Theatre director Pravesh Kumar has written and directed an affectionate comedy about a dysfunctional British south Asian family. It’s a film very much in the tradition of sitcom-ish Brit movies: the comedy painted in broad strokes, warm-hearted but with an unmistakable air of naffness. It just about gets by on sheer likability and warmth for its Punjabi family living in a Slough semi.
We meet them just as eldest son Raj (Simon Rivers) does a runner after his wedding to Simmy (Rameet Rauli); she’s newly arrived from India, barely speaking a word of English. The marriage has been arranged by Raj’s overbearing mum Gurbaksh (Seema Bowri). To keep up appearances with their nosy neighbours, she confiscates Simmy’s passport and keeps her new daughter-in-law locked up in the house. I did wonder if the film is a bit lighthearted in its treatment of domestic abuse.
At first Simmy feels a gravitational pull of loyalty to her new family – and patiently waits for her awol husband to return. But soon she begins to find her feet: step one, learning English from the telly. Then the family’s youngest son Harry (Viraj Juneja) shows up, freshly released from prison – much to his mother’s shame. And you know exactly where the story is headed when Simmy accidentally trips into Harry’s arms the moment she first claps eyes on him.
Clearly, Little English is made for a family audience. Even so, there are quite a few clumsily broad moments of comedy here. Some genuinely funny scenes too: an aunty armed with a taser gun brings down a thief. One afternoon Harry takes Simmy out by the river. “I never knew Slough could be so beautiful,” she says in wonder. Little English probably does have the makings of a decent sitcom; the process would develop the characters and perhaps get something sharper from the script, which feels like an early draft in places.
• Little English is released on 17 March in UK cinemas.
