East is East follows a Pakistani-British biracial family as they deal with living in a modernizing 1971 Britain. The family, led by George (Om Puri) and Ella (Linda Bassett), a white woman, owns a fish-and-chip shop. The film follows the family as they go through the troubles associated with raising teenagers and twenty-somethings (including Jimi Mistry in his breakout role) in a world far removed from traditional Pakistani roots. The humorous adventures of the family provide much friction and cross-cultural understanding. Love marriages, tomboys, homosexuality, and general rebellion pit the parents against the children in a gripping portrayal of postcolonial and globalized family life.