Home movie

W4’s film heritage, cultural melting pot and community provide the inspiration for Neville Raschid’s new flick, Ealing Comedy. Neil McKelvie meets the director

Above: Alistair & Kulvinder facing off

‘I vividly remember coming to Ealing for the first time. It was in 1980 and I’d been invited to an audition at the Questors Theatre. From the Uxbridge Road, I took the Barnes Pikle cut-through next to the cinema.

It was the ABC then. I looked up and there was a moment when I wondered  if a film of mine would ever be screened there. On 18 March 2008 it actually happened. That night was the première of Ealing Comedy and I made a point of walking up Barnes Pikle again. It was as if 28 years had gone in the blink of an eye. It was a defining moment for me.’

Neville Raschid, the director and producer of Ealing Comedy, is a proud man – and rightly so. The film, which stars Alistair McGowan, Kulvinder Ghir of Goodness Gracious Me and Leena Dhingra from Eastenders, was, in his words: ‘Nurtured and entirely shot in the borough.’ Its release marks the culmination of a remarkable personal journey for the movie fanatic and former stalwart of the Questors.

Ealing Comedy is the third feature Neville has produced but the first he has directed. It was also his idea. It follows the madcap escapades of Alfie Singh, a British Asian (played by Kulvinder Ghir) who is trying to get a movie project off the ground. The more he is rejected, the more his obsession grows and his life spirals out of control.  The debt to the classic Ealing  > Comedies is obvious and intentional. ‘Those films celebrate the British spirit; they are charming, quirky and feelgood,’ Neville enthuses. ‘Passport to Pimlico, Whiskey Galore, The Man in the White Suit… watch any of them on a wet winter’s day and you’ll be uplifted. But my passion for movies is broad: I was born between the devil and the big wide screen. I also love Hollywood blockbusters and Bollywood and I wanted to fuse those cinematic traditions in Ealing Comedy.’ 

Born and raised in India, Neville graduated from Cambridge and then studied accountancy in London. As a devotee of the arts, he didn’t feel ‘spiritually’ fulfilled: ‘Coming from a good Indian family, I felt huge pressure to get professional qualifications,’ he admits. ‘Fortunately, I bumped into someone from the Questors and he told me about this wonderful theatre. That’s how I ended up at that audition – I really wanted to do something creative.’ 

Through the 1980s Neville spent his spare time performing, directing and producing at Questors while carving out a career as a finance executive in the film industry. And all the while, he nursed the ambition to be a producer.

‘Eventually, when I returned to the UK in 2001 after a spell in Switzerland, there were sound financial structures in place for independents wanting to build a business.’ Neville took the plunge and set about fulfilling his dream. The inspiration for Ealing Comedy dates back to the late 1990s. ‘I’d just seen Pulp Fiction and Short Cuts and I wanted to do a dialogue-driven piece,’ Neville recalls. ‘I hawked my first draft around, but everyone said: “It’s dreadful.” Jim Doyle, who directed Lost Dogs and Flirting with Flamenco, said: “Neville, this won’t work. But there is something in the father-son relationship – it’s you and your son Paul – and that could make a terrific movie. But forget the rest.’ In 2006, Neville finally accepted his script was ‘crap’; however, a few months later he met writer Jon Croke, who adapted it in the style of an Ealing Comedy. ‘I had reservations,’ says Neville. ‘It was funny, but Alfie was a complete loser – and that’s not how I saw myself! I gave it to Paul and he laughed his head off. I said: “But Alfie’s a loser.” He replied: “Like you, Dad!”’ He smiles ruefully. 

Shooting took place last year, with Neville’s house used as props cupboard, crew canteen and key location (along with Haven Green, St Benedict’s playing fields and the Town Hall). Paul’s school friends from Durston House and their parents were recruited for crowd scenes. ‘Everyone was so supportive,’ he adds. The recent premiere was a success (see the pictures on page 53) and the film received a positive reaction. Neville now has new projects on the go, but hasn’t forgotten his original script. ‘I still don’t think it’s as bad as everyone said,’ he laughs. ‘I hope to produce it at Questors. I have unfinished business with it!’
Ealing Comedy is out this month on DVD www.ealingcomedymovie.com