''East Is East'' is a 1999 British

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

written by

Ayub Khan-Din Ayub Khan Din (born 1961) is a British writer and actor. He wrote the BAFTA, BIFA and London Film Critics Circle award-winning film '' East Is East'' (1999), adapted from his 1996 Olivier-nominated play of the same name. His 2008 comedy play ...

and directed by

Damien O'Donnell Damien O'Donnell (born 1967 in Dublin) is an Irish film director and writer. He has directed '' East is East'' (1999), '' Heartlands'' (2002) and '' Inside I'm Dancing'' (2004), amongst others. He is from Coolock, Dublin. He has also directed ...

. It is set in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, Lancashire (now in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

), in 1971, in a mixed-ethnicity British household headed by Pakistani father George (

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...

) and an English mother, Ella (

Linda Bassett Linda Bassett (born 4 February 1950) is an English actress. Her television credits include Victoria Wood's ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'' (1999), ''Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series), Lark Rise to Candleford'' (2008–11), ''Grandma' ...

). ''East Is East'' is based on Khan-Din's 1996

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

, which opened at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre c ...

in October 1996 and

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

in November 1996. The title derives from the 1889

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

poem "

The Ballad of East and West "The Ballad of East and West" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published in 1889, and has been much collected and anthologized since. The poem Kamal, a tribal chieftain in the North-West Frontier of the British Raj, steals a British ...

", 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 The BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 1st British Academy Film Awards, first recognising the ...

at the

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

. It was also a major box office success, grossing worldwide and earning over ten times its £1.9 million () budget.

Plot

In 1971, George Khan is a Pakistani Muslim who has lived in Britain since 1937. He has a wife in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He and his second wife Ella, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

woman of

Irish descent The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been co ...

, 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 Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

shop. While George is obsessed with the 1971

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

(primarily out of concern for his first family living near the conflict zone) 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 culture. 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 who is in a relationship with Stella Moorhouse (whose grandfather is a supporter of

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

and repatriation), 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, now a hat designer and in a homosexual relationship, who 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. Tariq and George get in a heated argument over the arranged marriages. Whilst Tariq insists that he is British, George refutes this, stating that the Islamic community is more accepting. Tariq reluctantly agrees to go along with the marriage, but defiantly states that he will follow his father's example of also having a British second wife. 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 that Saleem had made as a project for art college, and he accidentally drops it into 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.

Cast

– Zahir "George" Khan *

– Ella Khan *

Ian Aspinall Ian Aspinall (born 1961) is a British actor. He played Mubbs Hussein in '' Holby City'' from 2001 to 2005, and has also appeared in '' City Central'', ''The Bill'', '' Silent Witness'', ''Peak Practice'', '' Waterloo Road'' and ''Casualty''. He al ...

– Nazir "Nigel" Khan *

Raji James Rajesh Kumar Jhanji (born 24 February 1970), known professionally as Raji James, is an English actor, known for his roles as Ash Ferreira in ''EastEnders'', DS Vik Singh in ''The Bill'' and Ali Shahzad in ''Hollyoaks''. He also played Abdul Kh ...

– Abdul "Arthur" Khan *

Jimi Mistry Jimi Mistry (born 1 January 1973) is a retired British actor. He is known for appearing in numerous films such as '' East Is East'' (1999), '' The Guru'' (2002), ''Ella Enchanted'' (2004), '' The Truth About Love'' (2005), '' Blood Diamond'' (2 ...

– Tariq "Tony" Khan *

Emil Marwa Emil Marwa (born 1974) is a British actor, known for his acting in films like '' Izzat'', '' East Is East'', and '' The Guru''. Early life His father is an Indian Kenyan Sikh and his mother is of Norwegian descent. Emil was brought up in London, ...

– Maneer "Gandhi" Khan *

Chris Bisson Christopher Paul Bisson (born 21 July 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the roles of Vikram Desai in ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2002), Kash Karib in '' Shameless'' (2004–2007, 2009), and Jai Sharma in ''Emmerdale'' (2009– ...

– Saleem "Picasso" Khan *

Archie Panjabi Archana Panjabi (born 31 May 1972) is a British actress. She has had various roles in both UK and US television including as Maya Roy in ''Life on Mars'' (2006–07), Nas Kamal in NBC crime drama '' Blindspot'' (2016–17, 2020), Kendra Malle ...

– Meenah Khan * Jordan Routledge – Sajid "Spaz" Khan *Emma Rydal – Stella Moorhouse *

John Bardon John Bardon (born John Michael Jones, 25 August 1939 – 12 September 2014) was an English stage and screen actor. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1988 (1987 season) for ''Kiss Me, Kate'', sharing the aw ...

– Mr. Moorhouse *Gary Damer – Earnest "Pongo" Moorhouse *

Ruth Jones Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019). Jones has also appeared in various ...

– Peggy *

Madhav Sharma Madhav Sharma (born 12 November 1939) is an Indian-British actor. Early life Sharma studied at the Scottish Church College in Kolkata, India and later, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Bloomsbury, London. Following the death of his m ...

– Mr Shah * Lesley Nicol – Auntie Annie

Reception

The film received positive reviews, scoring 78% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

with twenty-five positive and seven negative reviews.

Box office

The film was a major box office success. It grossed worldwide, against a production budget of £1.9 millionAlexander Walker, ''Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984–2000'', Orion Books, 2005 p. 301 (), earning over ten times its budget. In the United Kingdom, the film grossed over or at the box office. In Europe, it sold 4,119,909 tickets at the box office. In the United States and Canada, the film grossed (equivalent to $7,095,508 adjusted for inflation in 2021).

Awards and nominations

The film won the

at the

, and was declared Best Comedy Film at the

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

. It also won the Espiga de Oro at

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Seminci) in 1999. The screenwriter, Ayub Khan-Din, won both a

British Independent Film Award The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

and a London Critics' Circle Film Awards for his screenplay. He was also nominated for two

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

s for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, and for a

European Film Award The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

for Best Screenwriter. Actor Puri was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film. Superlatives Note: ...

. The director,

, won Best Debut at the UK

Empire Awards The Empire Awards was an annual British awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the local and global film industry. Winners were awarded the Empire Award statuette. The awards, first presented in 1996, were presented by the British f ...

, won the

Evening Standard British Film Awards The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony ...

and

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...

for Best Film, won the OCIC Special Award at the

Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema The Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI, es, Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of ...

, won the Kingfisher Award at the Ljubljana International Film Festival, and received a number of nominations, among them a

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

nomination and a

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

nomination.

Sequel

A sequel, '' West Is West'', premiered at the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

in the autumn of 2010, and was on general UK release from February 2011.

References

External links

*
Official trailer
* * *
Roger Ebert review

Production Notes East Is East
{{Authority control 1999 films 1999 comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s Urdu-language films Films shot in Greater Manchester Best British Film BAFTA Award winners British comedy-drama films British films based on plays British Pakistani films Film4 Productions films Films about domestic violence Films about dysfunctional families Films about interracial romance Films directed by Damien O'Donnell Films set in 1971 Films set in Lancashire Salford 1990s British films