My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Hanif Kureishi (by)

Stars:

Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Johnny (as Daniel Day Lewis)
Richard Graham	...	Genghis
Winston Graham	...	Jamaican One
Dudley Thomas	...	Jamaican Two
Derrick Branche	...	Salim
Garry Cooper	...	Squatter
Gordon Warnecke	...	Omar
Roshan Seth	...	Papa Hussein
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Uncle Nasser
Shirley Anne Field	...	Rachel
Charu Bala Chokshi	...	Bilquis (as Charu Bala Choksi)
Souad Faress	...	Cherry
Rita Wolf	...	Tania
Persis Maravala	...	Nasser's Elder Daughter
Nisha Kapur	...	Nasser's Younger Daughter

Storyline

Much of the Pakistani Hussein family has settled in London, striving for the riches promised by Thatcherism. Nasser and his right hand man, Salim, have a number of small businesses and they do whatever they need to make money, even if the activities are illegal. As such, Nasser and his immediate family live more than a comfortable lifestyle, and he flaunts his riches whenever he can. Meanwhile, his brother, alcoholic Ali, once a famous journalist in Pakistan, lives in a seedy flat with his son, Omar. Ali's life in London is not as lucrative in part because of his left leaning politics, which does not mesh with the ideals of Thatcherism. To help his brother, Nasser gives Omar a job doing menial labor. But Omar, with bigger plans, talks Nasser into letting him manage Nasser's run down laundrette. Omar seizes what he sees as an opportunity to make the laundrette a success, and employs an old friend, Johnny - who has been most recently running around with a gang of white punks - to help ...

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Plot Keywords:

pakistani | cross cultural friendship | homosexuality | closeted homosexual | racism | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Referenced in the song 'Mr. Malcontent' by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Johnny: We're moving house.

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Connections

Featured in Hooray for Holyrood (1986)

User Reviews

Kureishi at his best

Johnny and Omar live in a world of multiple cogenerating, coexisting, modifying, negating, enforcing and enhancing forms of discrimination -- racism, sexism, groupism, homophobia, cultural elitism, snobbery, reverse colonialism, neocolonialism and fascism -- which they successfully grapple and topple in the form of their launderette with the power of economic enterprise. These squabbling goblins are left to each others excesses as economic success lifts them up and out of these, but many questions remain: will they remain; would others succeed; what does luck have to do with it? Kureshi has pissed off all groups who find themselves part of this smashing satire, prime among them the identity conscious confused second/third generation Subcontinental British kids, the same contingency that staunchly supported the Rushdie fatwa. Brilliant and stupendously enjoyable.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Urdu

Release Date:

4 April 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

My Beautiful Laundrette

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP650,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,451,545

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,451,545

Company Credits

Production Co:

Working Title Films, SAF Productions, Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1