Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | Metin Hüseyin |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Meera Syal |
| Staring: |
| Meena, a 12-year-old living in a mining village in the English Midlands in 1972, is the daughter of Indian parents who've come to England to give her a better life. This idyllic existence is upset by the arrival in the village of Anita Rutter and her dysfunctional family. | |
| Release Date: | Nov 22, 2002 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Metin Hüseyin |
| Writer: | Meera Syal |
| Genres: | Family, Comedy, Drama |
| Keywords | england, based on novel or book, 1970s, culture clash, growing up, working class, awakening, midlands |
| Production Companies | EM Media, BBC, Portman Film, Starfield Productions, Emmi |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 03, 2025 Entered: Apr 27, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Chandeep Uppal | Meena Kumar |
| Max Beesley | Hairy Neddy |
| Anna Brewster | Anita Rutter |
| Sanjeev Bhaskar | Mr. Kumar |
| Kathy Burke | Mrs. Rutter |
| Kabir Bedi | Yeti |
| Ayesha Dharker | Mrs. Daljeet Kumar |
| Lynn Redgrave | Mrs. Omerod |
| Alex Freeborn | Sam Lowbridge |
| Mark Williams | The Reverend 'Uncle' Alan |
| Lucy Pargeter | Brenda |
| Meera Syal | Auntie Shaila |
| Kathy Burke | Mrs. Diedre Rutter |
| Zohra Sehgal | Nanima |
| Christine Tremarco | Sandy |
| Claire Downes | Teacher |
| Georgia Patrick | Tracey Rutter |
| Omid Djalili | Uncle Amman |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Antony Bluff | Visual Effects Producer |
| Paul Edwards | Steadicam Operator |
| Kate Mackenzie | Assistant Editor |
| Andrew Munro | Art Direction |
| Trisha Edwards | Set Decoration |
| Annie Kocur | Editor |
| Giles Keyte | Still Photographer |
| Caroline Hanania | Production Design |
| Linda Gamble | Unit Publicist |
| Cinders Forshaw | Director of Photography |
| Zoe Morgan | Script Supervisor |
| Raymond Perry | Property Master |
| Tom Gates | Gaffer |
| Alf Tramontin | Steadicam Operator |
| Graham Johnston | Makeup Designer |
| Catherine Hodgson | Supervising Sound Editor |
| Jacqueline Thorogood | Production Coordinator |
| Max Keene | First Assistant Director |
| Mike Wood | Supervising Sound Editor |
| Darren May | Special Effects Supervisor |
| Stewart Henderson | ADR & Dubbing |
| Kate Morath | Boom Operator |
| Kate Higham | Assistant Editor |
| Metin Hüseyin | Director |
| Meera Syal | Writer |
| Jina Jay | Casting |
| Susannah Buxton | Costume Design |
| Mike Prestwood Smith | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Nitin Sawhney | Original Music Composer |
| Siân Miller | Hairstylist, Makeup Artist |
| Daniel Phillips | Makeup Artist |
| Nora Robertson | Makeup Artist |
| Harry Barnes | Foley Editor |
| Ruth Sullivan | Foley Artist |
| Peter Gleaves | ADR Mixer |
| Pippa Hall | Casting |
| Shaheen Baig | Casting Associate |
| Mark Milsome | Focus Puller |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Paul Raphael | Producer |
| Bill Allan | Executive Producer |
| Peter Carlton | Executive Producer |
| Keith Evans | Executive Producer |
| Meera Syal | Producer |
| Paul Trijbits | Executive Producer |
| Tristan Whalley | Executive Producer |
| David M. Thompson | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 2025 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Trending Position
This is one of these gentle, tender, coming-of-age movies that raises the odd smile but is really pretty unremarkable. I can't speculate as to the degree in which it is semi-autobiographical of writer Meera Syal's own upbringing; but it centres around the story of a young British Asian girl "Meena" ... (Chandeep Uppal) whose family live in a town in the Midlands of England where she has to do her own growing up against a background of boredom and innate racial hostility. When the "Rutter" family move in next door, she is impressed by "Anita" (Anna Brewster) despite her being a bit rough around the edges and we head off on a journey of sweet shops, sex and self-discovery. It has a good ensemble cast including Kathy Bates and Sanjeev Bhaskar to help keep it ticking over, but it's just too safe - not that it needs violence or bad language; but it's just a little too worthy a film to stay in the memory after it's done. It wouldn't be fair to describe it as boring; but it's not far off.