Working on ‘Picture This’ felt like a real immersion of culture for me, says Hero Fiennes Tiffin

Inspired by the Australian film 'Five Blind Dates', the film is a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a wedding in a British-Indian family and also features 'Bridgerton' star Simone Ashley

Los Angeles: Hollywood actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin, best known for his portrayal of a young Tom Riddle in ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’, says he had a fair bit of an idea about Bollywood and Indian culture courtesy his mother, but starring in ‘Picture This’ gave him an opportunity to immerse himself in the country’s culture.

‘Picture This’, also featuring ‘Bridgerton‘ star Simone Ashley, is a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a wedding in a British-Indian family. It will start streaming on Prime Video from March 6.

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Hero, who is the son of director Martha Fiennes and cinematographer George Tiffin, has previously been to India and said he had a lot of fun shooting for the wedding scenes in the upcoming film. “I think through my mom I have learnt a fair bit about it (Bollywood and Indian culture), and I’ve been to India. But, I definitely hadn’t been as immersed as not just in the Indian wedding culture as the scenes we are doing are surrounding weddings,” he said.

“It’s quite often the case when you work on a film, you realise that you are in an environment that you would not be in… You couldn’t get this experience at a museum… You’re completely surrounded by not only the set, food, smells, music and everything but the people as well playing their parts. It felt like a real immersion of culture for me in doing those wedding scenes,” the 27-year-old added.

Directed by Prarthana Mohan and written by Nikita Lalwani, ‘Picture This’ follows Pia (Simone), a struggling photographer who receives a prediction: true love and career success await her in the next five dates she goes on.

With her sister’s wedding looming and family playing matchmaker, her ex Charlie (Hero) reappears, throwing both her love and professional life into chaos, according to the film’s official synopsis.

As much as men don’t quickly admit, Hero said “they do love a rom-com”. “I think secretly they all do. They secretly love a rom-com. You have like fight, smash, kill, live love, laugh. So, it’s very natural that love and laughter are like the pillars (of a film) that everyone can enjoy; otherwise, others are quite subjective. You can’t not love rom-coms. It’s got a bit of what we all live for in life,” he added.

The actor, also known for his starring roles in the ‘After’ film series, ‘The Woman King’ and ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’, also revealed some of his favourite romantic comedies.

“’10 Things I Hate About You’ is one of my favourites, then I won’t say ‘The Notebook’ (because) it’s an obvious first choice but it’s got to be up there,” he said.

Hero also had a message for his Indian fans. “Hope you love the film, thank you for watching, and appreciate the support.”

Amazon MGM Studios and Ingenious Media present a 42 Production. ‘Picture This’ also stars Sindhu Vee, Luke Fetherston, Adil Ray, Anoushka Chadha, Even Figueiredo, Kulvinder Ghir, Asim Chaudhry, Nikesh Patel, and Phil Dunster. It is inspired by the Australian film ‘Five Blind Dates’.