India-born delivers a 'sleeper hit' in US

WASHINGTON: In American showbiz, "sleeper hit" is a term used to refer to a film (and sometimes even a book or an album) that gains unexpected success or recognition. Among the big sleepers in recent years are: The Full Monty , Little Miss Sunshine , and My Big Fat Greek Wedding . Breaking news for India is that a Hollywood sleeper has just begun to stir — and it comes from a debutant Indian-origin director who's not in the same bracket as Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta, or Shekhar Kapur — not yet.

His name is Bharat Nalluri and his debut directorial venture is the rather unusually titled Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day . But in a week that saw mega-movies such as 10000 BC and The Bank Job hit the screens in the US, it is Nalluri's limited release Miss Pettigrew that has the critics excited.

From the New York Times : "As it stands, the movie, directed by Bharat Nalluri from a screenplay by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, is an example of how a little nothing of a story can be inflated into a little something of a movie with perfect casting, dexterous tonal manipulation and an astute eye and ear for detail."

From Washington Post : "After a particularly dour Oscar season, the jolly romantic romp Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day sparkles like a rhinestone in the muck. Set in 1930s London, the story of a dowdy governess (Frances McDonald) who finds adventure and love when she works as a starlet's (Amy Adams) personal assistant for 24 hours is just the tonic for filmgoers eager for a film that celebrates the bearable lightness of being."

And from USA Today : "Based on the 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew is a veritable treat. Wisely cast, this handsome production is a delightful farcical fairy tale, bolstered by moments of depth and emotion."

The movie is not about to rake in big box-office bucks just this week because, typical of sleepers, it has a limited screen release in the US. But, with '10000 BC' looking like a dud at the box office, Pettigrew looks set to grow in size.

Nalluri was born in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, came to England with his family when he was six, and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne. This is his first full-length film, and according to his filmography on a movie database, he has directed episodes of the serials 'Life on Mars', 'Hustle', and 'Spooks' for BBC One, besides a two-part TV film titled 'Tsunami: The Aftermath'.

In an interview to India-West, Nalluri joked that 'Pettigrew' was a tribute to his early familiarity with Bollywood. "This is my homage to my Sunday afternoons, growing up in India," he said. "My parents would put on a movie, and invite loads of people, and make a big Indian meal, and kids would be running around."

Nalluri said there typically is a "Bollywood moment" in all his ventures and there is one in Miss Pettigrew too.