What do you get if you take 2 parts Bend It Like Beckham, 1 part Mighty Ducks and sprinkle some Cool Runnings over it? (You need to play along with the metaphor as I know a movie is not made of dust and hence is hard to sprinkle over anything). You get Speedy Singhs, the Canadian Ice hockey cross over movie starring newcomer Vinay Virmany, Camilla Belle (Push, 10 0000 BC), Gurpreet “Ghuggi”  Singh and one of the most popular stand up comedians of our time Russel Peters. If you’ve never heard of him, shame on you!  He  sold out the O2 twice this year.  Twice, that’s THE O2, twice, as a comedian, impressed? (Check out some of his bits embedded below)

Upodcast had the opportunity to be part of a special media Q&A session and we have posted it on the Upodcast website.

So click on the image below to Listen or subscribe to Upodcast!

 

Here are some excerpts from the interview from the PR release:

Russell Peters entertained the media with his witty comments and perfect comic timing as he spoke about his experience of working in the film. He commented, “I always worry about what people will think of my films but I actually LOL’d (laughed out loud) when I saw this. I actually got teary eye when I saw the film at the Toronto International Film Festival where it premiered. The film is shot, directed and cut extremely well.”

 

Indian comedy king  Gurpreet “Ghuggi” Singh added, “I have never seen or experienced anything like Speedy Singhs before with its combination of Hollywood and Bollywood. It was great to work and share a screen space with Russell.”

 

Debutant star Vinay Virmani has received rave reviews from journalists and critics alike for his performance as Rajveer Singh. In commenting on the mass appeal the film will have crossing cultural and generational boundaries, he said, “Everyone can relate to the film, it is something everyone, of all ages, can enjoy. Every time I look at the Speedy Singhs poster, it shows that people have come from all over to be in this film from all industries, not confided by any boundaries. To sum, Speedy Singhs is about love, life and laughter.”

 

Speedy Singhs tells the story of Rajveer Singh essayed by Vinay Virmani caught between two cultures and two sets of ideals. The film speaks of the sports genre underdog, but in this case, the underdog reflects issues of assimilation that immigrants deal with daily as they strive for acceptance in their new home country. The entire cast highlighted the backdrop of the script as it explores the issues of race relations, migration and cross-cultural tensions while superbly balancing both tenderness and humour for the silver screen. Vinay Virmani and Russell Peters both reflected on their own experiences growing up in suburban Canada when Vinay mentioned “there are elements in the film that are from my experience”.

‘Speedy Singhs’ releases in cinemas across UK and worldwide on 30th September 2011. 
Russel Peters:

 

Let us know what you thought of the Q&A and of Russel Peters comedy in the comment section below!

@asimburney