Background information

The play and the sequel

The film East is East (1999) directed by Damien O'Donnell is based on the play by the same name, written by Ayub Khan-Din. The play is based on the writer’s own experiences. Ayub Khan-Din also wrote the screenplay for the film but decided to make some changes from the play when adapting it for the big screen. 

The most notable change was making George a more likeable character, so the viewers can understand his perspective better. In the play, George was a violent individual with no redeeming qualities, who terrorized the other family members. In the film, while he is still abusive and intolerant, he was meant to be a bit more sympathetic. In the scene where he is driven from the house, he appears defeated, and on the brink of realizing that he turned everyone against him with his behavior.

Like the children of the Khan family, Ayub Khan-Din is of mixed race, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother. His family lived in Salford, which is where the action in the play and the film takes place. His family was also large, as he had nine siblings.

Khan-Din has stated that Sajid is a version of himself as a young boy. Sajid appears in the film as a withdra...