East Is East (film) - Cast

Cast

• Om Puri - Zahir "George" Khan, the patriarch of the Khan family. Although he loves his family, he cares more for his own image and dignity than their happiness.
• Linda Bassett - Ella Khan, George's wife. An Irish-Catholic, she finds herself unable to stand up to George until he pushes her too far by abusing their children.
• Ian Aspinall - Nazir "Nigel" Khan, the eldest son. Following an unsuccessful arranged marriage and due to his homosexuality, he is disowned by George.
• Raji James - Abdul "Arthur" Khan, the second son. He seems to dislike conflict and does not rebel against George's authority until he abuses Ella.
• Jimi Mistry - Tariq "Tony" Khan, the third son. He is the most rebellious of the children and even attempts to flee to Eccles when he learns of George's marriage plans for him.
• Emil Marwa - Maneer "Gandhi" Khan, the fourth son. He is the only one who obeys George's rules, and ironically the only one who George beats. He is devout and spends much time reading quietly in his room.
• Chris Bisson - Saleem "Picasso" Khan, the fifth son. He seems indifferent to George's authority but stands by his mother and siblings when George goes too far. On a comical note, he is studying Foundation Art, while George believes he is training to become an engineer.
• Archie Panjabi - Meenah Khan, the sixth child and the only daughter. She also has a rebellious streak and frequently teases Sajid.
• Jordan Routledge - Sajid "Spaz" Khan, the sixth son and youngest child. The pain he undergoes following his late circumcision is what prompts Ella to rethink her attitude towards George. He wears a parka at all times of day and night.
• Emma Rydal - Stella Moorhouse, Tariq's secret girlfriend. Their relationship becomes somewhat strained once she finds out George has planned to marry Tariq off.
• John Bardon - Mr. Moorhouse, Stella and Earnest's grandfather. He has old-fashioned (perhaps bigoted) ideas about race and ethnicity, supporting controversial political figures like Enoch Powell, and does not know of Stella's relationship with Tariq, although he is frequently irritated by Earnest's friendship with the Khans, who openly dislike him.
• Gary Damer - Earnest "Pongo" Moorhouse, Stella's younger brother. Like Stella, he is friends with the Khans, being Sajid's best friend and harbouring an unrequited crush on Meenah. It is implied that he is somewhat weird and often abused by his grandfather.
• Ruth Jones - Peggy, Stella's best friend. She appears jealous of Stella's relationship with Tariq and tries desperately to find a boyfriend, but her overweight figure puts other boys off. In the end, she is implied to have a romantic fling with Saleem.
• Madhav Sharma - Mr Shah, a devout Muslim desperately seeking Pakistani bridegrooms for his two comically unattractive daughters. Though he appears amiable on the outside, he is actually rather mean-spirited and rude, shown when he scoffs at Earnest Moorhouse for no reason and brands Ella as a disgrace solely for speaking back to his snobbish wife even when she insulted Ella first. On a comical note, his constant sweating is a sign of poor hygiene.
• Lesley Nicol - Auntie Annie, Ella's sister. She frequently helps George and Ella at the Chip shop and has an amiable relationship with George, although she advises Ella not to be too soft with him.