East Is East

Damien O'Donnell's charming comedy-drama about Zaheed Khan (Om Puri), the patriarch of a Pakistani-British family whose children begin to reject their heritage and embrace UK life.

A charming and thoughtful comic drama from Damien O'Donnell, East Is East features a commanding lead turn from the late Om Puri. He stars as Zaheed Khan, the patriarch of a Pakistani-British family who embraces his culture despite living in the UK. Khan is obsessed with forming arranged marriages for his children - which proves a problem as they begin to assert their independence and reject their Muslim heritage.

East is East is adapted from the play of the same name by Ayub Khan-Din, who also wrote the film's screenplay. The film was a creditable box office at its time of releasing, grossing over £10 million at the UK box office despite a budget of only £1.9 million.