Dev's shooting in Abu Dhabi-funded film in India

Producers of the Abu Dhabi-funded film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel announced Monday filming has begun in Rajasthan, India.

Starring a stellar cast including the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel, the film, a comedy set in Bengaluru, is scheduled for a 2012 release.

Produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures, the film has been financed by Abu Dhabi-based Imagenation and Participant Media.

The film, based on the 2004 book These Foolish Things by British writer Deborah Moggach, tells the story of a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement years to exotic India. Upon arriving, they discover that things are not quite what they imagined.

John Madden, whose Oscar-winning 1998 film Shakespeare In Love was a critical and commercial success, is the director.

"This is a gorgeous script — witty, moving and hilarious — with a wonderful feel for its subject, India," said Madden. "It's rare to find one that traverses comedy, romance, and melancholy with such a lightness of touch. It's a great project about a world that defies all categorisation. No one could come to India and not be changed by it."

Imagenation's upcoming films include Doug Liman's Fair Game, and Jodie Foster's The Beaver.