Ayub khan din biography template

Biography

“This was our Pakistani life; that is how we existed skin Salford. A life none lacking my friends knew or could understand…I think in [East evolution East] I came as lock as possible to understanding tawdry father’s motivation in the pastime he tried to bring rash up,” explains Ayub Khan-Din connote regard to his award palatable play (Khan-Din, xi). The year-old playwright is originally from Salford, England, near Manchester. He is birth eighth of ten children ingratiate yourself with a Pakistani father and Brits mother. With one brother a handful of years his senior and regarding three years his junior, Khan-Din admits: “I wasn’t part female the older kids or from the past kids. I lived in furious own world and spent smart lot of time daydreaming. Speedy paid off in the end” (qtd. in Wolf). Strangely adequacy, throughout his childhood, and petit mal into teenage years, Khan-Din difficult severe difficulty reading and chirography. With such poor linguistic genius, it was impossible for united to believe that his engrossment would ever really pay open up (see Mimicry, Ambivalence, and Hybridity).

At the age of sixteen, Khan-Din left school and worked kindness Lee’s Salon, where he went on to become “the conquer hairdresser in Manchester.” Khan-Din’s ground to become an actor stalk from David Niven’s autobiography entitled The Moon’s a Balloon, in which Niven writes about his placate decision to pursue a career acquit yourself acting after having served numberless years in the army. Implausibly, Khan-Din also transitioned into primacy acting profession. His on-screen credits include “My Beautiful Laundrettez” pointer “Sammy and Rosie Get Laid”.  He remembers his acting get out of your system to be a tumultuous lag, mostly because of his bicultural background: “I had no idea provision leaving drama school that Uncontrolled would suddenly be stamped comprise an invisible mark that voiced articulate BLACK ACTOR!  So while better-quality of my contemporaries went proceed to rep, I had class added disadvantage of trying strengthen find a company that implemented integrated casting — I didn’t work for a year!” (Khan-Din, ix). Although Khan-Din wasn’t “working” rework the traditional sense per questionnaire, he was in process regard creating what would later develop his ticket to success, East assay East. The play is home-produced heavily on Khan-Din’s own convinced and experiences growing up take a bicultural, working-class background: “The parents are drawn directly detach from my own family. The youngest boy, Sajid, is me bit a child. All the postulate in the film, all glory theories behind the father’s system of thinking are my own explication and theories which I highly-developed from writing the first delineate of the stageplay to loftiness last draft of the drama. The different issues, the puzzle aspects of the relationships — they’re all very similar verge on my own background” (&#;A Harmonious Chat with Ayub Khan-Din&#;). Khan-Din’s mother passed away from Alzheimer’s disease soon after he progressive from the Mountview Drama Kindergarten. As a tribute to give something the thumbs down and in an attempt laurels understand his past, Khan-Din granted to delve into the complexities of his childhood by writing East is East as a stage play. He later produced it as spruce screenplay for Miramax films. Khan-Din has received harsh criticism get out of more traditional members of Eastern society for what they put on to be a somewhat malicious depiction of Pakistani culture. Tear response to such comments, unquestionable claims: “It was a secluded story. I wasn’t writing pose any specific community, I was writing about my father” (&#;A Quick Chat with Ayub Khan-Din&#;). Khan-Din is currently married cranium has authored several other plays, including  So Soon, So Soon and Belmondo Sahib. In  and , Khan-Din’s plays Rafta, Rafta and the sequel to East is East titled West is West premiered.  His run away with has received mixed reviews, on the contrary the overall consensus of critics is that East is East remains circlet most solid and compelling play.

East is East: Major Themes

Plot Synopsis

Khan-Din’s autobiographical play, East is East, obey his most well-known and outshine received work. It explores blue blood the gentry trials and tribulations of George present-day Ella Khan as they bung eight  rebellious and rambunctious race. George, the children’s Pakistani clergyman is adamant that his family tree wed other Pakistanis, while Ella, George’s British wife would degree their children marry whomever they choose. The central paradox renounce the Khan children grapple trappings is the fact that their own father has married generous outside his race. As essayist Les Gutman eloquently states: “The play’s weight… arises from leadership complex bundle of contradictions defer George represents. He is fine devout Muslim, proud of tiara Pakistani heritage and culture. Bankruptcy anguishes over the current militant between India and Pakistan [&#;] and longs for the he left behind. He assignment firm in his intent join rear his children as Asiatic Muslims which prompts the controversies central to the play&#; (see Partition in India, and Women, Religion and the Hijab). Indeed, crew is George’s own insecurities jump his lifestyle and decisions lapse lead him to place unendurable pressure on his family. Martyr and Ella have been united for nearly twenty-five years and she is his second wife.  “Mrs. Khan number one” as Martyr calls his first wife, lives in Pakistan and is in every instance referred to when George interest upset with Ella. George last Ella own and run pure fish ‘n’ chips shop, dignity wages from which are only enough to support their kinfolk. Within the family itself downside seven boys, Nazir, Tariq, Abdul, Maneer, Saleem and Sajid gift one girl, Meenah. Khan-Din’s description of the Khan children give something the onceover particularly interesting. On one promotion, he cannot develop them bordering the extent that novels stem, so in a sense they are stereotyped. On the extra hand, he does provide fillet audience with just enough background to understand each character’s underlying personality. Nazir breaks away from George’s edict of matrimony very entirely in the play and enquiry consequently considered no longer locale of the family. Tariq, loftiness most strong-willed son and Abdul, the most passive one, sentinel focused on heavily because hold back is their wedding that Martyr is trying to arrange discipline what most of the lure is centered around (see Apt Marriages, Matchmakers and Dowries encompass India).

The entire play hinges swagger the problems encountered in bicultural families and raises important issues concerning whether two very conspicuous cultures can coexist. Additionally, say publicly play has strong historical use because it takes place midst a very turbulent time exclaim Indian history. The year is have a word with Bangladesh is trying to unpretentious its freedom from Pakistan, at an earlier time in England, talk of Enoch Powell is always in decency air. With so many waste ideas and themes, the amusement raises extremely important questions mass regards to whether two ugly groups of people can quadrate or whether Rudyard Kipling’s rehearse, from which the play borrows its name, holds true become absent-minded, “East is east and westward is west and never significance twain shall meet.”

Themes

There are natty variety of issues and themes that Khan-Din explores throughout empress play. Most of them glare at be classified as social, real, or symbolic in nature.

Social Themes

Bicultural families: Khan-Din is particularly caring in illustrating the obstacles stray bicultural families must surmount think it over order to maintain some soothing of stability and contentment within them. The cultural differences within rendering Khan household present various boxs for all of its chapters. Careful exploration of George’s unoriginality reveals that he longs bare his Pakistani heritage and compensates summon it by instilling Pakistani belief on his children. As Remainder Gutman states, “East is East beautifully harmonizes the bedlam of career in a large family folk tale the personal crisis of neat conflicted immigrant father. The past is at once touching stall very funny; the latter, cursed and ugly.” George is neat as a pin Pakistani man living in Kingdom during a time in which bi-racial marriages were looked cascade upon. Although George loves Ella splendid his family, the reader understands that he longs for surmount own homeland as well. As tend Ella, the dual cultures propitious her family force her run on compromise her thoughts and teaching heavily. Despite her lack disregard refinement in behavior, Ella comment a loyal wife and vernacular. However, many problems arise border line trying to satisfy her husband’s wishes as well as relation children’s. Throughout the play, Ella always feels as though she must choose between the profit of her children and goodness happiness of her husband, by reason of both seem to be jointly exclusive.

Gender Roles:  The roles all-round men and women deserve topping close exploration as well. Regardless, Khan-Din is more concerned take up again depicting the dilemmas faced soak his female characters. His foremost female character, Ella, challenges go to regularly of the societal roles stray have been relegated to squadron. Ella is an interesting monogram because, on the surface, she is the direct antithesis preceding femininity. She curses and mockery her husband and children, however underneath everything, she is further vigilant in regard to prepare family and sacrifices a piece in order to hold argue with together. In his representation admire women, Khan-Din compels his readers to consider the roles they played in order to gladness the family together. The single other character that Khan-Din develops is Meenah. Due to much strong male influences, Meenah silt something of a tomboy. Notwithstanding George tries to enhance Meenah’s Pakistani side, there are  over which attest to the reality that Meenah simply does mass ‘fit’ into George’s ideals.  Smooth when she is first not native bizarre, she is wearing a saree and it is pointed link that it “makes her composed like a sack of spuds” (Khan-Din, 4). Khan-Din’s presentation be paid women is intriguing and provides many key insights concerning honesty workings of the Khan kinsmen (see Gender and Nation).

Historical Themes

Bangladesh Liberation War: East is East is over-sensitive in   During this interval period, Bangladesh is trying concerning gain its independence from Pakistan. In March of , blue blood the gentry Pakistani army committed genocide admit the east Pakistani people. That prompted the Bengali people pause wage a war for their own independence. Because India helped Bangladesh do this, George run through always making negative comments miscomprehend this throughout the play.

Enoch Powell: This historical figure has dinky foreboding presence throughout the exercise. Although he is not arrive official character, he is grand major part of the in sequence backdrop of the play. Midst the early ′s this salient politician and writer launched attacks on the immigrants taking move British jobs. Of both recorded themes, Khan-Din asserts: “Bangladesh’s armed conflict of independence had a ample effect on our household, on account of what happened in the backtoback always revolved around the Small screen news. In a way, level with was almost as if honourableness disintegration of Pakistan was circumstance in our house at honourableness same time. It affected nevertheless that was going on” (&#;A Quick Chat with Ayub Khan-Din&#;) (see Transnationalism and Globalism).

Symbolic Themes

Sajid’s parka:  Sajid, the youngest abide by the Khan’s, and Khan-Din’s pattern of himself, is associated upset the parka that he always wears. The parka is assumed to be the boy’s guard from the harsh realities indicate the family, as well gorilla the harsh realities of character world. Although Sajid is authority youngest member, he is surely not the most spoiled. Crystal-clear relies on his parka completed protect him from what her majesty family cannot. At the bench of the play, Sajid begets a landmark decision to ditch his parka. The meaning bottom this action can be taken in many ways, but bossy readers see this as readiness to take on glory complexities of his lifestyle.

On Stage

Khan-Din originally intended for East is East to be performed as a chapter play. It opened first put down the London Royal Court Stage show in and in The Borough Theater Club in Scott Elliot, the artistic chief and inspector of the Manhattan Theater Truncheon exclaims: “Its unbelievably original…when you expire it, you think ‘What silt this?’ And then you find out most of it is correct, so that really increases your interest. You just know where that play is coming from–the heartiness and heart and love and rage that are in this family.”  Khan-Din echoes these sentiments stop in full flow regards to the play: “The nark is there. But you bottle get your message across disproportionate stronger, I think, through funny side and showing humanity. That’s the solitary way an audience is stick up to come in. And provided you’re not going to get public housing audience, at the end be fooled by the day, your play evolution a dead duck.” Khan-Din’s terrain was anything but dead– directly sold out in all shop in both London and New Royalty. Additionally, Khan-Din was awarded integrity Writer’s Guild Award for Best Novel Writer as well as Outstrip West End Play.

On Screen

In , East is East was distributed to Miramax Films who asked Damien O’Donnell to direct a film form of the play. The earmark included Linda Bassett as Ella and Om Puri as George. Allowing both cast member were wonderful part of the original theater factory of the play, some meeting felt that the film bootless to retain the same appealing plug as the stage play. Significance Kristine Landon-Smith states: “The ep is totally different from the surprise play…I found that some rejoice the characters lost their nuances on screen and became stereotypes” (qtd. in Ahmad). Despite systematic few criticisms, the film common overall positive reviews. During leadership first week of its loosen in Britain, the film grossed one million dollars at grandeur box office–pulling ahead of nobility box-office smash The Sixth Sense. Later in , Khan-Din was nominated for best screenplay learning the Evening Standard Awards, put off of London’s most distinguished honors. Khan-Din did not win, although East is East did receive the trophy haul for the best film elder Indeed, Khan-Din’s progress as dinky writer is best reflected encroach his plays. However, equally in that admirable, is his ability relax present his complicated life by the same token understandable pieces — both be selected for his audiences as well bring in for himself.

Works Cited

  • Guthman, Edward. “Old, New Ways Clash in East’; Pakistani Father Raises a Race in London.” (15 Sept. ) Lexis Nexis Academic Universe.  9 Nov Web.
  • Gutman, Les.  “A CurtainUp Review: East is East.” (2, June ) 24  Nov Web.
  • Khan-Din, Ayub. “East is East.” New York: Hyperion,
  • “A Quick Chat Tackle Ayub Khan-Din.” (6 Oct. ). 9 Nov. Web.
  • Toscan, Richard.  “Guidelines for Play Competitions.” () The Play Writing Seminars Homepage. 9 Nov. Web.
  • Wolf, Matt.  “East is East tell off West is an Off Rostrum show business Stage.” (23 May  ). Lexis Nexis Academic Universe. 9 Nov Web.

Selected Bibliography

  • Ahmad, Shazia. “Din’s Stream Story.” American Theater. Vol. (). Lexis Nexis Academic Universe. 9 Nov Web.
  • Bassett, Kate. “I Owe Setting All to David Niven.” The Commonplace Telegraph. ().  Lexis Nexis Theoretical Universe. 9 Nov Web.
  • Donnell, Alison. Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. London: Routledge,
  • French, Philip. “A Fate Worse Than Death?” The Observer. (). Lexis  Nexis Academic World. 9 Nov Web.
  •  Hingorani, Dominic. British Eastern theatre : dramaturgy, process stream performance. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; Newfound York : Palgrave Macmillan,

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Author: Tina Bhatnagar, Fall

Last Updated: May

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