East Is East

East Is East is a 1999 British comedy-drama film. It is set in a British household of mixed ethnicity, with a Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1971. George Khan (played by Om Puri), the father, expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani ways, but his children, who were born and grew up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British. They reject their father's rules on dress, food, religion and living in general.

East Is East is based on the play of the same name by Ayub Khan-Din. It was directed by Damien O'Donnell. A sequel, West Is West, is in development; Om Puri, Linda Bassett and Jimi Mistry will reprise their roles.

---

This film contains examples of:

• Arranged Marriage: George's attempt at this causes a bit of friction with his British-born sons.
• Aw, Look — They Really Do Love Each Other: A couple of moments between George and Ella.
  • The ending...nuff said
• Bacon Addiction: When George goes out of town, the kids take the opportunity to scarf down as much bacon as they can, while Maneer sprays air-freshener everywhere.
• Berserk Button: What causes George to snap and savagely beat Ella to the ground is her calling him "pig-ignorant" - pigs are considered unclean by Muslims, so that's much more of an insult than it might seem, whether this occurred to Ella or not.
• Black Sheep: Nazir, Sajid
• Brief Accent Imitation: Meenah mocks her mother's posh "receiving-guests" affectations: "Raighty-ho!"
  • Tariq, who like his siblings has a thick Mancunian accent, also puts on a Pakistani one to mock his Dad.
• Camp Gay: Etienne. Nazir seems more Straight Gay.
• The Casanova: Tariq
• Circumcision Angst: Sajid isn't the one angsting about it, his father is; Sajid's understandably terrified at the idea.
• Cool Car: Nazir's Rolls, which gets chased down the street by a gaggle of children.
• Culture Clash
• Domestic Abuse
• The Dutiful Son: Maneer.
• Family Business: The chippy
• Hair-Trigger Temper: George is one scary guy!
• Humiliation Conga: After having an artistic rendering of a vagina dropped into her lap, the stuffy Mrs. Shah calls the Khans "a jungly family" and halfbreeds. She is then accosted by Ella who calls her daughters "inbred monstrosities" and commands Shah and her family to leave the family home in no uncertain terms, likening their daughters to Laurel and Hardy in the process. Having vacated the premises, Mrs. Shah is set upon by a lecherous dalmation. It's a vicious Conga to be sure, but a thoroughly deserved one for such a rude woman.
  • The whole process doubles as a Humiliation Conga for George who wanted to marry his sons into the Shah family. The humiliation isn't quite over for him as he is accosted by his sons when he attempts to strike Ella. After being forced out of his home, he has to sleep in the chip shop.
• I Have Brothers: Meenah is maybe the third most sensitive of the kids.
• I Have No Son: Well, "I Only Have Five Sons"... leads to a hilarious Reveal:

Ella: Oh, he's not dead! He's living in Eccles!

• The Ladette: Foul-mouthed, rough-housing, trouser-wearing Meena. See her fancy footie for further proof.
• Mama Bear: Ella.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: Five Six brothers, one sister.
• N-Word Privileges: The Khan children frequently refer to Pakistani-born immigrants as "Pakis", not considering it to apply to them. This is both Played for Drama ("I'm not marryin' a fucking Paki!") and Played for Laughs ("The Pakis are 'ere!")
• Nothing but Hits: Played with, as the hits alternate from 70's British pop to bhangra.
• OOC Is Serious Business: George realises that if even Maneer is against him, he must have really fucked up.
• Oop North
• The Quiet One: Maneer
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Ella lays two of these on George and a brutally funny one on Mrs. Shah.
• Runaway Groom: Nazir, at the beginning of the film. It's from an Arranged Marriage, and he has... other reasons.
• The Runt At the End: Sajid
• Spot of Tea: "I'll have half a cup"
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Stella seems to think she and Tariq are, but he's pretty openly apathetic about her.
• This Is My Name on Foreign: Nazir calls himself Nigel, and when they go to a club, Tariq is Tony and Abdul is Arthur.
• What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic:
  • Saj's constantly wearing a parka, and is horrified when the hood gets torn off.
  • George always has half a cup of tea, and his family is half-English.