BY Meera Majithia
meera@asianexpress.co.uk

A Bradford teenager is in with a chance of shooting to international stardom after being selected to play the lead role in sequel to 90s smash-hit film East is East starring Om Puri.
Speaking about working with the likes of film veteran Om Puri and Ila Arun, 16-year-old Aqib said: “I learnt a lot just by looking at them.
“Om Puri is so casual he is one of the best actors in the world. On the set he would say to me you b****** move over there, like his character as a joke – I had a good relationship with him.”
The teenager, who attended Nab Wood School in Bingley at the time of auditions, was called in by the head of his year who handed him an audition slip for West is West.
Aqib said: “At first I was excited that there was going to be a sequel to East is East and it was only later on that I realised he (his teacher) wanted me to audition for the role.”
Having never really given acting much thought before, Aqib wasn’t initially eager to audition, however he said: “I had a look at the criteria and thought I match all of these so I went for the audition in Leeds and I think I was the last one to go in.”
After being successful he was called through to the second stage of auditions in London. Up against two other boys from drama schools, Aqib wasn’t confident about his chances of getting the role.
He couldn’t believe his luck when he got the call to say he had been selected and speaking about the reaction from friends and family, he said: “They were shocked like I was and just couldn’t get their head around it.”
The current Thornton Grammar School, sixth form student was whisked off to India for the shoot and though he described his first time shooting experience as slightly ‘scary’ it sounds as if the Bradfordian had a lot of fun on the sets.
He said: “I’d never been to India before but I made some really good friends. I had a good relationship with Raj who plays Zaid in the film.
“A lot of funny things happened on set. One thing I can remember was walking with Raj in the wedding scene and he stepped in some dog s*** and he was bare foot – it was so funny!”
Playing the role of the youngest member of the Khan family in the film, Aqib said: “The film is about Sajid going from boyhood to manhood. After the first film this is more a journey into the family’s life. In the first one George (Om Puri) is seen in a negative light but you step into his life and see how hard it is to bring up a British Pakistani family.”
West is West sees the now much diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continue to struggle for survival in Manchester, 1976.
Sajid is in pubescent crisis under his father’s constant insistence on Pakistani tradition and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. In a last attempt to sort him out he is packed off to Punjab to live with Mrs Khan number one and the daughters George Khan abandoned 30 years ago.
Eagerly anticipating the release of the film in February Aqib said: “I’m excited because half of my city knows already and I hope I can expect to see crowded cinemas when it comes out.”
Although he is currently studying BTEC sports Aqib hopes he can continue with a career in acting. After his first taste of fame at the Toronto Film Festival with people screaming out his name it would seem the youngster is not ready to give it all up before it’s barely just begun.

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