NRI has 'inside' role in 'The Iron Lady' success

Hollywood actress Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron lady has received rave reviews and an Oscar nomination, but few are aware that an Indian-origin textile manufacturer played a key ‘inside’ role in her success.

Leicester-based RST International, which manufactures thermal underwear and also imports products from the Far East, provided warmth to Streep and the cast while filming in cold environs in Buckinghamshire. Rishi Thobani, the company’s managing director, said: “We had a call from the production house and they said to us they were making a film about Thatcher starring Streep and they required thermals for her and her fellow actors”.

 He told the ‘Leicester Mercury’: “They were filming outside and, if it’s cold and you’re wearing a blouse, you can either wear thermals underneath or a cardigan. But the scene doesn’t always allow you to wear a cardigan. What these thermals do is keep the actors warm without having to sacrifice the costume. They are invisible underneath a costume.”  The company sent a selection of Long Johns, vests and T- shirts to Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, where the film was made last winter.

Thobhani said there was some irony in the fact that the company had won the order, given that a lot of people blame Thatcher’s policies for the decline of British manufacturing. The company was founded in 2004, and employs 16 people. Thobani said: “I called The Iron Lady’s production wardrobe mistress, Sue Casey, to congratulate her on the success of the film.”