Asim Chaudhry - best known as Chabuddy G from People Just Do Nothing- has just made his directorial debut with brand-new short film Love Pool, set, rather fittingly, on Valentine’s Day.
Tackling modern romance in all it’s different forms, Love Pool is the story of a single man called Mark (Mark Quarterly) who meets a mystery woman (Anna Shaffer) in the back of an Uber Pool (hence the film title). The encounter changes the way he thinks about love forever. Chaudhry (who also wrote the script) plays the miserable driver who picks up Mark from a depressing dinner party with his loved up friends, and is as brilliantly funny as we’d expect from the BAFTA-winner. Produced by DMC - Michael Fassbender’s production company - in partnership with social network Vero, the fifteen minute film features an impressive line-up of actors including Anna Shaffer, Ed Skrein, Jaime Winstone and Mark Quarterly. Chaudhry also drafted in one of his Kurupt FM co-stars, Allan Mustafa, who plays MC Grindr in the BBC series.
The hilarious, uplifting and at times heart-wrenching short is available to watch via Vero now. Download the Vero app and head to @Asim Chaudhry’s profile. Make sure you follow @British GQ while you're there.
**How did you come up with the concept for Love Pool? **
The concept is somewhat based on real events. I was at a dinner party with all my loved up friends and everyone was putting pressure on me to settle down, it was really intense and annoying. I've also had loads of chance encounters in taxi pools, it's a unique way of meeting new people as you're basically forced to interact with each other. I thought it could make a really interesting short film exploring chance encounters and the concept of finding "the one".
Did you channel Chabuddy G for your Love Pool character? From the trailer they seem quite similar.
I played him as Chabuddy G's pissed off, sour, bitter cousin, Chabuddy D if you will. Imagine if Chabuddy lost his eternal optimism and just thought "sod it I'll just become a taxi driver". This taxi driver is also based on loads of pissed off drivers that I've met. Being a taxi driver is hard. They have to put up with a lot of idiots!
Love seems to happen largely online now, and this film is itself a take on how the digital landscape can inform real-world relationships. What’s your take on dating apps?
I personally have never indulged in online dating. I found it all quite intimidating and my worst fear would be going on a first date and the girl screaming "oh my God you're Chabuddy G".
Do you think social media and dating apps are a positive or negative when it comes to human connections?
I think we live in the fast instant gratification generation. We want our love like our food, our films, our deliveries... fast and instant. Dating can be quite disposable now, with a swipe of a finger you're gone. I think love should be slow-cooked. I'm into that fall of the bone kind of love.
What’s the one thing you want people to take away from Love Pool?
I think people will take away different things. For me I just hope people enjoy it and are entertained as it's my directorial debut and I'm quite nervous about it all. If people take away something deeper, about love or the concept of "the one" then that would be amazing but I don't think you can predict or force these things. Art can be interpreted in various ways and having the freedom to do that is liberating as a creator and a viewer.
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