South Asian

West Is West

In this heartwarming and often hilarious follow-up to the acclaimed EAST IS EAST (1998), the dysfunctional and multi-cultural Khan family returns to the screen.  Set in 1976 in Salford, England, WEST IS WEST is the coming-of-age story of both 15-year-old Sajid and his father, 60-year-old Pakistani immigrant George (the great Om Puri).  Sajid, the runt of the Khan litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault from both his father’s insistence on tradition and the racist bullies at school.  So George decides to pack him off to Mrs. Khan # 1 and daughters in the Punjab, the family he had abandoned 30 years earlier.  Sajid, however, isn’t at all interested in getting a crash course in Pakistani culture, and it’s not long before working-class British wife Ella (Mrs. Khan # 2), along with a small entourage, arrive to sort out the mess, past and present.  With its spirited cast, this uplifting film about a fascinating family in transitional times perfectly captures the verve of young and old and the convergence of the East and the West.