London, Nov 03, 2004
PTI
NRI Peress
Gurinder Chadha, NRI director of Aishwarya Rai-starrer 'Bride and
Prejudice' has been honoured at the House of Commons for her outstanding
achievement and contribution to the British film industry.
Describing her hit film 'Bend It Like Beckham' as the biggest British-financed
and distributed film, Keith Vaz, MP, and former minister for Foreign
and Commonwealth Office said last night it was impossible to quantify
the achievements of Gurinder Chadha.
"Her hit film 'Bend It Like Beckham' is the biggest British-financed
and distributed film and 'Bride and Prejudice' is the No.1 in the Box
Office chart in Britain," he said at a reception hosted in her
honour by himself and two other MPs John Barrett and Michael Fabricant
along with the ROKO Cancer Appeal headed by A P S Chawla.
"Gurinder Chadha has made a fantastic contribution to the British
film industry over the past fifteen years. She is one of those rare
British film-makers who has won artistic and popular acclamation from
all over the world." Chadha, who was emotionally moved, said it
was for the first time a film director was honoured in the House of
Commons "in this way." Recalling the hardships her father
faced when he came here from Kenya over three decades ago, she said
"It was a very difficult time to get a job because he had a turban
and beard.
"The films I make are rooted in the heart of British Asians and
they are a testimony to the fact that how much progress the British
Asians have achieved over a period of time," she added.