Recent Posts
The Hits and Misses from the 2021 BFI London Film FestivalOctober 30 2021 - Read moreCine/Mobility: The Latin American Film Festival Erasing Borders
October 7 2021 - Read moreOur Critics’ Picks for the BFI London Film Festival 2021
October 2 2021 - Read moreThe Second Rise of the Taliban
August 16 2021 - Read moreThe Black Maternity Scandal: A Lens on Racial Disparity in Healthcare
May 23 2021 - Read more
I went to see this last night, hopeful for a modern portrayal of British Muslim lives, with a strong, independent Muslim heroine. Having missed the 1-star review given in the Guardian, I was therefore very disappointed at the poor production values, script and level of acting on display. I expect my TV programmes to be of better quality than what I saw on a big screen for London ticket prices and am genuinely surprised at the writers being BBC staff. I’ve seen desi dramas with more wit and nuance than this sorry production. The review above is far too generous.
There were important points about some quite serious topics that were lost due to the broad caricatures portrayed – alluded to in the review above but also for example the incident in the gym and abusive relationships (with both genders being the perpetrators). Having said that, Danny Ashok and Asmara Gabrielle managed to put some heart into the whole sorry affair and there were a few laugh-out-loud moments. And at least some of my ticket price went to charity, so there’s that small consolation.
If you’re still looking for a heartwarming British Muslim rom-com, look up My Jihad on BBC IPlayer. A 4 part series originally shown online as part of the BBC3 strand of programming a couple of years ago, it’s an absolute gem and deserves to be more widely known and shown. Both of the main couple are sympathetically portrayed and the production values leave nothing to be desired. If the BBC cares about its Muslim viewers, it would put some money behind getting this on the big screen.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p02ty5wz