LONDON: A group of residents and traders of the predominantly Bangladeshi area of Brick Lane in east London have threatened violent protests against the film adaptation of the best-selling novel by Monica Ali.
On Monday night a group of the local community in Brick Lane labelled the Booker shortlisted book as a ‘despicable insult’ and threatened they would do ‘anything it takes’ to prevent the film from being shot in their neighbourhood. Abdus Salique, the chairman of the Brick Lane Traders’ Association, who is leading the campaign, said “nobody can come with a camera and make a film about that book here.”
He added that Monica Ali, who is born of English and Bangladeshi parents and came to the UK when she was three years old, is “not one of us” and had “insulted us”. Brought up in Bolton in north England and studied at Oxford, Ali’s first novel Brick Lane, was met with great reviews in 2003. A saga about a Bangladeshi girl Nazneen who comes to the UK in an arranged marriage and later cheats on her husband with a radical young Muslim, the book was seen as reflecting the Bangladeshi community.
“She has imagined ideas about us in her head. She is not one of us, she has not lived with us and she knows nothing about us, but she has insulted us,” said an angry Salique.
However, other residents of the area claim it is just a small minority that is making a ruckus.
“It’s a minority and they’re trying to make themselves known,”said Abdul Goffur, another trader. “I live in Brick Lane and we’ve got a thousand guys who are in support of this. This film will be helpful in opening up our community,” he added.
British company Ruby Films is producing the celluloid adaptation of the book and casting auditions had been hugely positive with hundreds of local aspiring actors lining up to be in the film. Veteran Indian actor Satish Kaushik is believed to be playing one of the main lead roles.
Ruby Films confirmed that some members of the community who were unhappy that the film was being made had contacted them. “The filmmakers certainly would not have embarked on a project that they thought was in any way racist” said a spokeswoman for Ruby Films.
Filming has started in-studio and is expected to shift to Brick Lane in the Borough of Tower Hamlets in August. They will wait until the controversy dies down. “We take the concerns of residents seriously,” said a spokesperson for Tower Hamlets council.
