Bollywood Queen 2002

Geena, Preeya Kalidas, is a Bollywood-obsessed young woman from a respectable Gujarati family. She has just finished school and is pursuing a business studies degree at university. She is dating Dilip, [Ronny Jhutti], an ambitious computer whiz, but she longs for a love life that feels as dramatic and heartfelt as the movies she adores. Geena’s family runs Ganesh Global, a clothing company that imports fabrics and saris from India. She also works part-time in the shop and, in a private corner of her world, is part of a secret band with two other girls, Anjali Kat Bhathena and Neeta Karen David. The trio rehearses away from the family’s bustling business, blending ambition with passion in a space that lets Geena imagine a different future.

Jay, a young man from Somerset, travels to London to join his brother Dean [Ciárán McMenamin] in the clothing industry, working for a man named Frank [Ian McShane]. He carries a precious guitar, a possession he guards with protective care, and he arrives in the city with a quiet resolve. Jay’s life takes a turn when, one day, he and Dean are handling some poles on a street, and a pole nearly collapses on Geena. Jay lunges forward and pushes her out of harm’s way, saving her life. Geena, shaken and grateful, hurries on, leaving her phone behind. Jay spots the phone and hangs onto the moment, but Dean quickly repossesses it. When Jay recovers the device and returns it to Geena, she thanks him with a phone number, and they begin to meet in secret, their attraction growing into something real.

The romance blossoms under the radar, as Geena and Jay keep their meetings hidden from Geena’s family. They find stolen moments to fall deeper in love, sharing small joys and dreams while navigating the pressures of familial duty and cultural expectations. But trouble brews when Dean discovers the affair. He launches a brutal attack on Ganesh Global, and one of Geena’s brothers also spots the couple together, pulling Geena deeper into trouble with her family. In the chaos, her brother confiscates her phone, and Geena’s siblings physically assault Jay, leaving him bleeding. The couple decide to run away together, seeking safety away from the escalating family feud.

Dean ends up in hospital, and Jay visits him, an act that culminates in Jay taking away Dean’s money, a brutal reminder of the cost of loyalty and survival in a world of competing loyalties. After a tumultuous separation, Jay and Geena eventually return to London, where Jay works to settle his dispute with his father and brother, finding a fragile sense of resolution. Geena then appears at a relative’s wedding, dressed in elegant Indian attire, and she sings with her band, the same group that once drew her to a life beyond the family business. In this moment of celebration and tension, it becomes clear that Geena’s world is not simply two opposing sides—family duty and personal desire—it’s a layered space where love, risk, and heritage intersect.

As the wedding proceeds, Geena’s world reveals more of its undercurrents: her brother Sanjay [Amerjit Deu] is involved in criminal activity tied to illegal suits, and Tariq [Saraj Chaudhry] is revealed to be gay, complicating the family dynamic and testing loyalties further. Jay and Geena, bound by love and the choices they have made, step into the carriage of the bride and groom, leaving some questions unanswered as they drive toward an uncertain future. Geena’s mother, Lalita Ahmed, and her father share a brief, poignant moment as the family watches them go, a reminder that the road ahead will be shaped by both celebration and unresolved tensions. > She’ll be back.