Chicken Tikka Masala (2005)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Harmage Singh Kalirai

Writer:

Roopesh Parekh (screenwriter)

Release Date:

22 April 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A big gay comedy about a big fat wedding

Plot:

Jimi is surprised when his family announce an arranged wedding to Simran. Especially as he is gay and has a boyfriend, Jack. The easy way out? No... he decides to arrange something a little unorthodox instead

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Asian | Gay Interest | Coming Out | Closeted Homosexual

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Chris Bisson	...	Jimi Chopra
Saeed Jaffrey	...	C. P. Chopra
Sally Bankes	...	Vanessa
Peter Ash	...	Jack
Zohra Sehgal	...	Grandmother
Shobu Kapoor	...	Minaxi Patel
Jinder Mahal	...	Simran
Jamila Massey	...	Asha Chopra
Sushil Chudasama	...	Ravi
Katy Clayton	...	Hanah
Louisa Eyo	...	Marlene
Harish Patel	...	Harish Patel
Dalu Solanki	...	Priest
Rony Ghosh	...	Mr. Shah
Vijayanti Uma Chauhan	...	Auntie

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Preston, Lancashire, England, UK

Company:

Seven Spice Productions Limited

Movie Connections:

References Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Being True to Yourself

For those expecting the cover art and story outline to indicate another entertaining Bollywood Indian production, beware: no musical dance numbers or songs of production value exist to brighten the mood in this rather tired story of arranged marriages in the British Indian culture - with a few variations thrown in. As written by Roopesh Parekh the script jumps around topics worthy of discussion only to cover them up with routine avoidance tactics. Harmage Singh Kalirai directs like a traffic cop, trying to hold together the disparate subplots to the point of Keystone Cop tactics.

Jimi (Chris Bisson) is a medical school student who is gay and has a lover Jack (Peter Ash) and they live with Jack's obese, alcoholic, loose morals aunt Vanessa (Sally Bankes) and Sally's chubby daughter Hannah (Katy Clayton). Jimi's family is visited by the Patel family from Delhi who bring their beautiful daughter Simran (Jinder Mahal) to England to find a husband. Jimi's parents (Saeed Jaffrey and Jamila Massey) and his grandmother (Zohra Sehgal) decide Simran is the girl for Jimi to marry and arrange an engagement and wedding in the custom of Indian ways - without consulting Jimi. Jimi discovers the plot and is too spineless not to go along with it, a decision which enrages Jack and infuriates Vanessa. Hannah tells a 'little lie' to Simran (that she is Jimi's daughter) and the wedding is off. When Jimi's parents visit Jimi's house they discover the drunken Vanessa, are repulsed by her, but eventually decide that for Jimi's happiness they will go along with the fact that Vanessa has given them a 'granddaughter' and decide to use the marriage preparations as a wedding for Jimi and Vanessa. Jimi convinces the very reluctant Vanessa to go along with the idea and before long Vanessa is dressed in a sari, prepared for a wedding, and Jimi, terrified at what he is doing just to please his parents, includes Jack as his best man. At the wedding the truth comes out and to Jimi's surprise his family adapts to Jimi's true self and the day is saved by simply being truthful.

The cast copes with this silly bit of nonsense rather well and there are some good performances: Chris Bisson and Peter Ash are attractive men and play their roles well, albeit without any indication at all of a loving relationship (the director seems terrified of showing the least suggestion of intimacy between the two men); Sally Bankes provides most of the laughs as Vanessa; the rest of the cast repeat the stereotype roles they've played countless times in Indian movies. This is not a bad film - it has its moments - but it is just too superficial and tired to make us care about any of the characters.