The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Producers Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin saw a film in the novel, drawn by the idea of retirement itself being outsourced. Working Title turned it down as unmarketable; it was assembled with Participant, Imagenation Abu Dhabi and Blueprint. John Madden began shooting on 10 October 2010. The hotel is Ravla Khempur, an equestrian hotel 90 minutes outside Udaipur that was once a tribal chieftain’s palace. Kanota Fort stood in for the Viceroy Club, and Sonny and Sunaina meet at the Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell near Amer Fort. The 10 million dollar production reached 136.8 million worldwide; in the United Kingdom alone it passed 20.3 million pounds, the 16th highest grossing release there that year. It took 5 nominations at three major ceremonies and lost all 5: outstanding British film at the 66th BAFTAs, best musical or comedy picture and Judi Dench at the 70th Golden Globes, the cast award and Maggie Smith at the 19th SAGs. A good fit if you care that each of the seven English pensioners gets a separate reason to start again, and that the hotel falls well short of its brochure. Not for viewers who mind India staying scenery; Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian accused the film of no effort to clear away condescending stereotypes about old people or Indian people of any age.