City of Tiny Lights trailer: Riz Ahmed is basically modern Sherlock in Billie Piper co-starring film

'Every desire has its price'

Having recently starred in the critically acclaimed HBO mini-series The Night Of, along with a supporting role in Star Wars spin-off Rogue One, Riz Ahmed has finally made the leap to leading Hollywood actor.

City of Tiny Lights sees Ahmed plays Londoner Tommy Akhtar, a private eye who gets caught up in a dangerous case surrounding a high-class prostitute.

Directed by Vantage Point and Dredd’s Pete Travis, the film co-stars Billie Piper as Akhtar’s long-lost love, Cush Jumbo and Roshan Seth.

Speaking to the Evening Standard about the upcoming film, Piper - whose last film was the 2005 horror Spirit Trap - said: “When I read the script, I fell in love with the fact that it shows London complete with all its many colours and cultures — the real, modern, diverse London I know and love, so often lost in TV dramas and Hollywood movies.”

City of Tiny Lights plot synopses reads:

Meet Tommy Akhtar (Riz Ahmed), cricket fan, devoted son to an ailing father and deadbeat private eye. He’s got an office above a cab firm, a taste for cigarettes and bourbon, and a finely tuned moral compass that he keeps hidden behind a sharp cynicism. When Tommy walks into his office one morning to find high-class prostitute Melody seeking his help, he’s launched into a story that plays as an utterly original modern noir. 

City Of Tiny Lights reaches UK cinemas 7 April.