

Movie Actress | Film Industry | Dance Teacher | Character Name In Title

Cast

Salman Khan	...	Prem Rajput
Ali Larter	...	Marigold Lexton
Nandana Sen	...	Jaanvi
Ian Bohen	...	Barry
Shari Watson	...	Doreen
Helen	...	Prem's grandma (as Helen Khan)
Vikas Bhalla	...	Raj Sondi
Suchitra Pillai-Malik	...	Rani
Vijayendra Ghatge	...	Rajput
Roopak Saluja	...	Mani
Kiran Juneja	...	Mrs. Rajput
Gulshan Grover	...	Vikram
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rakesh Bedi	...	Manoj Sharma
Catherine Fulop	...	Sister Fernandéz
Marc Allen Lewis	...	Marc
Geeta Vij	...	Pooja Rajput
Lea Moreno Young	...	Valjean

Directed by
Willard Carroll

Writing credits (WGA)
Willard Carroll		(written by)

Produced by
Reiko Bradley	....	executive producer
Michael Hamilton-Wright	....	co-executive producer
Andrew Herwitz	....	associate producer
Sidhartha Jain	....	co-producer
Michele L. Jennings	....	associate producer
Susan B. Landau	....	executive producer
Christian Mills	....	co-producer
Praveen Nischol	....	executive producer
Charles Salmon	....	producer
Glen Tedham	....	co-executive producer
Thomas L. Wilhite	....	producer (as Tom Wilhite)

Original Music by
Shankar Mahadevan
Loy Mendonsa
Ehsaan Noorani
Graeme Revell

Cinematography by
Anil Mehta

Film Editing by
Anuradha Singh

Casting by
Dianne Crittenden
Rajesh Latkar

Production Design by
Jon Bunker
Nitin Chandrakant Desai

Makeup Department
Natalia Bronstein	....	makeup artist
Honey Dawn Faircrest	....	key hair stylist
Natasha Nischol	....	personal makeup artist: ali larter

Production Management
Pradeep Haldankar	....	post-production supervisor
Sherry Lynn King	....	production manager
Rajen Rajkhowa	....	unit manager
Burton L. Warner	....	executive in charge of production: Firewall Entertainment
John Watson	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Terry Bamber	....	first assistant director
Natascha Charak	....	third assistant director
Rukhshida David	....	assistant director
John Penhall	....	first assistant director
Stojan Petrov	....	second assistant director
Aubin Sebastian	....	second assistant director
Varun Talreja	....	director: making video
Ali Abbas Zafar	....	first assistant director: second unit

Sound Department
Andrew Belletty	....	sound mixer
Ken Biehl	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ian Emberton	....	sound editor
Tony Gort	....	sound editor
Mark Hensley	....	adr supervisor
Jeff Jackman	....	sound effects editor
Nusrat Jafri	....	assistant sound
Roger Morris	....	dialogue editor
Craig Stauffer	....	sound mixer
Greg Stewart	....	sound re-recording mixer

Visual Effects by
Kris Anderson	....	digital effects artist
Paul Beard	....	visual effects line producer
Robin Beard	....	digital effects artist
Adam Christopher	....	digital colourist
James Foster	....	digital artist
Simon Frame	....	visual effects supervisor
Tom Hocking	....	digital effects artist
Matthew Jacques	....	digital artist
Isaac Layish	....	digital effects artist
Sherin Mahboob	....	junior digital artist
Tom Pegg	....	digital effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Anirudh Garbyal	....	assistant camera
G. Monic Kumar	....	second assistant camera
Sanjay Sami	....	key grip

Editorial Department
Maryanna Aramian	....	post-production coordinator
Vivek Pratap	....	assembly editor
Alex Panton	....	digital intermediate producer (uncredited)

Music Department
Hal Beckett	....	conductor
Mark Curry	....	music mixer
Dominik Hauser	....	orchestrator
Don Mann	....	music editor
Shantanu Mukherjee	....	playback singer
Ashley Revell	....	music editor
David E. Russo	....	music programmer

Other crew
Greg Bernstein	....	legal services
Jon Bunker	....	title designer
Shane Cole	....	office coordinator
Aliya Curmally	....	assistant production coordinator
Edmund Entin	....	assistant to producer
Gary Entin	....	assistant to producer
Farah Khan	....	choreographer
Nicolas J. Kimball	....	sales agent
Vaibhavi Merchant	....	choreographer
G.D. Murthi	....	production accountant
Remo	....	choreographer
Rainer Scheelisch	....	special equipment
Merewyn Wagner	....	first assistant coordinator

Thanks
Tamara Stuparich de la Barra	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Hyperion Pictures
• Firewall Entertainment (in association with)
• Becker Films

Distributors

• Adlabs Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Adlabs Home Entertainment (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Becker International Distribution (2005) (worldwide) (all media)
• Castello Lopes Multimedia (Portugal)
• Echo Bridge Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• FS Film Oy (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Nu Metro Productions (South Africa)

Other Companies

• Post Modern Sound  post-production sound services
• Rocky S. Fashions  costume design (as Rocky S.)
• Vancouver Film Orchestra, The  score performed by

Also Known As:

Marigold (India: Hindi title) (dubbed version)
Marigold: An Adventure in India (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | India | UK

Language:

English | Hindi

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Goa, India

Company:

Hyperion Pictures

Trivia:

Preity Zinta was offered a role in this film, but turned it down.

Marigold is a modern fairy tale

I saw Marigold at a preview showing a few days ago, and found it to be a thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable film. The film is about a not-so-successful American actress who goes to India to act in a low budget film, only to find herself stranded there when she finds on arrival that the film's financing has vanished, along with the producers and investors. A chance encounter with an Indian film shooting nearby leads her to be hired for a small dancer role in that. Since Indian films incorporate a significant amount of singing and dancing, this is a problem for Marigold, who has two left feet, not to mention a personality so tightly wound-up and thorny that she can hardly hear the music, let alone feel it, as Prem, the choreographer of the film, advices her to do.

But "prem" -- the word, not the person -- means "love", and Prem -- the person, not the word -- seems to embody that emotion in the way he deals with all around him, whether it be his production assistant friends who introduced Marigold to the shoot, the narcissistic and arrogant leads of the film, or the bitchy and uptight Marigold herself. Soon, under his expert tutelage and endearing treatment, Marigold finds her feet -- literally and figuratively.

I must say a word for those not familiar with the use of song and dance in Indian films. Unlike American musicals, the story progresses through these dance numbers, as plot developments unfold, and character transformations occur in parallel with the dancing. It should also be pointed out that Indian dance is about a lot more than mere movement. An essential part of it is the enactment of the dancer's feelings and emotions while telling the story of the dance. This is the main purpose of the dance and the dancer.

That Marigold reaches this stage of accomplishment is demonstrated in a stunning dance number about midway through, when Marigold, while performing the dance she is required to do for the film-within-the-film, also expresses her love for Prem. It is an amazing performance by Ali Larter, especially when one considers that she is not used to dancing in her films, or emoting her character's feelings via dance. It shows her skill as an actress, as well as how much hard work she has put into the role.

Of course no romantic film can work without a credible Prince Charming. Salman Khan, who plays the role of Prem, fits the role to a T. Even when it turns out that he is a Prince not so charming, he does not lose the audience's sympathy. Salman has been ruling Hindi cinema (sometimes called Bollywood) for many years now, and it is worth remembering that his first leading role was also as Prem. He is completely charming, sweet, adorable, sexy, and vulnerable. For those who have never encountered him on screen before, be prepared to be hit with mega doses of sheer magnetism! He and Ali Larter make a lovely pair, and are as well matched in their acting as in their appearance.

Will they manage to work out their problems? It doesn't seem possible as we hear the last song of the film, a lovely blending of fact and fantasy, reality and metaphor. The ending certainly took some of the audience I saw it with by surprise, but they were left satisfied. The songs are used very cleverly. They are in Hindi, unsubtitled, for the film-within-the-film sequences, and in English for other occasions. But their meaning is always clear from the context and choreography.

Marigold is a very satisfying romantic comedy -- yes, there is quite a bit of humor as well in it. The Indian locations and costumes give it a fairy tale quality, befitting a story which can be likened to a modern fairy tale.

If you are or have been curious about Indian cinema, but were hesitant to try it, this is an excellent introduction. It captures the color and vibrancy of Indian films, not only in the costumes and jewelry (which are quite impressive), but also in the lively dances and world sound music.

If you are a fan of Ali Larter, you should watch it for her excellent acting in portraying a selfish, demanding, "high-maintanance" woman who nevertheless has an inner attraction that inspires the love of two men. If you are a girl, you will enjoy admiring Ali's lovely costumes and ogling her hunk of a leading man. If you are a guy, you can not only admire Ali in her sexy costumes, but learn from Salman Khan what it takes to bring out the loving heart even from someone as edgy as Marigold.