Hucknall stages world premiere of My Niece's Big Fat Delhi Wedding

The world premiere of the film 'My Niece's Big Fat Delhi Wedding' took place at The Arc Cinema in Hucknall last night (Thursday 4 November).

Directed by Hucknall resident Haresh Sood, the film documents a lavish Indian wedding lasting ten days.

The film succeeds in capturing the emotion of the bride's family, the glamour, colour and chaos of the many rituals and celebrations that take place and fuses it together with touches of comedic brilliance.

This has been reflected by the success it has enjoyed, having been accepted into about 50 film festivals around the world and nominated for numerous awards.

The sell out premiere was deliberately scheduled to fall on Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. Before, the premiere began diyas were lit by Shiwani Arora as part of the celebrations. Mrs Arora, who is a relative of the bride in the film, and her husband Ajay, were there to represent their family.

Among the attendees was Professor Harminder Singh Dua CBE, the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire who was welcomed by Deanne Taylor, Partner from Smalleys Solicitors.

The evening included some bhangra dancing and dhol drum music from Nottingham Asian Arts Council School of Dance and Music as well as Indian Street food provided by Hucknall based caterers BluMandala.

The film was shown on two screens and well received by the audience. There was then a Q&A session with Mr Sood after the film finished.

Speaking exclusively to Hucknall Nub News at the end of the night, he said: "I think the reaction has been overwhelming, fantastic, excellent.

"What I found most amazing about this is that most of the audience has been non-Indian who have loved this, Indian people have loved it as well but there has been a massive non-Indian audience.

"And the people that have come knew nothing about Indian weddings or if they did, they used to watch them from afar. It's been a great reaction, I'm really touched. I never thought a university project would end up in a cinema release."

Hucknall's MP Mark Spencer was unable to attend the premiere in person but he was represented by his staff team and sent his best wishes.

In a statement, he said: ""I would like to wish Haresh Sood all the very best on the premiere of his new film. It is fantastic to see that Mr Sood has chosen to premiere his film in Hucknall. The film's incredible success at festivals across the world demonstrates the ingenuity and innovation that can be found throughout Sherwood."

For anyone wanting an opportunity to see the film, tickets are still available for two screenings on Saturday (6 November) at The Arc Cinema in Hucknall, details of which can be found here.

These screenings also include a Q&A with Mr Sood not only about his current film but also in his capacity as a barrister there will be an opportunity to discuss the preservation of Whyburn Farm with him.

Mr Sood is currently working on his second release which is being predominantly filmed in Hucknall.