Bhaji on the Beach (1993) – Film Review

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Cast: Kim Vithana, Jimmi Harkishin, Sarita Khajuria
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside, especially if it involves spending time with a group of fascinating folk.

If you can’t make it in person this summer, then check out Bhaji on the Beach, the first film to be directed by a British Asian woman (Gurinder Chadha), and based on a witty screenplay from Meera Syal in the days before she found fame in sketch show Goodness Gracious Me and comedy chat programme The Kumars at No 42.

“A world full of possibilities”

The focus here is on the members of the Saheli Asian Women’s Centre who journey from their homes in the West Midlands to Blackpool for what they hope will be a fun day out, but ends up being memorable for not necessarily the right reasons.

We know from the start that something is going to kick off, mostly because of the issues of those boarding the minibus – Ginder and her young son are escaping from her violent husband, Hashida is pregnant and hasn’t yet told her parents, who are desperate for her to attend medical school, and man-hungry teenage sisters Madhu and Ladhu are enjoying a rare moment of freedom.

Meanwhile, the bored Asha is about to discover that there is a world full of possibilities beyond the counter of her corner shop, and a strip show is about to provide the judgemental Pushpa with her own eye-opening moment.

All the entwined stories are compelling, but the acting is a little uneven, which is sometimes distracting. The film does, however, successfully shy away from depicting archetypes to offer a rounded view of the experience of British-Asians, particularly young women. It also touches on the racism members of the community are forced to face on a daily basis while attempting to simply get on with their lives.

“Delightful”

Plus it’s intriguing to see Jimmi Harkishin playing an unsympathetic role, six years before embarking on his long stint as the charming Dev in Coronation Street.

Special features include Chad’s short film I’m British But… in which young people of Asian descent born in the UK describe their experiences and feelings of Britishness, as well as A Nice Arrangement, an early comedic collaboration between the director and Syal.

Look out too for the delightful Holiday, an archive film from 1957, which extols the delights of a classic trip to Blackpool.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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