2 weeks ago
Amar Chaggar's Never Had a Chance Tackles British Asian Issues
Never Had a Chance is a new movie made by an actor named Amar Chaggar.
It is set in a part of London called Hounslow, where many British Asian families live.
The movie tells the story of a man named Ravi who wants to leave his past mistakes behind and start a better life.
He meets a woman named Suki and begins to hope he can have a family of his own.
The movie talks about serious topics like crime, family problems, hurt inside homes, drugs and feeling sad or worried.
Amar made this movie because he wants people to talk more openly about these problems in the British Asian community.
The movie won prizes at two film festivals and was shown at several other festivals.
Amar says big productions often see south Asians as a one-dimensional market.
He believes the industry still needs many more stories like this one.
Amar Chaggar's independent drama Never Had a Chance was released in select cinemas nationwide on Friday (14).
Set in Hounslow's Punjabi community, the film explores crime, family breakdown, domestic violence, drugs, mental health and gambling.
Chaggar stars as Ravi, a man with a criminal record seeking a stable life, who meets Suki (played by Tina Sharma).
The film won Best First Feature at Kingston International Film Festival and Best Feature at London Independent Film Festival.
Chaggar said British south Asians remain under-represented in film and TV, describing the industry as '10 or 15 years behind.'
- Who
- Amar Chaggar, who stars as Ravi, and Tina Sharma, who plays Suki
- What
- The independent drama Never Had a Chance, which explores crime, family breakdown, domestic violence, drugs, mental health and gambling in the British Asian community, was released in cinemas
- Where
- Set in Hounslow, west London, and released in select cinemas nationwide
- When
- Friday (14), following prior festival screenings
- Why
- To bring difficult issues within the British Asian community into the open and push for greater south Asian representation in British film and TV
Key facts
- Film
- Never Had a Chance
- Genre
- Independent drama
- Lead actor and character
- Amar Chaggar (Ravi)
- Co-star and character
- Tina Sharma (Suki)
- Setting
- Hounslow, west London (Punjabi community)
- Release
- Friday (14), select cinemas nationwide
- Festival awards
- Best First Feature (Kingston International Film Festival); Best Feature (London Independent Film Festival)
- Key themes
- Crime, family breakdown, domestic violence, drugs, mental health, gambling
Quotes
Amar Chaggar
Actor and filmmaker
“"We are starting to gain some momentum. We are seeing more stories being told, more filmmakers creating projects and more people wanting to become actors in the industry," he said.”
easterneye.biz
“"When we look at a lot of British south Asian stories, they are often more romance- or comedy-based, and sometimes quite slapstick," Chaggar said.”
easterneye.biz
Sources
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