Major film role for Rochdale actor

Marc Anwar

Rochdale-educated actor Marc Anwar is returning to cinema screens nationwide for the first time in nearly a decade.

The star of stage and screen plays drug lord Davar in gritty new British film Pusher, which goes on general release this month.

The former Balderstone High pupil's last major film appearance was in 2001's The 51st State, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Mr Anwar, 49, will join a string of celebrities, cast and crew at the region's première in Bradford, at the Vicar Lane Cineworld on Friday, October 15.

The movie also stars Bollywood legend Mahima Chaudry in her first British film role and Manchester-based comic Mani Liaqat as a cop.

The British-Hindi movie - a remake of the 1996 Danish crime film of the same name - has already caused a stir for its controversial storyline.

It has been banned in some independent cinemas in Mumbai, India, for its ''shocking, drug-fuelled violence'', with religious leaders claiming it ''borders on the psychotic''.

They have likened it to a more disturbing version of Scottish cult flick Trainspotting, and fear it could leave more sensitive viewers psychologically damaged.

There are now calls for the film to be banned in all cinemas across the Indian capital.

But critics disagree. They have praised the gangster film for its “shocking realism” and “charged” storyline.

Mr Anwar has urged fans to watch the film and said he “fully believed” in the “groundbreaking” production.

''It is a violent film and I play a particularly nasty character,'' he said.

''But it doesn't glamorise crime; it is unflinching in its realism as to the devastating damage drugs and drug dealing can cause.

“Whatever way you look at it, Pusher is taking British Asian cinema in an exciting new direction.”

Pusher tells the story of Salim (played by director/writer Assad Raja), a low-level Asian drug dealer working the streets of London.

One disastrous deal follows another, and Salim quickly finds himself on the wrong side of some of the capital's most dangerous criminals.

It is already being hailed as the film that will change the face of British Asian cinema forever.

Raja hit upon the idea of making the film, shot in London and the Midlands, following his own frustrations as an actor in the UK.

He said: "As a British Asian, I found it extremely difficult to get a decent role in British films, TV shows and even on the stage.

“I kept finding that most roles were extremely stereotyped and limited to such things as 'corner shop keepers' or 'token Asian family' in a predominantly white-dominated soap.

"I wanted to challenge this and very much wanted to make an Indian language Brit-film in this crazy, gritty style. Nothing like this has been done in British, Asian or so-called Bollywood cinema ever before."

Despite a potentially controversial script, Raja secured the talents of actress Mahima Chaudhry, best known for her role in Pardes - for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.

And for the soundtrack, musicians Apache Indian, S.Kalibre, Panic Cell and Glasgow-based Bhangra group Tigerstyle all contributed songs.

It has already received several glowing reviews, and has achieved an almost cult-like status among British Asian film buffs.

Mr Anwar, who has appeared in a whole host of British TV programmes including Holby City and Emmerdale, says he is “proud” of his performance in Pusher.

He added: “Davar is a complex character who hides real menace under an an approachable exterior – he was a gift to play.”