Review: ‘West is West’ is a must watch flick!

‘West is West’ is the sequel to the critically and commercially acclaimed ‘East Is East’. Back in the year 1976, brown-skinned Asians were looked down upon in England, much more than today. After having lost the love and respect of his elder sons, Salford-based small time businessman, Jahangir Khan (Om Puri), living in Britain, decides to take his youngest son, Sajid(Aqib Khan), from his second wife to Pakistan to train the latter in the Pakistani ways of life.

Much against the wishes of his second wife Ella (Linda Bassett), Jahangir exerts his will and makes the journey to rural Pakistan with Sajid. Jahangir also wants to find a suitable match in Pakistan for Maneer - his elder son, whose character is played by Emil Marwa in the film.
Maneer has been living in Pakistan with his father’s first wife. When Jahangir finally reaches his village in Pakistan, he discovers that his first wife, Basheera (Ila Arun) is an old frail women now. He had deserted her 30 years ago to go to England.
He also finds out that just like his sons from his second marriage, his daughters from the first marriage do not respect him at all. Distraught, Jahangir entrusts Sajid in the care of a pir played by Nadim Sawalha and gives up on the chances of Maneer getting married at all, as people think that Maneer will also turn out to be like his wayward father.
Sajid finds refuge in the wisdom of the pir and the friendship of a local boy, Eyaz (Kamal Arora). A guilty Jahangir overstays in Pakistan, as against the plan. He starts regretting his decision to ever leave Pakistan. To cover his guilt, Jahangir decides to build a new house for his first family.
Soon, his second wife, Ella, and her sister (Lesley Nicol) arrive in Pakistan. Ella chides Jahangir for spending all their savings on building the house for the first wife. Sajid also refuses to go back to England with Ella. After momentary calm, tempers start to rise. What happens next? Is Jahangir able to make peace with both his wives who are unhappy with the situation he created for them? What about Maneer’s marriage and Sajid’s Pakistani connection? Watch the film to know more.

‘West is West’ is a good film to catch this weekend with the family.