| What the actors say about the film | Chicken Tikka Masala follows the fortunes of the Chopra family of Preston. Parents Mr and Mrs Chopra are arranging for their only son, Jimi (played by Chris Bisson), to become engaged to Simran, a pretty well-educated girl from a respectable Indian family. Simran is perfect in every way. But there is one major problem. Jimi is in love with someone else – his boyfriend Jack.
Chris Bisson said: “The story itself is very funny. But it’s also very challenging because it looks at a subject rarely presented in cinema. The film shows a very real dilemma facing a young man who is trying to balance familial duties against his own happiness.”
Saeed Jaffrey, who plays Jimi’s father, says his character has to deal with some difficult issues. He said: “His traditional attitudes come into direct conflict with the realities of modern life. One of the story’s pivotal issues rests on his ability to come to terms with change.” |
Nineteen-year-old Roopesh Parekh, who is originally from Belgrave, has written the screenplay for the movie Chicken Tikka Masala. The film, which is made by Preston-based company Seven Spice Productions, is about a gay Asian man and his efforts to avoid an arranged marriage. It stars Saeed Jaffrey, who has been in movies including Gandhi, Chris Bisson, who was in the film East is East and the Channel 4 drama Shameless, and Pete Ash from the ITV series Footballers’ Wives. Roopesh says he was approached by the film-makers after they heard about two plays he had written for Leicester theatres. His play The Innocents was performed at Leicester Haymarket Theatre in 2003 and another piece, called Hold Up Dance Depot, was put on at the Y Theatre in 2002. The next Spielberg? Roopesh says it took him four months and 11 drafts to come up with a film script he was happy with. He said: “I had never done a screenplay before and writing for theatre is very different. “With the film script I had to think far more about what kind of images would go with the words – and I had to figure out all the camera shots.” Roopesh is in the first year of a degree in film and video at the London College of Communication, which is part of the University of the Arts London. | "I like films with comedy and love interest, basically what I call popcorn movies... I don’t believe in using cinema to educate people." | | Roopesh Parekh |
He says he admires major Hollywood directors such as Steven Speilberg and thinks films should be used as pure entertainment. Roopesh said: “I like films with comedy and love interest, basically what I call popcorn movies. “I don't believe in using cinema to educate people.” He is hoping to move into directing and is planning to make two short films this summer. Roopesh says he will be asking other young writers to script the pieces for him. He said: “I am giving them the opportunity to have their work shown on screen, in the same way as I was given a break in the film industry.” Chicken Tikka Masala opens in cinemas across the UK, including the Odeon Leicester in Freemans Park, on 22 April. | 
