London:
Britain’s Prince Charles and wife Camilla walked down a lavish orange carpet adorned with marigolds for a Bollywood-style film premiere complete with Indian dancing here.
The heir to Britain’s throne was the guest of honour last evening at the Royal Film Performance of ‘The Second Exotic Marigold Hotel’, set in Jaipur and starring UK film legends like Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith alongside Indian-origin actors Dev Patel and Lillete Dubey.
“The Royal Film Performance is the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund’s (CTBF’s) primary fundraising event. All the money raised from the evening’s engagement goes directly to the charity, which supports film and television industry employees and their families in times of adversity,” Clarence House said in a statement.
Charles and his wife, who last visited India in November, 2013, have also visited the country privately. Charles has made eight official visits to India, while Camilla has visited three times on official visits with her husband, it said.
The Prince of Wales and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, met trustees and beneficiaries of the charity, filmmakers and members of the cast at the premiere where dancers performed on the occasion.
Directed by John Madden, the film is the sequel to the 2011 box-office hit ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’. It will be released for general public on February 26 and will see Hollywood star Richard Gere as Dubey’s love interest.
The sequel, that has already received rave reviews in the UK media, shows co-managers Muriel Donnelly (Smith) and Sonny Kapoor (Patel) dreaming of expansion with a second 'exotic' hotel in Rajasthan.
