The Buddha of Suburbia (BBC, 2003) and Hanif Kureishi - Writers Are Trouble - A Culture Show Special (1280x720p HD, 50fps, soft Eng subs)
Hanif Kureishi's drama about an Anglo-Indian teen's sexual and political awakening during the mid-1970s.
E01 & E02
When Karim's friend Jamila's future husband arrives from Bombay, he seems more interested in finding 221b Baker Street.
E03 & E04
Karim becomes a star actor and goes with Pyke's play to New York.
Hanif Kureishi Remembers The Buddha of Suburbia
Writer Hanif Kureishi looks back on how his semi-autobiographical novel The Buddha of Suburbia became one of the defining BBC dramas of the 1990s. He discusses the ways in which it set new standards in representing multicultural Britain, the importance that humour plays in pushing forward serious ideas, and what it was like working with his musical hero, after David Bowie unexpectedly suggested that he write the soundtrack.
First broadcast: 17 August 2022
The Culture Show: Hanif Kureishi - Writers Are Trouble - A Culture Show Special
Whenever Hanif Kureishi writes a new film or book, something is broken - a taboo, a confidence or new ground. The Buddha of Suburbia and My Beautiful Laundrette author, who first caused a stink turning his experiences of racism, Thatcherism and sexual transgression into corrosive comedy, has amused, provoked, annoyed and betrayed for over four decades now. It is with some relish, it seems, that the barbed and ruthless writer picks up a pen, and waits as friends, lovers and family take cover, fearing what bitter human frailty might get caught in his satirical gaze. / In the year he turns 60, Kureishi is putting out a new book, publicising his latest film and committing his life's archive to the vaults of the British Library. Alan Yentob might have expected to find him in a reflective mood but Hanif Kureishi is not one for mellowing. He takes his duty as national literary nuisance very seriously indeed.
