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My Beautiful Laundrette

Country: UK, Language: English, 97 mins

  • Director: Stephen Frears
  • Writer: Hanif Kureishi
  • Producer: Tim Bevan; Sarah Radclyffe

CGiii Comment

It launched Daniel Day Lewis' career into the stratosphere...leaving everyone else behind.

The acting is particularly dodgy in places.

The script is too little simplistic albeit rather brutal.

However, this was groundbreaking stuff when it was first released...

The two sides of racism being explored, the hate for the adopted country and the hate for the adopters.

They say there is a fine line between the racist and the victim - underneath, this film certainly treads near to this line...but, doesn't quite cross it - possibly, a sign of the times.

Hugely important within the CGiii arena.


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

Much of the Pakistani Hussein family has settled in London, striving for the riches promised by Thatcherism. Nasser and his right hand man, Salim, have a number of small businesses and they do whatever they need to make money, even if the activities are illegal. As such, Nasser and his immediate family live more than a comfortable lifestyle, and he flaunts his riches whenever he can. Meanwhile, his brother, alcoholic Ali, once a famous journalist in Pakistan, lives in a seedy flat with his son, Omar. Ali's life in London is not as lucrative in part because of his left leaning politics, which does not mesh with the ideals of Thatcherism. To help his brother, Nasser gives Omar a job doing menial labor. But Omar, with bigger plans, talks Nasser into letting him manage Nasser's run down laundrette. Omar seizes what he sees as an opportunity to make the laundrette a success, and employs an old friend, Johnny - who has been most recently running around with a gang of white punks - to help.

Cast & Characters

Saeed Jaffrey as Nasser Hussein;
Roshan Seth as Ali Hussein;
Daniel Day-Lewis as Johnny;
Gordon Warnecke as Omar Hussein;
Derrick Branche as Salim N. Hussein;
Rita Wolf as Tania N. Hussein;
Souad Faress as Cherry N. Hussein;
Richard Graham as Genghis;
Shirley Anne Field as Rachel;
Winston Graham as Jamaican One;
Charu Bala Chokshi as Bilquis;
Dudley Thomas as Jamaican Two;
Garry Cooper as Squatter;
Neil Cunningham as Englishman;
Persis Maravala as Nasser's Elder Daughter