movie-review ... "It's A Wonderful Afterlife"

It's A Wonderful Afterlife

It's a Wonderful Afterlife is a 2010 British comedy film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay centers on an Indian mother whose obsession with marrying off her daughter leads her into the realm of serial murder. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi The title is a reference to Chadha's personal attachment to Frank Capra's film It's a Wonderful Life.Paul Mayeda Berges. The lead role is played by newcomer Goldy Notay, joining Shabana Azmi, Shaheen Khan, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Sally Hawkins in the cast. dialogue. Chadha also co-produced the film, and co-wrote the screenplay with her husband and producing partner,

Plot

The film is a comedy which uses satirical and Ealing-style humour. Depicting life amongst the Asian community in Britain, it is set in the London suburb of Southall.

Mrs. Sethi (Shabana Azmi) is a widow living in Southall who wants to marry off her only daughter, for she is alone and unhappy. Her daughter, Roopi, (Goldy Notay) is a little plump and opinionated. Mrs. Sethi finds that all her matchmaking efforts are rudely rejected. She avenges this behaviour toward her daughter by murdering the failed dates using her culinary skills. A police hunt begins for a serial murderer using a killer curry.

Mrs. Sethi does not feel guilty until the spirits of her victims come back to haunt her. They are unable to reincarnate until their murderer dies. Mrs. Sethi must kill herself to free the spirits, but vows to get her daughter married first.

The spirits realize that helping Roopi find a suitable husband before the police catch Mrs. Sethi is in their best interests, and everyone begins to work together. Meanwhile, Roopi catches the eye of the young Sergeant investigating the case.

Cast

• Shabana Azmi as Mrs. Sethi
• Goldy Notay as Roopi
• Sendhil Ramamurthy as Raj (D.I. Murthy)
• Sally Hawkins as Linda/Geetali
• Zoë Wanamaker as Mrs. Goldsmith
• Sanjeev Bhaskar as The Curry Man
• Catherine Balavage as Waitress
• Shaheen Khan as Manjeet Kahl/The Kebab Woman
• Adlyn Ross as Mrs. Chakra/The Rolling Pin Woman
• Ash Varrez as Mr. Chakra/The Naan Man
• Mark Addy as D.I. Smythe
• Preeya Kalidas as Karishma
• Jimi Mistry as Dev
• Ray Panthaki as Jazz

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Afterlife