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East Is East set to open in US

Arthur J Pais

Defying predictions by box-office gurus, the inter-racial drama about an authoritarian Pakistani immigrant, is heading for its last engagements across England and could end up its profitable first run with $ 13 million. It has made more money than many Hollywood big budget movies.

The film, starring Om Puri as the Pakistani head of the family, reportedly cost about $ 5 million to make and has clearly turned in a profit. With $ 200,000 grossed from an art-house run in Italy, its distributors across expect it to have a good run in other European countries. Though set in a multiracial home, where the wife is British and the children live in two uneasy worlds, the movie has enough appeal to anyone who is interested in human stories.

But the question is whether the film will make it big in America, whether the south Asian community will embrace it and if the American audiences will bestow on the film the same kind of attention they gave other hit south Asian dramas like Sammy and Rosy Got Laid, the witty political drama starring Shashi Kapoor.

Sammy and Rosy... released about a decade ago, grossed a strong $ 3 million in America.

But films dealing with south Asian subjects have rarely succeeded in America except for a My Beautiful Launderette or Mississippi Masala.

To many south Asians, these movies are not entertaining enough. And to many Americans, even to those who patronize art cinema, the movies are too distant and slow-moving.

Thus, the 1993 film by Gurinder Chada, Bhaji on the Beach made less than $ 100,000. A story of three generations of vibrant women in England who come to examine their inner selves and values during a seaside trip, the film is often screened at Asian film festivals and is being used in Asian studies programs at many universities. But the audiences were less than enthusiastic.

The delightful comedy, West Is West, was also a non-starter.

Last year, My Son the Fanatic, a poignant love story, which starred Puri as a deeply troubled immigrant cabbie in a small English city, was dead on arrival in America.

It made less than $ 100,000, despite valiant efforts by Miramax, its American distributors, to increase its presence in the marketplace. Discouraged by its failure, despite generally positive and strong reviews, Miramax did not try to push the film for Oscar considerations.

Miramax feels it may have better luck with East Is East, which it is releasing soon.

For one thing, East Is East has more humor in it than My Son the Fanatic. The movie also has better acting and production values.

Miramax is expected to follow its usual pattern for releasing the movie. It will open in a handful of cities, exploit the positive buzz, expand the run after about four weeks to a dozen cities, and ultimately screen the film on about 200 screens.

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