Tom Wilkinson out, Richard Gere in.
By Tathagata Mitra
BANGALORE: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2, a sequel to the 2012 original, recently wrapped up shoot in India.
Director John Madden created quite the buzz with a wonderful film that brought some of the grand old actors of England together, in India. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, released in 2012, and based on Deborah Moggach’s novel ‘These Foolish Things’. It turned out to be successful comedy-drama film. The film had an ensemble cast featuring Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie and Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame.
After the success of the film, writer Ol Parker and Madden decided to come together again for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2, or The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The cast of the original film is returning for the sequel with the exception of Wilkinson. However, Richard Gere, Tamsin Greig and David Strathairn are joining the cast.
The story of the film, like the original, revolves around Sonny Kapoor (Patel) who wants to open a second hotel but it’s taking up more time than he has to give. He has to get married to the love of his life Sunaina. However, he has his eyes set on a beautiful property now that the first hotel is almost filled to the brink with only one room to spare.
The filming began in India at Jaipur on January 10. The filming wrapped up only a few days ago.
One of the major reasons for the previous film’s success has been cited as the beautiful manner in which India has been shot. India has always been a favorite of Hollywood filmmakers. While Bollywood uses foreign locations more often than not as fillers cum song sequences, the western filmmakers rather use India as much as a character, than just a location.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as a “lulling, happy-face story of retirement-age self-renewal, set in a shimmering, weltering, jewel-colored India”.
Some of the major Hollywood films in the past who have used India as a grand setting for its plot include Eat Pray Love, Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, The Bourne Supremacy, The Darjeeling Unlimited and of course who can forget the Bond film starring Roger Moore, Octopussy. And of course there is Slumdog Millionaire.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 is releasing in theatres March 6, 2015.