Ayub Khan-Din
Encyclopedia
Ayub Khan-Din is a British Pakistani actor and playwright.
As an actor, Khan-Din participated in some 20 British films and TV series in the late 1980s and the 1990s. He made his film debut in My Beautiful Laundrette
(1985), but is perhaps best known for the role of Sammy in Hanif Kureishi
's Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
(1987) and as one of the leading characters in the film Idiot
from 1992.
In the late 1990s, Kahn-Din began writing plays, the first was East is East (1997) for the Royal Court Theatre
, was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Comedy. The play draws very much from Kahn-Din's own childhood in Salford, where he grew up in a large family with a British Pakistani father and a white British
mother. In interviews, he has stated that the young boy Sajid Khan is a self-portrait, and that Sajid's parents are very exact portraits of his own parents.
In 1999, the film version of East is East
was released, starring Om Puri
as the father and Linda Bassett
as the mother. Khan-Din adapted his own play, and won both a British Independent Film Award
and a London Critics Circle Film Award for his screenplay, as well as being nominated for two BAFTA Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, and for a European Film Award for Best Screenwriter.
In 2007, his play Rafta, Rafta...
opened at the Lyttelton stage of the Royal National Theatre
in London
. It is a comic adaptation of the 1963 Bill Naughton
play, All in Good Time. The play is set in the working-class English town of Bolton
, and examines a story of marital difficulties within an immigrant Indian family. The play has since opened both in New York
at The Acorn Theater in 2008, and at the HuM Theatre in Singapore
in 2010.
In 2010, West is West
, a sequel to East is East, premiered at film festivals in Toronto and London, with a wide UK release scheduled for February 2010. In this film, the story is set in 1975, four years after the story in East is East. Father George Khan is worried that his youngest son, Sajid, now 15, is turning his back on his Pakistani heritage, so he decides to take him for a visit to Pakistan.
A film version of Rafta, Rafta is currently in production, directed by Nigel Cole
and with Reece Ritche in the leading role.
, memorial centre at Althorp
.
Ayub Khan-Din is married to actress Buki Armstrong.
As an actor, Khan-Din participated in some 20 British films and TV series in the late 1980s and the 1990s. He made his film debut in My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The story is set in London during the period when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as shown through the complex—and often comical—relationships...
(1985), but is perhaps best known for the role of Sammy in Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi CBE is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality...
's Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid is a film directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi; features Fine Young Cannibals singer Roland Gift in one of his earliest screen appearances.-Plot synopsis:...
(1987) and as one of the leading characters in the film Idiot
Idiot (1992 film)
Idiot is a Hindi film based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, The Idiot. It was directed by Mani Kaul and starred Shahrukh Khan and Ayub Khan-Din. The film debuted at the New York Film Festival on 8 October 1992, although it was originally made for television...
from 1992.
In the late 1990s, Kahn-Din began writing plays, the first was East is East (1997) for the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Comedy. The play draws very much from Kahn-Din's own childhood in Salford, where he grew up in a large family with a British Pakistani father and a white British
White British
White British was an ethnicity classification used in the 2001 United Kingdom Census. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people in the United Kingdom were classified as White British. In Scotland the classification was broken down into two different categories: White Scottish and Other White...
mother. In interviews, he has stated that the young boy Sajid Khan is a self-portrait, and that Sajid's parents are very exact portraits of his own parents.
In 1999, the film version of East is East
East is East (film)
East Is East is a 1999 British black comedy/drama film, written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in a British household of mixed-ethnicity, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Lancashire, in 1971...
was released, starring Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
as the father and Linda Bassett
Linda Bassett
Linda Bassett is an English actress, who is well known in the United Kingdom for her film career.Bassett was born in Kent, England to a typist mother and a police officer father. Her roles include the award-winning part of Ella Khan in the 1999 British comedy film East is East...
as the mother. Khan-Din adapted his own play, and won both a British Independent Film Award
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
and a London Critics Circle Film Award for his screenplay, as well as being nominated for two BAFTA Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Carl Foreman Award for the Most Promising Newcomer, and for a European Film Award for Best Screenwriter.
In 2007, his play Rafta, Rafta...
Rafta, Rafta...
Rafta, Rafta... is a comedy by British Pakistani playwright Ayub Khan-Din adapted from the 1963 Bill Naughton play, All in Good Time. The play is set in the working-class English town of Bolton, and examines a story of marital difficulties within an immigrant Indian family. Eeshwar Dutt is a...
opened at the Lyttelton stage of the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It is a comic adaptation of the 1963 Bill Naughton
Bill Naughton
William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.-Early life:...
play, All in Good Time. The play is set in the working-class English town of Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, and examines a story of marital difficulties within an immigrant Indian family. The play has since opened both in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at The Acorn Theater in 2008, and at the HuM Theatre in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 2010.
In 2010, West is West
West Is West (2010 film)
West Is West is a 2011 British comedy-drama film, which is a sequel to the 1999 comedy East Is East. It stars Aqib Khan, Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Ila Arun and Jimi Mistry, is written by Ayub Khan-Din, directed by Andy DeEmmony, and produced by Leslee Udwin for Assassin Films and BBC Films.The film...
, a sequel to East is East, premiered at film festivals in Toronto and London, with a wide UK release scheduled for February 2010. In this film, the story is set in 1975, four years after the story in East is East. Father George Khan is worried that his youngest son, Sajid, now 15, is turning his back on his Pakistani heritage, so he decides to take him for a visit to Pakistan.
A film version of Rafta, Rafta is currently in production, directed by Nigel Cole
Nigel Cole
Nigel Cole is a British film and television director.Cole began his career in the 1980s, directing current affairs shows and documentaries for Central Independent Television. Into the 1990s, Cole co-wrote the play Sod with Arthur Smith, which he also directed and presented at the Pleasance during...
and with Reece Ritche in the leading role.
Family
Khan-Din's brothers are Lee Din and Rasshied Din. Lee is a renowned makeup artist in the TV industry and tutor at the School of Make-up in Manchester, and Rassheid is, among other things, the designer of the Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, memorial centre at Althorp
Althorp
Althorp is a country estate of about and a stately home in Northamptonshire, England. It is about north-west of the county town of Northampton. The late Diana, Princess of Wales is buried in the estate.-History:...
.
Ayub Khan-Din is married to actress Buki Armstrong.