East
Is East is a 1999
British comedy-drama film written
by Ayub Khan-Din and
directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is
set in Salford, Lancashire (now
in Greater Manchester), in
1971, in a mixed-ethnicity British household headed by Pakistani father
George (Om Puri) and an English mother, Ella (Linda Bassett). East Is East is based on Khan-Din's
1996 play of the same name,
which opened at the Birmingham Repertory
Theatre in October 1996 and Royal Court Theatre in
November 1996. The title derives from the 1889 Rudyard Kipling poem "The Ballad of East and
West", of which the opening line reads: "Oh East is East,
and West is West, and never the twain shall meet". The film was critically
acclaimed, winning the Alexander
Korda Award for Best British Film at the BAFTA Awards. It was also a major box office success,
grossing $30,438,635 (equivalent to $50,000,000 in 2021) worldwide
and earning over ten times its £1.9 million ($3 million) budget. In 1971,
George Khan is a Pakistani Muslim who has lived in
Britain since 1927. He has a wife in Pakistan. He and his second wife Ella, a British Roman Catholic woman of Irish descent, have been married for twenty-five years and
have seven children; Nazir, Abdul, Tariq, Maneer, Saleem, Meenah (the only
daughter) and Sajid. George and Ella run a popular fish and chip shop. While George is obsessed with the
1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and
arranging marriages for his children, the children themselves, born and brought
up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and reject Pakistani
dress, food, religion and living. After George disowns Nazir for running out on
his arranged marriage, he immediately begins making plans to have another of
his children married to maintain his image. On a trip to Bradford, George is
introduced to Mr. Shah, a fellow Pakistani Muslim who wishes to marry off his
two unattractive daughters. George arranges in secret for his second and third
sons, Abdul and Tariq, to marry them, despite Ella's misgivings, a conversation
that the youngest child, Sajid, overhears. During a quarrel, Sajid reveals the
arranged marriages to his brothers; Tariq, the most rebellious son and in a
relationship with a local girl, flies into a rage and defiles the wedding
garments George had bought. The most obedient son, Maneer, is caught by George
trying to tidy the mess up and beaten when he refuses to tell George who was
responsible; Ella intervenes and is also beaten. Tariq travels to Eccles and tracks
down Nazir, who is in a homosexual relationship and returns to confront George
for his actions. However, upon seeing Ella's and Maneer's bruises, he becomes
frightened his appearance will anger George further and make the situation
worse for his siblings and his mother. Ella urges him to go, so he obeys her
wish and flees before George catches sight of him. After a heated argument with
his father, Tariq reluctantly agrees to go along with the marriage. Mr. and
Mrs. Shah arrive with their daughters to meet George's family. Ella maintains
her composure despite Mrs. Shah's condescending and rude attitude, but things
come to a head when a scuffle ensues over a sculpture of a vagina and Saleem
accidentally drops it on Mrs. Shah's lap. Angered, Mrs. Shah insults George's
entire family and is ejected from the house by Ella along with her husband and
daughters. Enraged, George attacks Ella but is stopped by Abdul and the other
children long enough for him to see how his actions have turned his entire
family against him, and leaves the household in shame to seek solace in his
shop. In the aftermath, George and Ella make amends over tea while the kids
play in the street.