LONDON: Brick Lane, the movie based on Monica Ali s critically-acclaimed novel, has finally premiered in London after controversy surrounding its filming and the cancellation of a royal performance.
The film, which follows the fortunes of Nazneen, a young Muslim Bangladeshi woman who immigrated to London aged 17 after an arranged marriage, was shown for the first time at the London Film Festival recently.
But director Sarah Gavron s portrayal of this slice of immigrant life has divided the critics.
Some of the more violent aspects of Ali s 2003 novel about the famous east London street have been left out of the film. Instead, the characters are more appealing, which some critics have seen as an attempt to avoid controversy.
The film itself is shot from Nazneen s point of view, showing her trapped in a cramped flat she shares in a dreary municipal authority-owned block with her ageing, pot-bellied husband and their two daughters.
But her endless days juggling money and marital worries are suddenly brightened when Karim, who brings her work as a seamstress, comes into her life and they embark on a passionate affair.
The film also shows the rise in Islamic radicalism and the tensions caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States when the community suddenly becomes a target.
The filming of Brick Lane last year caused tensions within certain sections of the Bangladeshi community in east London.
About 100 people demonstrated in July 2006 on Brick Lane itself, a popular destination for curry lovers which is also called Banglatown and is a symbol for the 330,000 Bangladeshis living in the British capital.
The protesters threatened to burn Ali s book, calling it an insult to the community because it portrayed Bangladeshis as ignorant and lacking respect for religion.
Gavron said that view was not representative.
We had a huge amount of support from the community but there was a little group with a political agenda that got a lot of attention, she told the audience at the London Film Festival.
As for Prince Charles canceling a Royal Film Performance scheduled for Oct. 29, no reason was given, she added.
Such showings have been held every year since 1946, apart from 1958, with proceeds going to royal charities, including the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund which helps organize the screening.
A royal official at Clarence House, Charles official London residence, said: There has been quite a lot of controversy about that film which everyone was aware of.
The appropriateness of the film chosen is important but so is the date. It is a mixture of both reasons. At the start it had been one of a number of films proposed. None of the films and none of the dates worked.
Although the prince has offered to reschedule the performance in the new year, there have been suggestions that the royal family was keen to avoid a similar furor that followed the awarding of a knighthood to Salman Rushdie.
Rushdie, author of the Satanic Verses, was given the award in Queen Elizabeth II s birthday honors list earlier this year, prompting outrage from many in the Muslim community who still consider his 1988 work as blasphemous.
Brick Lane hits British screens on Nov. 16. It has already won two prizes at the festival of British film in Dinard, France, but a date for its opening in Europe has not yet been set.
