Balham to Bollywood
Chris England
Indian superstar Aamir Khan's cricket themed Lagaan was one of Indian cinema's success stories in 2001. Apart from phenomenal box-office collections in both India and the West, the film became only the third Indian film to be nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. Chris England played the feared bodyline fast bowler Yardley in the film and Balham to Bollywood is an uproarious look at his experiences during the making of the film.
England spent eight weeks in India shooting Lagaan. Apart from the shooting, he spent his time organising a cricket match between the English cast and the Indian cast and crew that paralleled the on screen cricket match. England cuts adroitly between the cricket preparations and behind the scenes stories and gossip about the film. The end result is side-splittingly funny. It is an outsider's look at Bollywood but it's a balanced one.
Naman Ramachandran
