Souad Faress Movies
- 1997
Disabled activist Firdaus Kanga scripted this autobiographical British drama by adapting his novel, Trying to Grow. Born in 1962 with brittle bone disease, Brit Kotwal (Kanga) grows up with the support of his middle-class Bombay family, but adulthood brings a series of suicides, accidents, and other disappointments. Kanga played the role of the central autobiographical character at various ages, beginning at age eight. Shown at the 1997 Mill Valley and London film festivals. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Firdaus Kanga, Souad Faress, (more)
- 1994
- R
An assembly of Indian women, both immigrants and their British-born brethren, travel to the English seaside in this comic drama. The plot focuses on a trio of young women caught between tradition and independence: Ginder (Kim Vithana), who risks the uncertainties of social ostracism and single motherhood in order to escape from her abusive husband; Hashida (Sarita Khajuria), who jeopardizes her promising future in medical school when she becomes pregnant by her West Indian boyfriend (Mo Sesay); and Simi (Shaheen Khan), who integrates her feminist politics and her commitment to her culture by heading up the Saheli Asian Women's Group. To provide the women of her community with a chance to get together and enjoy themselves, Simi organizes a ladies-only trip to Blackpool, a seaside resort town that resembles Atlantic City. Along for the ride are boy-crazy teens, conservative matrons, and a garish visitor from Bombay, each of them offering a singular perspective on Asian immigrant culture. Asha (Lalita Ahmed), a middle-aged wife, mother, and newsstand proprietor, spends much of the trip experiencing picturesque visions in which an Indian goddess reprimands her for the missed opportunities in her life. Introspection gets pre-empted, however, when Ginder's husband (Jimmi Harkishin) and his brothers show up looking for a little involuntary family reunion. Bhaji on the Beach screenwriter Meera Syal would go on to pen the award-winning novel (Anita and Me) and work on Goodness Gracious Me, the BBC's Indian/Pakistani sketch comedy show. Fans of Anglo-Asian cinema will recognize actress Souad Faress, who plays the colorful Rekha Tendon, from her role as the haughty Cherry in My Beautiful Laundrette. Akbar Kurtha, who plays one of Ginder's brothers-in-law, would go on to portray the title character in My Son the Fanatic. Writer/director Gurinder Chadha would return with another ensemble feature, What's Cooking?, in 2000. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarita Khajuria, James Harkishin, (more)
After the death of his wife and his subsequent descent into alcoholic near-agoraphobia, a crotchety Pakistani intellectual convinces his shady entrepreneur brother to provide work for his son in this multi-layered portrait of the immigrant experience in Great Britain. Young Londoner Omar (Gordon Warnecke) isn't sure what he wants out of life, but his uncle Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey) provides a corrupt, capitalist role model as Omar graduates from washing cars for the old crook to running his run-down laundromat. After a chance meeting with Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), an old school chum whose flirtation with fascism deeply wounded Omar's principled Papa (Roshan Seth), Omar hires the young thug to work for him. Soon, the pair begin a romantic relationship that remains as under wraps as the illicit drug-running and enforcement work they perform for Nasser's associate, Salim (Derrick Branche). On the domestic front, Omar must balance his knowledge of Nasser's long-running affair with posh Brit Rachel (Shirley Ann Field) with his own loyalty and attraction to Nasser's westernized daughter, Tania (Rita Wolf). After successfully transforming his laundrette into a vision of resplendent pastel suds and providing a bright spot in his otherwise squalid London neighborhood, Omar seems to have a bright future in Nasser's organization. The spectre of Johnny's past, however, combines with Omar's conflicted immigrant loyalties to threaten the sense of identity the young man has managed to stake out for himself. British-born, half-Pakistani playwright and novelist Hanif Kureishi won an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for My Beautiful Laundrette, which was originally filmed for BBC television. Kureishi collaborated again with director Stephen Frears on Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, (more)
- 1979
Blake (Gareth Thomas) and four of his crew members are captured by a hostile tribe on the planet Horizon and forced to work in the mines. Hoping to free his comrades -- and to flush out a hidden Federation Freighter -- Blake tries to convince Ro (Darien Angendi), leader of the tribe, that he is being used as a dupe by the villains. And back on the Liberator, Avon (Paul Darrow) is besieged by Federation pursuit ships. "Horizon" originally aired on January 30, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gareth Thomas, Sally Knyvette, (more)
