Culture Interviews Cinema & Tv

“The cast were thrilled to tell a story that didn’t have anything to do with them being British Asian”: Isher Sahota on The Effects of Lying

“The cast were thrilled to tell a story that didn’t have anything to do with them being British Asian”: Isher Sahota on The Effects of Lying

The Effects of Lying is the new dramedy from director Isher Sahota and writer James Hey, following one particularly eventful day in the life of Naveen (Ace Bhatti), for whom everything seems to be falling apart at the seams as revelation after revelation changes his perspective on his relationships with his wife (Laila Rouass), teenage daughter (Lauren Patel) and brother (Navin Chowdhry). Avoiding the clichés and stereotypes often deployed by British Asian films and TV, it’s a thrilling and funny look at what happens when a seemingly “normal” family has years of secrets and lies unearthed in the space of 24 hours, with the banter and tension in the father-daughter relationship, in particular, providing the beating heart of the story.

The Upcoming had an in-depth chat with the filmmaker about how this single-day story idea came about, the appeal for him and his cast of making a British Asian film that wasn’t “issue-based” and the fine line his movie walks between its tragedy and its humour.

Sarah Bradbury

The Effects of Lying is released on ITVX on 6th July 2023.

Watch the trailer for The Effects of Lying here:

More in Cinema & Tv

Tinsel Town: Robbie Williams, Alice Eve, Ray Fearon, Katherine Ryan, Rebel Wilson, Matilda Firth and Ava Aashna Chopra at the London premiere

Sarah Bradbury

Stranger Things season five, volume one

Andrew Murray

Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis bring Patricia Cornwell’s forensic icon to life in Prime Video’s Scarpetta

The editorial unit

Sean Combs: The Reckoning – Explosive four-part documentary lands on Netflix this December

The editorial unit

Kristen Stewart steps behind the camera for powerful debut The Chronology of Water, in cinemas February 2026

The editorial unit

Joanna Lumley, Richard Curtis and Beatles family attend exclusive screening of The Beatles Anthology at BFI Southbank

The editorial unit

“I just find it mad, but also incredibly exciting”: Ellis Howard on BAFTA Breakthrough

Sarah Bradbury

Power, paranoia and deepfakes: Holliday Grainger returns in first look at The Capture series thre

The editorial unit

Nia DaCosta directs 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, a brutal evolution of the horror series

The editorial unit