The Buddha of suburbia

A four-part British miniseries about the life of the Amir family who live in the suburbs of 1970s London, and in particular, Karim (Naveen Andrews) whose whole teenage existence is turned upside down during this decade of sex, drugs, politics, racism and rock ‘n’ roll. Karim’s mother Margaret (Brenda Blethyn) is English, his father Haroon (Roshan Seth) is Indian and he has a younger brother Allie (Assam Mamodeally). The family is suddenly thrown into turmoil when Haroon tosses in his job as a civil servant and turns to the life of a suburban guru, leaving his wife and family for the more free-spirited Eva (Susan Fleetwood). The story follows Karim and his relationships as he embarks on a career as a stage actor, weaving from one sub-plot to the next with an array of stereotype characters, situations, humour, including several explicit sex scenes along the way. Explores themes of culture and cross-culture, tradition versus liberation and the anti-Asian racism of London in the seventies. Based on the novel by Hanif Kureishi with screenplay by Hanif Kureishi and Roger Michell. Incidental music and title song composed by David Bowie, performed by David Bowie and Erdal Kizikay. Cast includes Steven Mackintosh, Harish Patel, John McEnery, Janet Dale, David Bamber, Donald Sumpter and Nisha Nayar.