In early 1970s England, a Pakistani father finds the authority he has previously maintained challenged by his increasingly Anglicized children.
In 1971 Salford, fish-and-chip shop owner George Khan expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani Muslim ways. But his children, having been born to an English mother and brought up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and start to reject their father's rules on dress, food, religion, and living in general.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Zaheed Khan was born in Pakistan and married his first wife there, but he sought better prospects and emigrated to Britain, where he changed his name to George and fell in love with Ella, a Caucasian; he married her and they eventually became the parents of six sons and one daughter. He wanted all of children to follow Islamic tradition, and would parcel them in the "Masjid van" every Friday for prayers and religious incantations. Arguments with Ella are one-sided and always end when he threatens to bring "Mrs. Khan" from Pakistan. When his eldest son Nazir comes to know that his dad is arranging his marriage, he runs away from home, and his father disowns him. The children have lots of friends in the community and some have shown interest in romances, but they have no idea that their father is planning to marry off two of his sons to two Pakistani sisters. Ella prepares for a visit from their prospective in-laws, and and her sons are introduced to their brides-to-be. After recovering from the initial shock of seeing the women face-to-face, the family settles down, leaving Khan to negotiate the details. Noticing how very small the Khans' apartment is, the brides' mother proposes that the grooms-to-be should settle in their house after marriage. Watch how chaos takes over, and the manner in which the overbearing Khan attempts to bring his family in line, in the midst of Enoch Powell's announcement that his political party will expel all immigrants and send them back to their respective motherlands.—rAjOo ([email protected])
In early-1970s England, a traditional Pakistani father (Om Puri) finds his brood--consisting of six sons and one daughter--spinning in decidedly non-traditional, independent-minded directions; his eldest son actually runs away from home rather than keeping to his fate of an arranged marriage. When the next two sons discover that their father has secretly been arranging marriages for them, they rebel and set off repercussions that force the family to totally reconsider their family structure.—John Sacksteder <[email protected]>
Jahangir "George" Khan (Om Puri) is a Pakistani Muslim who has lived in England since 1937. Although he loves his family, he cares more for his own image and dignity than their happiness. He has a wife in Pakistan.
He and his second wife Ella (Linda Bassett), a British Roman Catholic woman of Irish descent (she finds herself unable to stand up to George until he pushes her too far by abusing their children), have been married for 25 years and have 7 children together: Nazir (Ian Aspinall), Abdul (Raji James), Tariq (Jimi Mistry), Maneer (Emil Marwa), Saleem (Chris Bisson), Meenah (Archie Panjabi), and Sajid (Jordan Routledge). George and Ella run a popular fish and chips shop in the neighborhood.
While George is obsessed with the 1971 war between East and West Pakistan and arranging marriages for his children, the children themselves who were born and brought up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and reject Pakistani customs of dress, food, religion, and living. This leads to a rise in tensions and conflicts within the family unit.Auntie Annie (Lesley Nicol), Ella's best friend. She frequently helps George and Ella at the chip shop and has an amiable relationship with George, although she advises Ella not to be too soft with him.
Nazir "Nigel" Khan is disowned by George after fleeing an arranged marriage for a homosexual relationship.Abdul "Arthur" Khan, the second son. He seems to dislike conflict and does not rebel against George's authority until he abuses Ella.Tariq "Tony" Khan, the third son. He is the most rebellious and even attempts to flee to Eccles when he learns of George's marriage plans for him. Stella Moorhouse (Emma Rydal), Tariq's secret girlfriend. Their relationship becomes somewhat strained once she finds out George has planned to marry Tariq off.
Earnest "Pongo" Moorhouse (Gary Damer, Stella's younger brother. Like Stella, he is friends with the Khans, being Sajid's best friend and harboring an unrequited crush on Meenah. It is implied that he is somewhat weird and often abused by his grandfather.Mr. Moorhouse (John Bardon), Stella and Earnest's grandfather. He has old-fashioned ideas about race and ethnicity, supporting controversial political figures like Enoch Powell, and does not know of Stella's relationship with Tariq, although he is frequently irritated by Earnest's friendship with the Khans, who openly dislike him.
Maneer "Gandhi" Khan, the fourth son. He is the only one who obeys George's rules, and ironically the only one who George beats. He is devout and spends much time reading quietly in his room.Saleem "Picasso" Khan, the fifth son. He seems indifferent to George's authority but stands by his mother and siblings when George goes too far. On a comical note, he is studying Foundation Art, while George believes he is training to become an engineer.Meenah Khan, the sixth child and the only daughter. She also has a rebellious streak and frequently teases Sajid.
Sajid "Spaz" Khan, the sixth son and youngest child. The pain he undergoes following his late circumcision is what prompts Ella to rethink her attitude towards George. He wears a parka at all times of day and night.Peggy (Ruth Jones), Stella's best friend. She appears jealous of Stella's relationship with Tariq and tries desperately to find a boyfriend, but her overweight figure repels boys. In the end, she is implied to have a romantic fling with Saleem.
Mr Shah (Madhav Sharma), a devout Muslim desperately seeking Pakistani bridegrooms for his two comically unattractive daughters. Though he appears amiable on the outside, he is actually mean-spirited and rude, scoffing at Earnest Moorhouse for no reason and branding Ella as a disgrace solely for speaking back to his snobbish wife even when she insulted Ella first. On a comical note, his constant sweating is a sign of poor hygiene.
George forcibly circumcises Sajid, when he finds that he is not. Forbids the consumption of pork in the house, even though all his kids eat it behind his back. George goes beyond all reason by promising Mr Shah to marry 2 of his sons (1 of them being Tariq) to his 2 daughters (who are comically ugly).
Ella protests vehemently that the boys should be told about their futures, lest history with Nazir should repeat itself. Tariq finds out about his engagement and is so angry that he destroys all the shopping that George has done secretly for the weddings. George thinks that Maneer made the mess & beats him. This time Ella intervenes & stands up to George. Tariq leaves home & Meenah, Saleem & Stella also go with him. They go to Nazir for help & find that he is now a gay stylist in a gay relationship. Nazir comes home to confront his father but leaves when Ella tells him that he would only make things worse.
Tariq returns home & threatens George that if he goes ahead with the wedding, then he would also get a 2nd white wife, just like George.Finally, Mr Shah brings his wife & daughters to George's home. Mrs Shah insults Ella by saying that their house is too small & it would be best if Tariq & Abdul stayed with Shah's after the wedding. Ella puts her foot down & says that the girls are not good enough for her family & forces the Shah's to leave.
George again wants to hit Ella, but this time the entire family intervene and forces George to back down.
