Brick Lane (film)
Encyclopedia
Brick Lane is an award-winning 2007 British drama film
directed by Sarah Gavron
and adapted from the novel of the same name by Monica Ali
. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by Laura Jones and Abi Morgan
, and Tannishtha Chatterjee
played the lead role. The film had its first public screening at the Telluride Film Festival
.
, in the district of Mymensingh
, and moves to Brick Lane
in London
at the age of 17, with her husband Chanu Ahmed, who is twice her age and was wedded to her in an arranged marriage
. On doing this she leaves behind her sister and her home
. Married to a man she does not love, she receives letters from her sister about her carefree life, living vicariously through those letters. The film picks up the story with the couple having lived in a small flat for 16 years and having had two daughters. Nazneen is filled with desire when a young, good-looking clothing worker visits her house and she has an affair with him. The movie is set during the 9/11 period when racial tensions were heightened, and the Bangladeshi Muslim community was becoming increasingly religious including the character Karim.
was the first actress who auditioned for the role of Nazneen. She was finally cast two months after her initial audition after Gavron saw several hundred other girls for the part. Both Christopher Simpson and Chatterjee studied the Bangladeshi culture in Brick Lane by following around locals. Satish Kaushik
was cast at the last moment after Gavron saw a picture of him on the Internet. Since Brick Lane was his first English language film, he took lessons from a diction coach to improve his accent. Many residents of Brick Lane appear on the film and some members of crew were also from the local area. The film's winter scenes were shot in the middle of a heat wave in Summer 2006, necessitating the use of artificial snow. Portions of the film were shot in West Bengal
.
praised the film's characters for their "depth and reality", although several critics such as Robert Koehler of Variety
compared it unfavourably with the novel.
Although the film was critically acclaimed and the novel was an award-winning best seller, the film caused controversy
among numbers of the Bangladeshi community in London. They objected to comments made by the character Chanu that portrayed the Bangladeshi community as backward and uneducated. On 31 July 2006, a protest was held in Brick Lane by 120 British Bangladeshis. As a result of the controversy surrounding the film, a planned screening for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was canceled.
for the best actress and best director in 2007. The film won a Silver Hitchcock and best screenplay at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema.
release occurred on 10 March 2008 and the Region 1
DVD of the film was released on 13 January 2009.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Sarah Gavron
Sarah Gavron
Sarah Gavron is a British film director. She graduated from the University of York with a BA in English in 1992 and an MA in film studies from Edinburgh University and then worked for the BBC for three years...
and adapted from the novel of the same name by Monica Ali
Monica Ali
Monica Ali is a British writer of Bangladeshi origin. She is the author of Brick Lane, her debut novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2003...
. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by Laura Jones and Abi Morgan
Abi Morgan
Abi Morgan is a British playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as Sex Traffic and The Hour, and the film Brick Lane...
, and Tannishtha Chatterjee
Tannishtha Chatterjee
Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress.She is best known in the west for her performance in the British film Brick Lane , the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name. She was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards as the best actress for Brick Lane...
played the lead role. The film had its first public screening at the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
.
Plot
The film tells the story of a woman named Nazneen, a Bengali girl who grew up in rural BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, in the district of Mymensingh
Mymensingh District
Mymensingh is one of the districts of Dhaka division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya state of India and Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur district, on the east by districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj, and on the west by districts of Sherpur, Jamalpur and Tangail...
, and moves to Brick Lane
Brick Lane
Brick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the age of 17, with her husband Chanu Ahmed, who is twice her age and was wedded to her in an arranged marriage
Arranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
. On doing this she leaves behind her sister and her home
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Married to a man she does not love, she receives letters from her sister about her carefree life, living vicariously through those letters. The film picks up the story with the couple having lived in a small flat for 16 years and having had two daughters. Nazneen is filled with desire when a young, good-looking clothing worker visits her house and she has an affair with him. The movie is set during the 9/11 period when racial tensions were heightened, and the Bangladeshi Muslim community was becoming increasingly religious including the character Karim.
Casting and production
Tannishtha ChatterjeeTannishtha Chatterjee
Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress.She is best known in the west for her performance in the British film Brick Lane , the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name. She was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards as the best actress for Brick Lane...
was the first actress who auditioned for the role of Nazneen. She was finally cast two months after her initial audition after Gavron saw several hundred other girls for the part. Both Christopher Simpson and Chatterjee studied the Bangladeshi culture in Brick Lane by following around locals. Satish Kaushik
Satish Kaushik
Satish Kaushik is an Indian film director and actor in Hindi films and theatre.As a film actor his most remembered for his role as 'Calendar' in Mr. India, and as 'Chanu Ahmed' in Sarah Gavron's English film Brick Lane...
was cast at the last moment after Gavron saw a picture of him on the Internet. Since Brick Lane was his first English language film, he took lessons from a diction coach to improve his accent. Many residents of Brick Lane appear on the film and some members of crew were also from the local area. The film's winter scenes were shot in the middle of a heat wave in Summer 2006, necessitating the use of artificial snow. Portions of the film were shot in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
.
Cast
- Tannishtha ChatterjeeTannishtha ChatterjeeTannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress.She is best known in the west for her performance in the British film Brick Lane , the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name. She was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards as the best actress for Brick Lane...
as Nazneen Ahmed - Satish KaushikSatish KaushikSatish Kaushik is an Indian film director and actor in Hindi films and theatre.As a film actor his most remembered for his role as 'Calendar' in Mr. India, and as 'Chanu Ahmed' in Sarah Gavron's English film Brick Lane...
as Chanu Ahmed - Christopher Simpson as Karim
- Naeema Begum as Rukshana 'Shahna' Ahmed
- Lana Rahman as Bibi Ahmed
- Lalita Ahmed as Mrs. Islam
- Harvey VirdiHarvey VirdiHarvey Virdi is an actress well known as a veteran of British-Asian theatre.Her theatre credits include When We are Married, Romeo and Juliet, Square Circle, and Playboy of the Asian World , Airport 2000 and Jatinder Verma's production of Exodus...
as Razia - Zafreen as Hasina
- Harsh Nayyar as Dr. Azad
- Abdul Nlephaz Ali as Tariq
- Bijal Chandaria as Shefali
- Azziz Azzizi as Homosexual Man
Reception
Brick Lane was well received by most critics, earning a 63% favourable rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 61/100 on Metacritic. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
praised the film's characters for their "depth and reality", although several critics such as Robert Koehler of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
compared it unfavourably with the novel.
Although the film was critically acclaimed and the novel was an award-winning best seller, the film caused controversy
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
among numbers of the Bangladeshi community in London. They objected to comments made by the character Chanu that portrayed the Bangladeshi community as backward and uneducated. On 31 July 2006, a protest was held in Brick Lane by 120 British Bangladeshis. As a result of the controversy surrounding the film, a planned screening for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was canceled.
Soundtrack
- "Adam's Lullaby" - (Natacha AtlasNatacha AtlasNatacha Atlas is a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne" . Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabic, hip hop, drum 'n' bass and reggae.Atlas began her career as part of...
) - 3:05 - "Memories of a Summer" - 4:02
- "Poem" - 1:56
- "Running Through the Night" - 3:10
- "Song of the Boatman" - 3:47
- "A World Changed" - 2:34
- "Quiet Joy" - 3:03
- "Picnic at the Palace" - 1:55
- "Tapur Tapur" - 2:45
- "Love Blossoms" - 2:44
- "Rite of Passage" - 2:02
- "Departure" - 1:46
- "Leelabali" - 2:38
- "Childhood Fragments" - 1:48
- "Dreaiming" - 6:04
- "Playing in the Paddy Fields" - 2:57
- "The First Kiss" - 1:47
- "Dol Dol Duluni" - Traditional (Tannishtha ChatterjeeTannishtha ChatterjeeTannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress.She is best known in the west for her performance in the British film Brick Lane , the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name. She was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards as the best actress for Brick Lane...
) - 1:51
Awards
Sarah Gavron was nominated for a BAFTA award and both Tannishtha Chatterjee and Sarah Gavron were nominated for a BIFABritish Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
for the best actress and best director in 2007. The film won a Silver Hitchcock and best screenplay at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema.
DVD release
The film was released in the UK on 16 November 2007, and in the US by Sony Picture Classics in limited release on 20 June 2008. The DVD Region 2DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
release occurred on 10 March 2008 and the Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD of the film was released on 13 January 2009.