Scheming Young Love: English Butler Masala Chai
The trials of young love can be difficult, awkward and even entertaining when placed in the right context, as connoisseurs of romantic comedies well know. Take that tried and true premise and add a young man trying to win over his girlfriend?s father by becoming the family?s English Butler, and now you have what is best described as a comedy of errors.
This is where things get interesting. Vivek is a successful real estate mogul, and fiercely proud of his Indian heritage, which includes a resentment of the British and their two-hundred year rule over India. Becoming such a man’s prim and proper English Butler, in order to convince him that not all British people have latent colonialist agendas, seems like a reckless plan that could only come from the minds of those in the throes of young love. What follows, is a wonderfully quirky, cross-cultural movie that is sure to strike a universal chord.
For Director Maneesh Malhotra, doing his first feature was made that much easier through the use of the RED ONE™ digital camera. The movie is one of the first Canadian films to use it and Maneesh feels that due to the lack of budget constraints that come with using traditional 35mm film, he was “really free to shoot” what he wanted.
Having come from an Indian background, and living in the melting pot of a city that is Toronto, for Maneesh, who also co-wrote the script, the cross-cultural angle of the film was a natural fit. The cast of the film, which consists mainly of up-and-coming Canadian talent, was also a natural choice, and remarkably refreshing on screen. Maneesh described the atmosphere on the set of the movie as “like a family.”
Tara Joshi, who plays leading lady Vidhi, has her own cross-cultural leanings, being half Scottish and half Indian. She delivers an energetic performance in the movie, and is definitely a Canadian talent to watch in the years to come. Playing opposite her, as Harry William II, Geoffrey Hymers was chosen over other actual British actors and recalls fondly trying to perfect his English accent, by aping Hugh Grant. He “picked up ‘Love Actually’ and watched it twelve times”, before realizing he could rent other movies.
Sachin Sharma, who plays Vidhi’s real estate tycoon father, describes his character as a “strong-headed go-getter kind of a guy.” Being a successful realtor in real life, and being a family man, the role wasn’t too much a stretch for Sachin. Not just happy with acting in the movie, Sachin also co-wrote the script and is also a producer for the movie. He describes the message of the film as being “everyone is equal; it doesn’t matter which nationality you are, or what color of skin you have.”
Apart from the leading members, the cast is full of interesting characters who sometimes steal the scene. Tony Sierra, who plays the part of Friday the Italian cook, is one such character. In the original script the character was written to be from a Jamaican background. However, during the casting, Tony Sierra was so impressive; the role was re-written to be an Italian cook. Richard Young, who plays Vidhi’s “gay best friend” Hari, is also another scene-stealer. Full of nervous and energy, and described by Richard as a “bundle of psychosis’s”, Hari is ever awkward, ever-reluctant, and provides a counter-balance to the readily scheming Harry and Vidhi.
All in all “English Butler Masala Chai” is a great representation of what Canadian talent capable of, and is funny to boot. The movie releases on the 30th of April at select theatres around the GTA.
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Asif Shah is a Journalism student experiencing the wonders of cross-cultural living in the first person. He is passionate about a great many things; the Arts not being the least.
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