It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010)

A comedy centered on an Indian mother who takes her obsession with marriage into the world of serial murder.

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha

Stars:

Shabana Azmi, Goldy Notay, Sendhil Ramamurthy

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shabana Azmi	...	Mrs. Sethi
Goldy Notay	...	Roopi Sethi
Sendhil Ramamurthy	...	D S Raj Murthy
Sanjeev Bhaskar	...	Curry Man
Mark Addy	...	D I Smythe
Ray Panthaki	...	Jazz Sethi
Jack Gordon	...	Ari
Shaheen Khan	...	Kebab Woman / Manjit Kaur
Jamie Sives	...	Detective Hughes
Lalita Ahmed	...	Old Woman at Market
Don Warrington	...	Chief Superintendent
Saraj Chaudhry	...	Young Man in Temple
Steve Jones	...	Earnest Reporter
Adlyn Ross	...	Rolling Pin woman / Mrs. Chopra
Ash Varrez	...	Naan Man / Mr. Chopra

Storyline

Southall Police are baffled by four successive homicides of East Indians, and request Detective Raj Murthy to mingle with the local community and find out who is behind the murders. Raj does so and meets with his childhood girlfriend, Roopi Sethi, who lives with her widowed mother and brother, Jazz. Both continue to meet and an unsuspecting Raj will be taken by surprise when his superiors consider Roopi as a suspect in these homicides as she knew all the deceased victims. Before they could take any further steps, a fifth homicide occurs - that of Mrs. Goldstein. Again this victim is also known to Roopi, but in order to arrest her, they must find evidence and also a motive.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | indian | police | british | interracial friendship | 

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Taglines:

Finding the right man can be MURDER

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content and comic violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English Panjabi

Release Date:

21 April 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hai Marjawaan!

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£464,468 (UK) (23 April 2010)

Gross:

£813,882 (UK) (30 April 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bend It Films, Indian Film Company, Studio 18

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There's an actor called Jack Gordon in both It's a Wonderful Life and It's a Wonderful Afterlife.

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Goofs

Roopi's DNA is checked for a match against a hair left by the killer, but comes back negative. However, the hair belongs to her mother and any follicle would share mitochondrial DNA, which would definitely be picked up during the test.

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Crazy Credits

Out takes and behind the scenes are shown over the credits

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Connections

References It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

User Reviews

No Afterlife Only Current Life Which Ain't Wonderful But Funny

Granted the expectations were high because of Shabana Azmi but then again, what can one expect from Gurinder Chaddha. With the exception of her segment in 'Paris, Je T'Aime', I haven't been impressed by any of her work. That said, 'It's a Wonderful Afterlife' isn't that bad. I prefer it over the boring 'Bride and Brejudice'.

The minus points are that Chaddha relies on too many Indian British clichés which have been done to death in many other films. I thought Azmi would have more screen time but was disappointed in that respect. The title is misleading. The story had so much potential but Chaddha messes it up. I didn't find the sequences with the ghosts to be amusing.

Now the plus is that most of the jokes work. I was laughing out loud especially at the sequences with Sally Hawkins. The 'Carrie' homage, though out of place, had me laughing out loud. I thought Shabana Azmi was great with what she was given. she's mostly let down by the poor script. Goldy Notay is quite likable. Sendhil Ramamurthy is limited to playing the typical love interest. Zoe Wanamaker is wasted. Sally Hawkins is a scene stealer.

Overall, I didn't mind 'It's a Wonderful Afterlife' for a one-time-watch. It made me laugh even though it could have easily been a much better movie.