Anita and Me (2002)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Metin Hüseyin

Writers:

Meera Syal (novel)
Meera Syal (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 November 2002 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Meena, a 12-year-old living in a mining village in the English Midlands in 1972, is the daughter of...

Plot Keywords:

Indian | Midlands | England | South Asian | Pakistani

Cast

Kabir Bedi	...	Yeti
Max Beesley	...	Hairy Neddy
Sanjeev Bhaskar	...	Mr. Kumar
Anna Brewster	...	Anita Rutter
Kathy Burke	...	Mrs. Rutter
Ayesha Dharker	...	Mrs. Daljeet Kumar
Omid Djalili	...	Uncle Amman
Alex Freeborn	...	Sam Lowbridge
Lynn Redgrave	...	Mrs. Ormerod
Zohra Sehgal	...	Nanima
Meera Syal	...	Auntie Shaila
Christine Tremarco	...	Sandy
Chandeep Uppal	...	Meena Kumar
Mark Williams	...	The Reverend 'Uncle' Alan
Lucy Pargeter	...	Brenda

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Hindi | Punjabi

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | New Zealand:M | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Draycott, Derbyshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Alex Freeborn as Sam Lowbridge rides a 1971 Triumph Bonneville.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film shows UPVC double glazing in certain scenes. UPVC double glazing was not introduced into the UK until 1976, whereas the movie is set in 1972.

Soundtrack:

Son Of My Father

Very funny but also very sad at times this movie is excellent

This film based on the part, autobiographical book my Meena Syal is set in Tollington, as rural English village in the seventies. A touching story it deals with Meena (a 12 year old girl whose parents moved to Tollington from India), her life and her friendship with her neighbour Anita.

Very funny but also very sad at times this movie is excellent. Meena Syal has written the screenplay herself so it stays very true to the book. She also plays a small part (not as Meena) in the film along with others like Kathy Burke (of Harry Enfield fame) Mark Williams (the fast show), and her Goodness Gracious me co-star, Sanjeev Bhaskar. The young actors are also exceptionally good. The actress who plays young Meena is very good and believable with brilliant comic timing, while unfortunately young Anita seemed slightly wooden. Although some may argue the character Anita is meant to be quite stiff so this does not affect the quality of the movie too much. This film fits into the category of films dealing with young people from an Asian heritage (Pakistan, India etc) living in Britain, like 'East is East' and Bend it like Beckham. This film is one of the best out of this genre of film and although similar to East is East is also very different.

An excellent piece of 21st century film.