Chicken Tikka Masala (2005)

Jimi is surprised when his family announces 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.

Director:

Harmage Singh Kalirai

Writers:

Rony Ghosh (story), Roopesh Parekh (script and screenplay)

Stars:

Chris Bisson, Saeed Jaffrey, Sally Bankes

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Bisson	...	Jimi
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Chandra P Chopra
Sally Bankes	...	Vanessa
Peter Ash	...	Jack
Zohra Sehgal	...	Grandmother
Jamila Massey	...	Asha Chopra
Katy Clayton	...	Hannah
Sushil Chudasama	...	Ravi
Louisa Eyo	...	Marlene
Jinder Mahal	...	Simran (as Manjinder Mahal)
Shobu Kapoor	...	Minaxi Patel
Harish Patel	...	Harishbhai Patel
Dalu Solanki	...	Priest
Rony Ghosh	...	Mr. Shah
Vijayanti Uma Chauhan	...	Auntie

Storyline

Jimi, a doctor in Lancashire and the only son of loving Indian immigrants, is spineless. When his parents and grandmother arrange his marriage to a young woman from their home village, he hasn't the courage to tell them that he's already in love, with Jack, a man they think is his best friend. To queer the wedding, Jack's niece Hannah tells the bride-to-be that she's Jimi's daughter. Jimi's family swallows hard and decides to make the best of it by marrying Jimi to Hannah's mother, the blowzy, hard-drinking, foul-mouthed Vanessa. Jimi begs Vanessa to go through with it, so he can be with Jack. Is another resolution possible?

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | gay | large family | coming out to family | acceptance | 

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Taglines:

Are you ready for a HOT 'n' SPICY season?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Former official site for the film - DEFUNCT TLAReleasing.com - Official distributor's page for the film. [United States]

Country:

UK India

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

22 April 2005 (UK)

Also Known As:

PrzepisNAmilosc

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medtia Group,Seven Spice Productions Limited,B2B Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First feature film for Peter Ash, who portrays Jack.

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Quotes

Jack: Three beers and a double-whiskey and we still don't know what to do. Why can't life be simple?

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Crazy Credits

"Special thanks... to all the souls, families and friends who put up with us for six weeks in Preston and elsewhere in the UK"

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Connections

References Saturday Night Fever (1977)

User Reviews

It is not as bad as people say. In fact, it is good!

This film is about a young Indian guy who comes home one day and finds himself getting engaged to a woman. The problem is that he is gay. In order to stop the wedding without telling his parents that he is gay, one lie leads to another until it spirals out of control.

This film is hilarious and got me laughing many times. Sally Bankes' acting is superb and she plays this strong woman who does what she wants convincingly. The plot is outstanding as well. I find the plot very realistic, and I can completely identify with Jimi's feeling of being terrified, worried and upset. On the other hand, Jimi's boyfriend, Jack, is given much less attention in the film. I would have liked him to be given more lines in the film, and have more character development. However, as I guess the director wants to make this a more mainstream film, the love between Jimi and Jack was not developed in the film.

It is great to watch a gay affirmative film. Furthermore, this film preaches us to be accepting to other people's difference, be it sexuality, culture and the way of life. This film makes viewers think hard.

We need films like this to give us a boost. Thanks for making this film!