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| Om Puri with co-star Linda Bassett in a scene from West is West |
When did you first think of revisiting the family of George Khan for a sequel to East is East?
Both films are autobiographical and chronicle writer Ayub Khan-din’s family life. When Ayub and I were working on developing the screenplay of the first film, I learned much more about the story of his family than was covered in East is East. Actually it always seemed to me that there was a trilogy to be made about the Khan family. At the time, though, the prospect of just making one feature film was daunting and challenging enough. It was both Ayub’s and my very first feature. As soon as I discovered the fact that Ayub was taken by his father as a young boy to Pakistan to meet his ‘other mummy’ and ‘other family’, it struck me like a thunderbolt that this in itself was the basis for a film that simply had to be made later.
So what exactly happens in the sequel?
The first film looked at George Khan’s attempts to integrate into UK society as an immigrant with scant command of English, at a very racist time in Britain, and his increasing isolation and commensurate tyranny in trying to make good and obedient Muslims out of his seven half-English, half-Pakistani kids. And the sequel looks at the world George Khan left behind 30 years before he came and settled in Britain and took another wife and made another family and life for himself. In East is East the family fractures apart, in West is West they come together, across the languages, and cultural divides.
West is West is coming out 11 years after East is East. Isn’t the recall factor way too limited?
Why 11 years? Well, this is just not a ‘cynical sequel’ which follows swift on the heels of a successful first film. It’s a standalone film from the heart of the brilliant Ayub Khan-din. The film had to emerge with the love and the nurturing that all really heartfelt films demand. And it took that long, put simply. East is East had enjoyed so much worldwide success that it must have been quite a daunting prospect for Ayub to write its sequel. Let’s face it, sequels are not uncommonly disappointing when compared with the original film or book. For my own part, I believe this sequel is the exception that proves the rule; that it is a more profound, more mature, and more satisfying film than East is East. Personally, I am even more in love with West is West. It’s as funny, as distinctive, as original as the first film, just as relevant and universal, but it’s also deeper and more layered.
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| Leslee Udwin with Om Puri |
What was your experience of shooting in India? Are you ready to produce a Bollywood film?
Mera dil India pagal hai! It has been a truly thrilling and magical experience. And the hospitality we enjoyed in and around Chandigarh, from the villagers whose lives we invaded, to the townsfolk, was incomparable and unforgettable. I have taken Punjab and its people deep into my heart. Our budget was small and we were unable to import large-scale crew from outside Punjab. It was logistically the toughest production I’ve ever had to manage. Having said that, the warmth and pure hearts of the Indian people were inspiring and extremely moving and in stark contrast to the mostly cynical crew and population one is used to dealing with in the UK... In truth, it never seriously occurred to me to shoot in Pakistan. It was never a viable practical option. The Indian Punjab, where we shot, and the Pakistani Punjab look identical. They were, after all, only divided by a line on a map in 1947.
A Bollywood film? Well, no, you don’t need me for that, there are many competent producers here who do that to perfection, and Bollywood movies, with very formal structured expectations of song-and-dance routines, are not to my taste. But I am actually planning a Hindi remake of one of my favourite films and a film that would be perfect for India... and I will surely be waapis!
Why did you choose Andy DeEmmony to direct West is West?
At first, the plan was to hire the same director who directed East is East — Damien ’Donnell. In fact his original contract for East is East entitled him to a ‘first look’ — the first right to be the director of any sequel. I worked alone with Ayub on the script for about a year and a half and then, when Ayub and I were happy with the overall structure and vision of the film, we showed it to Damien. But it soon became apparent that we had fundamental differences of opinion on what the main focus of the story was. So we knew we could not proceed as a team. As had been the case with the first film, my search was for a director whose strong cards are comedy and performance. Finding both strengths in the same director is always challenging. Andy’s work in television over several years certainly evidenced both.
Given the political climate in Pakistan right now and its place in the international scheme of things, how important is the story of West is West?
Crucially important. This is an issue I feel passionately about. The great gift a film can give us is to empathise with ‘the other’. Wherever I have shown this film around the world since last September (Toronto, New York, Abu Dhabi, San Francisco, Dubai, Goa, Berlin, Gujarat, London...) I have had audiences come up to me with tears in their eyes, saying: “this is my story”.
We had great difficulty finding a mainstream US distributor as they said “Pakistan is the No. 1 enemy and the American people will not take kindly to a film set in Pakistan!” I was so shocked by this idiotic notion, that I persuaded my financiers to spend the £12,000 that it cost us to run a formal test screening of US audience members. And guess what? Ninety per cent of the US test audiences said they would recommend the film to their friends and 77 per cent of them rated the film as either ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’. US distributors are completely out of touch with their audiences and act as a barrier, forcing choices on their audiences about what is available for them to see. This is truly terrible. Because, of all nations, America needs to gain real insight and knowledge into other people’s cultures and outlooks.
The last time you worked with Om Puri was back in 1999. What’s changed about him? Has he got even better?
A great actor, like a great wine, matures and improves with age. To know Om is to adore him. He is not only a brilliant actor — one of the world’s finest — but a beautiful person with a beautiful, sensitive and caring soul. There was no way I could or would have made the film if Om had been unavailable or unwilling to perform in the sequel. To a large extent I had to bank on the fact that when he read the script he would want to do it and would keep himself available in the way that an independent production demands actors do, on faith and goodwill and without any guarantees. There were some terrifying beats along the way when we thought we might have worked on the script for two-and-a-half years in vain, but he did it in the end and I am so indebted and grateful to him that he did. It is a mark of and tribute to his love of the characters and the material. It’s hard to say whether he has got better, partly because how can you improve on ‘perfection’ and partly because he is playing a better role in this film. The depths he has to reach in playing this character are much more challenging and profound than was the case with the George Khan of film No. 1.
You were talking of a trilogy. So what’s next? South is South or North is North?
East is West. Which is Omji’s title for it. Ayub and I have commenced discussions about it. We know it will be set back in England, and we know the Pakistani family will come over there.... Personally, I would love to see George Khan, having made the journey of redemption and maturing, now putting his hard-learnt lessons into practice. I cannot say when it’ll be ready to shoot, but a minimum of two years is the best guess I can make. The fact is it will, like West is West did, take as long as it organically needs to… until a beautiful film emerges butterfly-like from its cocoon.
