My Son The Fanatic

Parvez, a taxi driver in Bradford, is hard-working, modest and sensible. A fervent Anglophile, he loves everything about his adopted country – beginning with Bettina, a young prostitute who is one of his regular clients. Though some members of his community have made huge fortunes in the restaurant business. Parvez has to work long hours for meager pay. The hard life weighs on him and his wife, Minoo, who can no longer stand England. It affects their son Farid even more seriously – he is a troubled teenager on the verge of becoming a religious fanatic. Ranting against the “infidels” and Western hedonism, Farid starts by selling his personal belongings, then breaks off with his white fiancée and tricks his father into putting up a Pakistani fundamentalist, who quickly wins Minoo over the cause. Parvez, increasingly isolated and misunderstood, turns to the welcome arms of Bettina, and soon falls in love with her….