My Beautiful Laundrette

British film released in 1985 directed by Stephen Frears based on a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. Won the Evening Standard Award for Best Film and the New York Critics' Award in 1985.

The movie is set in 1980s Britain in South London. The protagonist is 20-year-old Omar, son of a mixed marriage his father being a former Pakistani journalist (and now an alcoholic) and his mother being British (and dead). Omar gets the opportunity of gaining success when his rich uncle Nasser - a Pakistani businessman - offers him to take over a launderette. Omar and Johnny become business partners and build up the launderette. Omar also starts an affair with Johnny, a former member of the British National Party.

Important aspects

My Beautiful Laundrette represents many topics of postcolonial Britain: The motivation for success in Thatcherite Britain, the issues of race and ethnicity, identity issues of the young British- Asian generation and homosexuality. Kureishi shows that nationality is not an absolute feature that characterises people when he breaks stereotypes and thus creates individual figures.

References

• Buchanan, Bradley. Hanif Kureishi. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
• http://www.internetprojekte-in-der-schule.de/projekte/laundrette/characters/html/imagemap.html
• http://literature.britishcouncil.org/hanif-kureishi