West is West is, as you know, a sequel to the 1999 sad-comic, desi-English family drama East is East. The original, based on a play by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O’Donnell, was set in 1971, in Salford, Lancashire. It was the story of Pakistani immigrant George Khan (Om Puri), his Irish-Catholic wife Ella (Linda Bassett) and their seven children.

George, who ran a popular chippy, wanted his children to be Pakistani, but they drank, ate pork, answered back and fell in love with the wrong people. There was rebellion and sadness in the dysfunctional Khan family.
We also learnt that George was once Jehangir, a Pakistani married to a Pakistani lady back home.
Director Andy DeEmmony’s West is West, based on Ayub Khan-Din’s screenplay, begins in 1976 with the leftover Khan family. There’s George, Ella and their youngest, Sajid (the one who was circumcised and writhing in pain when we last met).
Sajid (Aqib Khan) is in school where boys call him “Paki” and dunk his head in the commode. George insists on dropping him to school every day, but also slaps him and calls him “stuppy” and “baster”. One of Sajid’s teachers, Mr Jordan (Robert Pugh), is an Indo-Pak-phile and talks to Sajid nostalgically about the subcontinent — the gun Zamzama, spices, heat, mosquitoes, Elephantitis — and hands him a copy of Kim.
Sajid sees himself entirely as British and uses the F-word in every sentence. But he is George’s last hope of keeping Islam alive in his family, so he decides to take Sajid to Pakistan. Sajid arrives in Pakistan against his wishes, irritable and determined to hate and return. Dressed inappropriately in a one-size-too-small suit in oppressive heat, he is thrown into a gaggle of sundry close and distant cousins.
They all drive to Jehangir’s village home. In this crumbling relic of George’s past lives his first wife Basheera (Ila Arun), his daughter Rehana (Sheeba Chaddha), her husband (Vijay Raaz) and George and Ella’s obedient and earnest son Maneer (Emil Marwa).
Maneer, who is obsessed with the Greek singer Nana Moushkouri, has been tilling his father’s land while waiting to get married. But no one will give their daughter in marriage to him because of fish-fryer Jehangir’s reputation — dumping wife and moving to England to find a gori bride.
Meanwhile, Basheera, whose memory of her husband and marriage is frozen in a framed black & white photograph, has been simmering silently, watching her husband return casually after 30 years and go about his business. She demands answers, but he has none. Just tears and remorse.
Jehangir has no connect with Basheera. He has come to Pakistan to pay his dues — to his family and to his religion. He will build a modern house, make a pucca Musalman of Sajid and find Maneer a bride.
Sajid, however, is still uninterested in everything his father suggests, but drops his guard when he meets Pir Naseem (Nadim Sawalha), a kohl-eyed Sufi with a red flute and cryptic talk. Pir-ji gently takes charge of the boy, taking him to explore ruins and masjids while talking about life.
Sajid also finds a friend, sheds his suit for a salwar-kameez and takes it upon himself to find a bride for his brother. There is some entertaining dirty talk about women and ripe mangoes as the two boys search for a bride.
All is going well till Ella lands up with her friend, wanting to know why there is no money in the bank and what George’s plan is. But before the wedding party can start dancing, there is a symbolic squall, Jehangir goes looking for Sajid, the wives share and all of Jehangir’s sins are washed away by his confession in cute, broken Engish.

West is West is not a bad film. But it’s not half as good as East is East which dealt with an immigrant’s frustrations, ghetto mentality and identity crises of two generations. West is West is the last, sentimental chapter of that tale — it tries to tie up some lose ends, redeem George and offer closure.
But it does so while romanticising all things desi. We get a clichéd tour of the land, listen to trite talk posing as profound and watch an unbelievably godly Pir Naseer speak fluent and clipped English. Also there’s a lot of mishmash of Indian-Pakistani things. Though we get a brief glimpse of Sain Zahoor and hear his Coke Studio recordings, the overall flavour is Indian. The film is shot in India and it shows.
West is West’s main problem is that while it is more interested in Sajid and finding Maneer a bride, our concern is Basheera, Jehangir and Ella’s marriage. Though we get two poignant bedroom scenes — Basheera with Jehangir and Basheera with Ella, it’s not enough.
West is West is pulled along by strong performances overall. Om Puri is very good; Ila Arun is intense.