I really love this series which has the same off-kilter humour as 'Last Tango in Halifax'. The acting was superb, not a wrong note from anyone, especially Naveen Andrews as the amiable young man with a foot in both camps but belonging to neither, trying to please everyone at the same time. But I have two problems: It is virtually the same story as 'My Beautiful Laundrette'; the dysfunctional Pakistani family in Britain unwilling to give up their traditions while happily availing themselves of the opportunities Britain has to offer; the English born son with no connection to Pakistan, who considers himself English, even though his English compatriots consider him a Pakistani and his family expects him to follow their tradition; the father's/uncle's English mistress; Roshann Seth playing the father in both films, in one a former successful writer/politician back home now gone to seed, in the other a phony new age guru; the English childhood friend; the feminist daughter determined to reject and resist her family's traditions. The only difference is that rather than opening a laundrette, one of the young men becomes a punk rock star, and the other an actor in a soap opera. It was as though Hanif Khoureshi was trying to cash in on the success of My Beautiful Laundrette. Some authors have built entire careers from writing the same novel over and over, but I would prefer something different from a gifted writer. As it is, when trying to remember parts of 'Laundrette' and 'Buddha', I am mixing the two in my mind.
The other problem was that either Naveen Andrews, with parents from in Kerala the far south of India, excellent actor that he is, was miscast as a half English youth, or Roshann Seth, a much lighter skinned Indian actor from northern India was miscast as his father. I found Naveen's dark complexion made his character too hard to believe. As both actors were superb, perhaps I am just being picky.
The overall theme, of the immigrant family trying to fit into English life while clinging to their cultural traditions was something every immigrant family goes through for at least two generations, whether they are from another country to Britain, or vice versa. Despite the engaging storyline and the brilliant casting, I have deducted two stars for the reasons discussed above.
