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:

Gurinder Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges

Stars:

Sanjeev Bhaskar, Steve Morphew, Steve Jones

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sanjeev Bhaskar	...	Curry Man (Mr. Bhatti)
Steve Morphew	...	A&E Doctor
Steve Jones	...	Earnest Reporter
Jamie Sives	...	Detective Hughes
Sendhil Ramamurthy	...	D S Raj Murthy
Mark Addy	...	D I Smythe
Shabana Azmi	...	Mrs. Sethi
Goldy Notay	...	Roopi Sethi
Sacha Shilov	...	Bike Kid
Teghvir Gujral	...	Bike Kid
Harry Rance	...	Bike Kid
Ray Panthaki	...	Jazz Sethi
Jack Gordon	...	Ari
Shaheen Khan	...	Kebab Woman (Manjit Kaur)
Lalita Ahmed	...	Old Woman at Market

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 | f rated | overweight woman | 

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Taglines:

Finding the right man can be MURDER

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug content and comic violent images

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nearly all of Madhav Sharma's role was cut.

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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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Quotes

Mrs. Sethi: Please let them be, don't make me harm you
D I Smythe: Calm down
[Mrs Sethi picks up a set of hedge clipper shears]
D I Smythe: My god... it's you
Mrs. Sethi: Leave them
D I Smythe: Put down the shears
Mrs. Sethi: I don't want to harm you... please
[last lines]
D I Smythe: Put down the shears

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Crazy Credits

Out takes and behind the scenes are shown over the credits

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Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #13.8 (2010)

User Reviews

Nonintellectual, nonlogical, slapstick fun.

Unfairly slated Ealing-style slapstick comedy. Obviously fun to make, with familiar faces and heart-warming family drama, along the lines of "OMG what is Mum doing now?", as she tries to solve her daughter's seemingly non-existent marriage prospects. Along the way, the audience bops along to Indian remixes of popular western disco and pop, and wonders how an unlikely murderer will meet their fate. The plot is unsophisticated yet gripping. The dialog is natural, with gags, but the film's undeniable humour comes from the same loving, awkward moments that drive it's story. I can't see anyone walking out of this movie, unless they don't wish to be entertained.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010) is not a work-of-art, not a beautifully made film. But it does not try to be. It is a funny murder-love-story with falling down moments, with familiar actors having a blast making ridiculous comedy. If you want a horror show, or a logical plot, then it may let you down. But for laughs, and for a screenful of some of our most popular actors (with new faces too), it will tickle you. Nothing much to complain about here, if you love life.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English Punjabi

Release Date:

21 April 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

It's a Wonderful Afterlife

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,321,438

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