Bhaji on the Beach

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

BHAJI ON THE BEACH
A film by Gurinder Chadha
Written by Meera Syal

Released on BFI Blu-ray on 14 July 2025

Gurinder Chadha’s (Bend It Like Beckham, Blinded by the Light) directorial feature debut of Meera Syal’s witty and observant script is an empowering comedy and celebration of the enduring bond between women. Bhaji on the Beach was also the first feature film to be directed by a British Asian woman. Originally released in 1993, it now comes to Blu-ray for the first time, with extras including two short films by Gurinder Chadha.

A day trip to Blackpool to see the lights provides a harmless break from the routine for a minibus full of women from the Saheli Asian Women’s Centre. It all seems innocent enough but as the minibus trundles along to a Punjabi rendition of Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday, problems quickly become apparent. Ginder is fleeing her violent husband with her five-year-old son. Hashida is eighteen, about to start medical school and has just discovered that she is pregnant by her boyfriend. Teenage sisters Madhu and Ladhu, with no parent in sight, are on the rampage… for a man! Asha is to discover that there is life and, indeed, romance beyond the confines of the shop counter. And the judgmental Pushpa faces her day of reckoning when she encounters some male strippers.

Bhaji on the Beach was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film and Gurinder Chadha won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer (tied with Ian Hart for Backbeat).

Special features
• Presented in High Definition
• I’m British But… (1989, 29 mins): a short film by Gurinder Chadha celebrating a defiant culture of British Asian sisters and brothers against the rhythms of Bhangra and Bangla music.
• Includes optional introduction by activist and broadcaster Shani Dhanda
• A Nice Arrangement (1991, 11 mins): a short comedy directed by Gurinder Chadha and written by Meera Syal about the pre-ceremony rituals of an arranged marriage
• First film of Blackpool (c1898, 1 min): early footage of Blackpool from the BFI National Archive
• Holiday (1957, 18 mins): the delights of 1950s Blackpool holidays are vibrantly revisited in John Taylor’s fondly remembered travelogue, produced for British Transport Films
• London Me Bharat (1972, 20 mins): the first Hindi-language film made in Britain, presenting a distinctive and sometimes surprising view of 1970s London
• Gallery
• ***FIRST PRESSING ONLY*** Illustrated booklet featuring a director’s statement, new essays on the film by Kohinoor Sahota and Jessica Boyall, and new writing on A Nice Arrangement and London Me Bharat by Rachel Pronger; a family recipe for onion bhajis, notes on the special features and film credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1544 / 15
UK / 1993 / colour / 101 minutes / English and Punjabi with English subtitles and English descriptive subtitles / aspect ratio 1.78:1 // BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[Lucio234]

Really excited to see Bhaji on the Beach finally getting a Blu-ray release—it's such an important and refreshing film. Gurinder Chadha’s debut really holds up, and Meera Syal’s script brings so much wit and honesty. Also love that the release includes I’m British But… and A Nice Arrangement—both add great context to her early work. This one’s definitely going on my list.