''Bollywood Queen'' is a

British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...

take on the

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', directed by

Jeremy Wooding Jeremy Wooding is a British film director, producer and writer; he also directs for television. He is best known for his work on ''Burning Men'', ''Blood Moon'' and ''Bollywood Queen''. Selected filmography * ''Bollywood Queen'' (2002) * ''Pee ...

and starring

Preeya Kalidas Preeya Kalidas (born 21 June 1980) is a British singer and actress. She played Amira Masood in the soap opera ''EastEnders'', from 2009 to 2012. She released the single "Shimmy" in July 2010, taken from her proposed debut album ''(I'm Over It) ...

and

James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his feature film career began. His notable television work includes ...

. Produced by Jeremy Wooding, the film was released in 2003.

Plot

Geena is a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

fanatic from a respectable

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

family. She has finished school, and is at university doing a business studies course. She is dating Dilip, an ambitious computer whizz, but wants her love life to be like it is in the movies. However, Dilip only wants sex. Geena's family owns Ganesh Global, a clothing company which imports materials and

sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

s from India. Geena has a part-time job working in the shop. She is also in a secret band with two other girls, Anjali and Neeta. Jay is a young guy from Somerset who joins his brother Dean in London, who also works in the clothing industry, for someone called Frank Ian McShane. He owns a guitar, of which he is extremely protective. One day, when Geena is walking along the road, Jay and his brother happen to be managing some poles. One of the poles nearly falls on Geena, but Jay lunges at her and pushes her out of the way before it can crush her. Geena, disgusted at this, hurries along, leaving her phone behind. Jay sees the phone and takes it, but his brother Dean repossesses it. Jay then takes the phone back and gives it to Geena, who then thanks him for saving her life. She then gives him her phone number, and they begin to meet up regularly. The two start to fall in love, meeting up in secret regularly and hiding from Geena's family. However, Dean discovers the affair and launches an attack on Ganesh Global. One of Geena's brothers also sees the two together, and Geena gets into trouble with her family. Her brother then takes away her phone. Geena's brothers then beat Jay up, leaving him bleeding. Jay and Geena then run away together and escape their family. Dean is in hospital, and Jay visits him and takes away all his money. Eventually, Jay and Geena return to London and Jay settles his dispute with his father and brother. Geena then turns up for her relative's wedding, dressed in Indian attire, and sings with her band. She then attempts to reunite with her family, and it is revealed her brother, Sanjay is a criminal, and is handling illegal suits, and that her brother, Tariq is gay. Jay and Geena then leave in the bride and groom's carriage, and her mother says to her father, "She'll be back."

Cast

as Geena *

as Jay * Ray Panthaki as Anil *

Ciarán McMenamin Ciarán McMenamin (born 1 October 1975) is a Northern Irish actor and author. Early life McMenamin was born in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, where he attended St Michael's College. He earned his B.A. from the Royal Scottis ...

as Dean * Kat Bhathena as Anjali *

Ian McShane Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...

as Frank * Amerjit Deu as Sanjay *

Karen David Karen Shenaz David (born 15 April 1979) is a Canadian actress, singer, and songwriter, best known for portraying Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC's fairytale-themed musical-comedy television series ''Galavant'', as we ...

as Neeta * Lalita Ahmed as Geena's mother *

Andy Beckwith Andy Beckwith is an English actor. Career He is best known for his role as Errol in Guy Ritchie's '' Snatch'' (2000) and for his portrayal of Rorge in the HBO series '' Game of Thrones'' (2012–2014). He played the role of Clanker, a member of ...

as Johnny * Jo Cameron Brown as Anita * Saraj Chaudhry as Tariq * Giada Dobrzenska as Club Kid *

Ronny Jhutti Ronny Jhutti (born Ajay Jhutti, 1973) is a British actor, most notable for his role as Sohail Karim in '' EastEnders'', Danny Bartock in two episodes of '' Doctor Who'' and Naz Omar in ''Vexed''. Ronny was raised in London, where he was born, as ...

as Dilip * Tajpal Rathore as Family member * Ranu Setna as Uncle Ganesh * Faizaan Shurai as Factory Worker * Elsa de Belilovsky as Elsa

Awards and nominations

British Independent Film Awards *

- nominated for Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)

References

External links

* * {{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations 2002 films 2000s musical films 2002 romantic drama films British romantic drama films British Indian films Films set in London Films based on Romeo and Juliet Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare 2000s English-language films 2000s British films