Memsahib Rita
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Pratibha Parmar
Kaleem Janjua
Nisha Nayar
Jayne Boniface
Ron Bailey
Jeff Baynes
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
A glimpse into the life of Shanti, a streetwise east End girl of mixed English and Sri Lankan parentage, who is followed by the local BNP (a British fascist group) to her father's sari shop on the anniversary of her mother's death. Her mother, a beautiful white young woman whose glamour and elegance matched that of the Hollywood Rita Hayworth, died young, driven to suicide by the pressures if theie interracial relationship. Shanti struggles to find balance between her father's nostalgic grief and her own sense of loss, whilst also dealing with the racist thugs lurking outside of her father's shop. At a crucial moment of danger, she is defined by the elusive mother-figure of "Memsahib Rita," a half-Asian movie star and half-hollywood femme-fatale.
