According to Bally Gill, his parents wanted him to become a physician. He chose acting, although, in his first film role, he portrays an NHS physician.
You may have seen Bally in Sherwood on BBC or as Agent Singh in Slow Horses on Apple TV.
For his film debut, he co-stars with some of Britain’s most renowned actors, including Dame Judi Dench, Jennifer Saunders, and Russell Tovey.
The film Allelujah has been described as an “ode to the NHS.”
It is based on a play by Alan Bennett and follows a community’s efforts to save an elderly ward in a small Yorkshire hospital.
Locals are galvanized into action upon learning of the impending threat of a shutdown.
Dr. Valinder Singh Vashish, played by Bally, is essential to their efforts to save it.
The thirty-year-old actor told BBC Asian Network that he felt “fortunate” to be collaborating alongside renowned actors.
“I felt the pressure in the beginning,” he recalls, recalling the first time he stepped onto the film set, which was located in an abandoned hospital in Tottenham, north London.
“But after meeting them, I found them to be so amazing, supportive, and pleasant,” he says.
“I asked them numerous questions about the industry.”
The film “highlights the distress” of the NHS and the difficulties experienced by its workers, according to him, but the plot is also filled with humor.
Others in the film refer to his character as Dr. Valentine because no one can pronounce his Indian name.
Yet, the film is also about aging, and Bally believes that his character investigates what we may learn from the elder generation.
He claims that the elderly are “frequently ignored and disregarded as if they had nothing to offer in old age.”
According to Coventry native Bally, Allelujah also examines cultural distinctions between Britain and South Asia, where it is more customary for multiple generations of a family to reside together.
He argues that it is not uncommon to “rally around our elderly, who may be culturally distinct from British society.”
This year, Bally lost his grandmother to cancer, and he believes that his “real-life experience with the NHS” mirrored sequences he had filmed.
He claims that the message of Allelujah, which was recorded during the Covid pandemic with regular tests for the actors and crew, is clear: “To appreciate the NHS.”
It is issued during the same week that junior physicians are on strike over salary and working conditions.
Despite being “understaffed and underpaid,” Bally asserts, “we must offer staff a voice” and value their contributions.
It’s also no coincidence that the film’s release coincides with the NHS’s 75th birthday.
The NHS is special, necessary, and saves lives, according to Bally.
Also Read: https://superstarsculture.com/mae-muller-the-british-act-announced-for-the-song-contest/
