East Is East (1999)

In early 1970s England, a Pakistani father finds the authority he has previously maintained challenged by his increasingly Anglicized children.

Director:

Damien O'Donnell

Writers:

Ayub Khan-Din (play), Ayub Khan-Din (screenplay)

Stars:

Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge

Nominated for 4 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 16 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Om Puri	...	George Khan
Linda Bassett	...	Ella Khan
Jordan Routledge	...	Sajid Khan
Archie Panjabi	...	Meenah Khan
Emil Marwa	...	Maneer Khan
Chris Bisson	...	Saleem Khan
Jimi Mistry	...	Tariq Khan
Raji James	...	Abdul Khan
Ian Aspinall	...	Nazir Khan
Lesley Nicol	...	Auntie Annie
Emma Rydal	...	Stella Moorhouse
Ruth Jones	...	Peggy
Ben Keaton	...	Priest
Kriss Dosanjh	...	Poppa Khalid
John Bardon	...	Mr. Moorhouse

Storyline

In 1971 Salford fish-and-chip shop owner George Khan expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani Muslim ways. But his children, with an English mother and having been born and brought up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and start to reject their father's rules on dress, food, religion, and living in general.

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Plot Keywords:

pakistani | muslim | england | 1970s | mixed marriage | 

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Taglines:

A comedy of families, a chip shop... and a very randy dog.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)

Country:

UK

Language:

English Urdu

Release Date:

2 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Kelet az Kelet

Filming Locations:

Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£1,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£435,627 (United Kingdom), 7 November 1999, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$53,569, 16 April 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,170,647, 10 September 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmFour, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Assassin Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was banned in Egypt.

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Goofs

In the scene when they are in Bradford, Ella and her daughter are in the kitchen. Ella comforts her friend because she is upset about her daughter in Pakistan. In the background on the painting on the wall you can see the reflection of the boom mic as it goes up.

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Quotes

[Moorhouse and Earnest are distributing leaflets of Enoch Powell as George passes by]
Mr. Moorhouse: 'Ere, look, see? There's one of'em now. Got his bags packed for his way home, heh.
Earnest Moorhouse: [Respectfully] Salam Alekom, Mr. Khan.
Mr. Moorhouse: [Slaps Earnest over the head] Shut up, you little bastard!

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to ... and all the residents of Openshaw.

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Connections

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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Soundtracks

Double Barrel
(1971)
Written by Winston Riley
Published by Westbury Music Ltd./Prophesy Music Publishing
Performed by Dave Barker (as Dave) and Ansel Collins (as Ansell Collins)
Licensed courtesy of Westbury Music Ltd.

User Reviews

He Loved His Parker

"East is East" tried to cover too many issues and genres in the one film. In the end I don't think the script was strong enough to tie all this together, and the film suffered because of it. Having said that I believe it was a strong performance from a talented cast.

In it's favour there were some hilarious scenes throughout the movie, and an insight into the Pakistani families and communities in England. Not the typical English stereotypes usually portrayed by Hollywood, nor the typical London lifestyle so often seen in movies today, which was a refreshing change.

Oh Yeah, this confirmed how dangerous and damaging religion has the potential to be. Definitely worth a look.