Amar Akbar & Tony will be the first Independent British film to be screened at the Mumbai Film Festival.

The bitter-sweet romantic comedy has been listed in the Film India Worldwide category, and will be showing tomorrow and Sunday, marking its first foray on the festival circuit.

The film is named after one of the most famous Bollywood films of all time, Amar, Akbar and Anthony.

Directed by Atul Malhotra, Amar Akbar & Tony explores the rigid social taboos that can affect and distort the young and the families they interact with.

It does so through the eyes of three childhood friends looking for love in multi-cultural London.

Interracial romance, violence, sexuality, family, love and loss are themes that are explored and shared by the three main protagonists – Amar, Akbar and Tony – over a 10-year period as the trio deal with the absurdities and unpredictability of life.

It stars Rez Kempton (Merchant Ivory’s Mystic Masseur), Sam Vincenti (Alfie) and Martin Delaney (Zero Dark Thirty) in the title roles, the film also includes Laura Aikman (Keith Lemon : La Vida Loca), Karen David (ABC’s Galavant), Goldy Notay (It’s a Wonderful Afterlife) and Amrita Acharia (Game Of Thrones) with special appearances from British-Asian comedy veterans Meera Syal as Honey and Nina Wadia as matchmaker Seema. It also has a soundtrack by Asian music supremo Rish Rich.

Malhotra said: “It’s a real privilege to be screening Amar Akbar & Tony at the prestigious Mumbai Film Festival and represent independent British film to an international audience in India.

“It’s a wonderful platform to debut the film.

“The film itself is a positive reflection of multi-cultural life in London (particularly West London, where it is set).

“I feel very proud that it's been selected and look forward to bringing it to audiences in the UK when we release there in 2015.”