Nina's Heavenly Delights

" I find some of the comments by ukxenafan1 quite insulting. I am Scottish and Asian and when I saw this film I identified with some of the characters on the screen. The actors' accents were authentic Scottish (some of the actors are actually Scottish) - not heavy Glasgow - and some of them talked in a way many Punjabi, Scottish people like myself talk. So for for this person to say that she/he didn't know what the accents were supposed to be is insulting to many Scottish- Asians who talk like the characters in the film. They should do their homework on the actors before they post such disrespectful comments. I went to see this film with friends in Glasgow and we all enjoyed it very much. We thought it was different to see a British-Asian film that didn't have the usual stereotypes that we have seen a thousand times before. Maybe this is why some people are having a problem with this film. There aren't many white people in the film and the Asian family is like any other family. We liked the magical elements of the film. Why should we expect all Brit/Asian films to be like the last one that was made. The girls in this film are not worshipping a white male god like Beckham. Thank god for that!

I saw this movie at The Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, though this funny, witty and entertaining movie about love and passions set against a cross-cultural, Glaswegian background could be featured at any film festival. I laughed at the witty, self-humorous dialogue, jiggled in my seat alongside the Bollywood songs, and drooled at the sight of all that delicious food. This is a rare gem which entertains the majority and identifies with the minority. You'll end up rushing to your nearest Curry House and checking out the chef! Here's one funny girl loves girl story which doesn't end in tears for a change. It can and does happen! Thank you Pratibha! Hope we don't have to wait another 7 years for the next one.

This film does not tick the 'right' buttons for white expectations of an Asian British film or a queer film and so people may be wrong footed. So there is no culture clash with parents who are living an 'Asian' read outdated culture with westernised children, no arranged marriage, no white person learning and being surprised by 'Asian' culture. No belly laughs ensuing from said conflicts. Instead we have a film about being true to yourself and learning to follow your passions for whatever - cooking, dance, love. I wait for the day that Black filmmakers can make work without having to conform to the prescribed script written for them to fulfil and they can just follow their passions.

I hate the way this film has been criticized in the press. By insisting, as the BBC does in their review of her film, that any treatment of Asian queerness needs to be portrayed as brutish and gritty, and that any story of an Asian family coping with a queer member must be shown through the lens of a "multicultural family and their troubled psyches", the press is putting the same straight-jacket on Asian filmmakers, as they do on black filmmakers, when they insist that the only stories that can come of out the black community are stories of gun violence and rat-infested squats.

The critics demand that queer Asians aren't allowed to do "Kissing Jessica Stein", that domain is reserved for whites only. Reading the reviews, you get the clear picture that the crime they want to charge Pratibha with, is not "making a bad film" but for "not telling an Asian queer story in the appropriate manner", as set out by films like East is East and My Beautiful Laundrette. That bloody sucks. More power to her for daring to challenge the stereotypes.

Knowing the struggles that a lot Asians go through with coming out and their acceptance by their families, this movie is a breeze of fresh air. It is OK for parents to have preconceived ideas and hopes for their kids but a little bit of open mindedness can make everyone so happy!

I watched this movie at the GLBT Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where this movie was selected to be screened on the closing night. Its a movie I can comfortably watch with my parents without making them uncomfortable also.

I also got an opportunity to hang out with Ms. Parmar, the director of the movie, who I interviewed for a magazine. A very down-to-earth, real person, who has kinda lived the story.

Kudos to Pratibha Parmar for giving me 2 hours of smiles and happiness through her movie!!