Overview

Amir is an illegal Pakistani immigrant smuggled into England in the 1960's to work, to send money to his family and perhaps even bring them over with him. A skilled laborer, he is forced to do unskilled work like shoveling sheep dung and processing wool. He lives in a boarding house with nearly a dozen other men, under the supervision of Hussein Shah. He befriends a young student, Sakib, who dreams of being a writer. Their existence is punctuated by secret movies, a visiting prostitute, fear of detection and deportation, and the gangster-like smuggler who comes by for his take every week. The household is shaken up by the arrival of a white girl, Shah's girlfriend, and the sense of femininity and family she brings.

Genres

Cast

Om Puri

Hussein Shah

Angeline Ball

Mary

Ace Bhatti

Irshad

Bhasker Patel

Gholam

Pavan Malhotra

Amir

Pravesh Kumar

Sakib

Badi Uzzaman

Old Ram

Harmage Singh Kalirai

Sher Baz

Kulvinder Ghir

Agent

Riz Abbasi

Asif

Freddie Fletcher

Redway

William Maxwell

Doctor