Judi Dench talks about her challenges of her character in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

BlackTree TV's Jamaal Finkley sits down with Judi Dench and speaks with her about challenges of playing a character so true to herself.
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL is supposed to be India's answer for the UK's most elegant retirees -- a place where they can spend their golden years surrounded by lush amenities -- that is, until seven retirees who are in need of a transformation find themselves on the front steps of the not-quite-ready resort. Thus begins a comic, romantic and poignant adventure in a land full of unexpected pleasures, brought to life by some of the most honored and accomplished screen actors of our time.
Arriving in sun-baked Jaipur, with only the hope to begin their life anew amidst their own personal baggage are: the bereaved and financially stranded Evelyn (Judi Dench), the disillusioned High Court Judge Graham (Tom Wilkinson), the quarrelsome couple Douglas and Jean (Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton), the die-hard love seekers Norman (Ronald Pickup) and Madge (Celia Imrie), and Muriel (Maggie Smith) -- who intends to have her hip replaced and immediately leave India for good. They are all at the mercy of the hotel's ambitiously naïve young owner, Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel), who inherited the once sophisticated building from his father hoping to turn it into a high end luxury hotel. So far, he might only have chaos to offer, but what Sonny lacks in resources, he makes up for in enthusiasm.
Evelyn/Judi Dench
Marital Status: Newly widowed
Financial Status: Inherited her husband's mounds of hidden debt Looking for: A job (and her first real taste of independence)
Evelyn thought she had a perfect marriage, but when her husband suddenly dies, leaving her with his secret life of financial ruin, she starts to question everything about her past and, more importantly, her now uncertain future. Desperate to find a way out of her son's offer to move in with his family, she resolves to teach herself computer skills, and stumbles on the website of the Marigold Hotel. She knows that India will be nothing like her life in London, but as daunting as it seems, it offers her hope, and she consoles her incredulous son with the promise of a regular blog.
Playing Evelyn is Dame Judi Dench, the Academy Award® winning leading lady who has a knack for making every character she plays both real and transcendent. Dench previously worked with Madden on MRS. BROWN and SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, garnering as Oscar nomination for the first and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter.
"In this film, Judi plays a woman who is forced to take control of her future when she has never done so in her entire life," notes Madden.
"She is really the heart of the story," adds Graham Broadbent. "And like Judi, Evelyn is the most wonderfully sympathetic person."
Dench says of Evelyn's journey: "I think she feels she has nothing left to lose when she finds herself with no husband, no money and no real plan for the future, so she comes to India and then fully embraces it. That was not hard to act, because I found that being in India you are drawn each day to learning about the people and culture."
She adds: "This is a story I really wanted to be a part of, because it is about people who don't quite know what's going to happen to them at this point in their lives and yet each discovers a different answer. It was also an opportunity to work with people I know -- Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Tom Wilkinson and, of course, John Madden -- and a chance for us to all be together for the first time."
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Blacktree is at all the hottest events on the planet (award shows, movie premieres and press junkets, fashion shows, etc.) and now BLACKTREE ON TV brings stars to YOU on Soul of the South! Watch Full episodes below, and tune in!
WEEKDAYS | 5:30 - 6:00pm, 1-1:30am WEEKENDS | 5 - 6:00pm Sat & Sun (CST)
A BlackTree Media Production
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