Bhaji on the Beach

I found this film thoroughly watchable, and compulsive viewing. I think this was mainly because of the believable main characters, a group of Asian women.

The film itself is a compendium of stories, each person having their own set of problems.

The main cast are members of the "Saheli Women's Group" on a day trip to Blackpool. There is Ginder, a battered wife who has left her husband, a young girl who is pregnant by her black boyfriend, two old women stuck in the past, a vampish "mutton dressed as lamb", and two teenagers chasing boys.

There are some nasty reminders of the prejudice in our society, such as an encounter with louts in a Service Station. There are also some amusing scenes, the teenagers ridiculing their elders for example, yet the mood swings very quickly one way and another, as they are pursued by Ginder's husband and brothers, picnic on the beach, make friends with the locals, and visit a nightclub.

The film's main weakness is the number of issues that it tries to address, it's strength the "ordinariness" of the actors, who could each fill their roles in real life.

On a scale 0-10 7. Expect to be drawn in rather than entertained.