Pre 9/11 there was much to celebrate about being British and Asian. With the passing of Om Puri we take a look at one of his most defining roles.

In 1999 a relatively low-budget movie ‘East is East’ hit the cinemas.

Written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell, it told the story of the trials and tribulations of Pakistani father George, played by Om Puri and Ella, played by Linda Bassett.

It also featured a wonderful young cast made up of the likes of Archie Panjabi, Jimmi Mistry and Chris Bisson.

Unusually, it was set in Salford in the early seventies and straight away it struck a chord with both first generation Asians in the UK and their offspring for several reasons.

Firstly, it portrayed for the first time how many young Asians were trying to find a balance between British life and the cultural hang-ups of their parents and secondly, it highlighted how parents were constantly striving to hold onto the values of their forefathers.

There had always been a fear and for some a hope, that we were only here temporarily and one day we would indeed return to our native countries.

Yes, it touched upon those familiar issues of arranged marriage and religious intolerence but in Zaheed ‘George’ Khan we had a character who was torn in so many ways.

He had married a white woman and yet felt obliged to raise his children with the traditions he himself had been brought up with.

It was a battle he was never going to win but he would try nonetheless – like some solitary soldier on the battlefield waging a final offense and trying his best to push back the advancing hoards.

Played with such conviction by the now late Om Puri, George was indeed someone many could all relate to in some way. He was at times warm, funny and generous but at the same time stern and ignorant of the changes taking place around him.

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Writer Ayub Khan-Din could not have hoped for a more accomplished actor to take on the role of George.

There are moments in the movie when we feel empathy with George but at the same time find his obsessive and violent nature both scary, shocking and repulsive.

His masterful performance though transcended boundaries in so many ways.

George Khan, was someone the first generation of immigrants also found endearing in some way. In the sixties and seventies life was indeed not easy for those making a life here in the UK.

They were beleaguered with racism, poverty and faced with the sad fact that no matter how hard they tried, they would never be British enough due to the colour of their skin.

George, for all his problems still manages to find the love of a woman who sees beyond his personality traits.

There is an endearing moment in the movie when one of the children uses the word ‘Paki’ when referring to their father. Ella is incensed. No matter what he does and what he may say, to use that unpalatable term against their father is clearly the most heinous thing they can do.

East is East was also a very British story played by an actor who was comfortable with both Bollywood and western cinema.

Before East is East we had seen few films which looked into British Asian culture in this way. There had been Bhaji on the Beach and My Beautiful Launderette and Goodness Gracious Me had been on the screen for two years.

The Goodness Gracious Me series much like East is East helped to bring British Asian stories to the attention of the mainstream. And both were clearly well ahead of their time.

At the time there were of course disconcerting voices who said we should not ‘air our dirty laundry’ and laughing at ourselves in this way was counter-productive. 

But other braced themselves for an onslaught of productions that would celebrate Punjabi – Indian – Bengali British humour. It didn’t happen.

It's a pity that since then, barring ‘Four Lions,’ and 'Bend it Like Beckham' there has been very little on both TV and cinema to reach those heights.

We have had in recent years the rise of British Asian comedians and some very good short films that have in some way filled the gaps but East is East and that giant of a man George Khan will be remembered for making inroads into British culture more than any other movie.