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 with attitude about finding your way in a home with no latitude.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Khan house doesn't have its own bathroom, which was perfectly normal for the average terraced house of the time. A tin bath (as shown in the initial scenes) for washing with would be shared in a sitting room or bedroom between the family while the only toilet was an outhouse in the back garden.

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Goofs

On the rooftops, modern metal gas vents are seen in place of the ceramic chimney pots that would have been in use at the time.

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Quotes

Meenah Khan: [Heard by Mrs Shah from outside, referring to the Shahs' daughters] Have you seen the state of them two? The one with the teeth's got a mustache like Dad.
Maneer Khan: Tariq's looks like Quasimodo.
Ella Khan: Kids eh. Were your two like that, Mrs. Shah?
Mrs. Shah: [Sternly] No. I believe in strict discipline. Especially in a NON-Pakistani environment.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Features The Clangers (1969)

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Soundtracks

Chalo dildar chalo
from "Pakeezah" (1971)
Licensed courtesy of The Grammophone Company of India Ltd.

User Reviews

East is East

"East is East"- another boring film we have to watch in our English lesson. These were my first thoughts when I heard that this film will be the next topic our English class has to deal with. But that is absolutely not the case! This film is a great enrichment for the viewer and it is no boring stuff at all.

Ayub Khan-Din wrote a fantastic script which is perfectly put into action by Damien O'Donnell. The cast members did a good job by giving their characters influences to link them into the right direction. For example Om Puri who played his complex character "George Khan" with such a conviction and even the youngest cast member Jordan Routledge who has absolutely not to hide behind his co-cast members in his performance of „Sajid Khan". Also the setting in the 70's is a big success so that you get the impression as if you are living within this time. Mostly I liked the way the writers handled the difficult topic of the different lifestyles of Pakistani and British people without speaking in favour for one group. They used a lot of prejudices about both cultures but they converted it into funny scenes everybody has to laugh about. So a good balance between comedy and tragedy is created because of the spontaneous comic relieves. The film gives a good opportunity for watching it for entertainment but also for talking seriously about it, like for example the two generations and their different points of view: On the one hand we can see the young generation of Sajid who does not care if his friend Earnest is a Pakistani or not. And also Tariq who does not want to be a devout Pakistani and likes partying all night even if his father gets angry about it. But on the other hand, there is the older generation of immigrants George belongs to which is extremely influenced by their traditional values and it is hard for them to adapt to the British society. It seems as if especially George does not learn from his mistakes: After the failed arranged marriage of eldest son Nazir, he tries to plan marriages for his sons Tariq and Abdul who are strongly against it. At the end, left alone from his family, George seems to be contemplative and Ella goes back to him for reconciliation. But the viewer does not get to know whether George changes his behaviour or not but you can still hope it! And that's why "East is East" is such an intoxicating movie: Everybody can identify with one of the characters and so you suffer with Ella when she is beaten up by her husband, you laugh with the siblings when they are teasing each other, you want to give them good advices and most importantly, you think about what you would have done in their situation.

So I can really recommend watching this movie because of the good balance of comical and tragically effects, the great actors and not to forget, the fantastic story written by a man who collected his first experiences by creating this script which was such a success.

Details

Official Sites:

Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)

Country:

UK

Language:

English Urdu

Release Date:

2 June 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

East Is East

Filming Locations:

Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP1,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$53,569, 16 April 2000

Gross USA:

$4,177,818

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,177,818

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