WESTFORD — Welcome to the April 23 edition of Weekend Wrap-Up. Here, we highlight the most important news you may have missed this week in Westford.
Woman-owned Bollywood production group unveils first film
For a group of local moms, unveiling their feature film was a dream years in the making.
A group of non-resident Indian (NRI) women from the Merrimack Valley produced and premiered their first Bollywood film.
NRILife Productions premiered NRI Wives: Grey Stories of Love Vs. Desires at O’Neil Cinemas in Littleton on April 9. The film was written and produced by self-described “average next-door moms” from Westford, Nashua, NH and Merrimack, NH.
The film focuses on romantic relationships between a number of characters.
“Life always gives you two choices, to keep on going for what you don’t have or to embrace what you do have and make the best of it,” Gunjan Kuthiala, writer and producer of the film told WestfordCAT.
The film’s makeup artist Vidhi Dalia notes the film is family-friendly and hopes it will remain accessible to residents of all ages.
“They all have a happy ending. There’s no nudity, not even any kissing. [The film] just barely touches the edge,” Dalia said.
The film is set to release on May 12 in over 300 theatres worldwide.
“Support us crazy filmmakers in bringing a filmmaking platform to our neighborhood,” Kuthalia said.
Blue Market opens in Nabnasset
Blue Market, a new convenience store located in Nabnasset, has opened its doors to the public.
The new shop replaced Brookside Convenience, which closed its doors last year. Blue Market is owned and operated by Bob Hanna of Tewksbury.
“When I was looking for a store, I found this and fell in love with it,” he told WestfordCAT. “But when I took over the store, I had to replace everything. It was in very bad condition.”
Hanna notes the shop took about two months to renovate and open to customers. The shop is equipped with a milkshake and smoothie machine, baked goods, as well as iced and hot coffee.
Hanna notes he is waiting for a number of additional deliveries to expand his product offerings.
“I’m waiting for the ice cream freezers that will hopefully be in this week. We have a big variety of beer and wine coming soon as well, within the next month,” he said.
Blue Market’s hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the time of reporting.
Reporter Aubrey Benoit contributed to this piece.
WA Capstone Spotlight: Mustafa Leiman
WestfordCAT is delighted to spotlight four Westford Academy Capstone students who are working with staff until graduation in June.
Mustafa Leiman is spending his final month at Westford Academy on his capstone project, where he is working with Production Technician Rachel Dodos to hone his content creation skills.
“I’m excited to get the experience of being behind a camera,” Leiman told WestfordCAT.
Leiman has created a number of marketing materials for WestfordCAT and will be involved with creating promotional materials for local businesses.
He has not committed to a college at the time of reporting but hopes to study film production. He will be graduating from Westford Academy on June 2 at 5:30 p.m.
Getting to know the candidates: Chris Barrett
WestfordCAT reached out to each candidate running in the Annual Town Election. Candidates were given the same exact questions and were encouraged to answer them how they saw fit.
Chris Barrett is the chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee. He is running for one of two seats on the Select Board.
