Nikita Mehta

Charts six interlinked narratives after the cast and crew of a film are sent home from set.

A British-Indian teenager struggles with his cultural heritage in modern-day London, falling for a white, 20-something actress/model during a 1970s-themed exhibition, and becoming obsessed with both her, the fashion and music of a seemingly more glamorous '70s era, all the while trying to keep his family's Indian traditionalism and the impending responsibilities of adulthood at bay.

India is surging with global ambition. But beyond the luxury hotels surrounding Mumbai airport lies a makeshift slum, full of people with plans of their own. Zehrunisa and her son Abdul aim to recycle enough rubbish to fund a proper house. Sunil, twelve and stunted, wants to eat until he’s as tall as Kalu the thief. Asha seeks to steal government anti-poverty funds to turn herself into a ‘first-class person’, while her daughter Manju intends to become the slum’s first female graduate. But their schemes are fragile; global recession threatens the garbage trade, and another slum-dweller is about to make an accusation that will destroy herself and shatter the neighbourhood.

1987, Angleterre. Javed, adolescent d’origine pakistanaise, grandit à Luton, une petite ville qui n’échappe pas à un difficile climat social. Il se réfugie dans l’écriture pour échapper au racisme et au destin que son père, très conservateur, imagine pour lui. Mais sa vie va être bouleversée le jour où l’un de ses camarades lui fait découvrir l’univers de Bruce Springsteen. Il est frappé par les paroles des chansons qui décrivent exactement ce qu’il ressent; Javed va alors comprendre sa famille et trouver sa propre voie…

Obsédée par son travail et guidée par ses propres démons, Vera Stanhope mène l'enquête épaulée par son co-équipier, le sergent Joe Ashworth.