Review of The Blue Tower

The Blue Tower is this year's winner of best UK feature at the Rain dance film festival (2008). What I presumed to be a straight forward inter racial romance story set in Southall, is in fact so much more as producer Jamie Nuttgens explained to me "the romance isn't problematic like Romeo and Juliet." In fact the sexual relationship the protagonist Mohan (Abhin Galeya) has with his wealthy aunt's white care worker Judy is in fact the only thing that doesn't create problems for him in this film, His wife is distant and unfaithful and her family do not respect him because he has no job and has not yet fathered a child, his mates are chancers trying their luck at get rich quick schemes and he is hoping desperately that another friend will come through for him with a job. His wealthy aunt doesn't suspect her nephew and care worker of anything, even when they start stealing from her; she is too concerned with her vanity, which is exasperated by her creepily sycophantic neighbours and their plans to take her money. To escape from the mess of his life, he and Judy conceive a desperate plan. As his marriage and hopes of work look more and more bleak, Mohan becomes delusional and desperate, Director Bhide skilfully uses the prominent red and blue towers that dominate the landscape of Southall as symbols of the security of Mohan's life and the menacing reality that lies behind the illusion.