My Beautiful Laundrette Page #2

Your father's done well.

Has he?

He adores you.

I expect he wants you

to take over the businesses.

He wouldn't think of asking me.

But he is too vicious to people in his work.

He doesn't want you to take over

that shitty laundrette, does he?

What's wrong with it?

And he has a mistress, doesn't he?

Rachel.

Yes.

I can tell from your face.

Does he love her?

Yes.

Please, Tania, can you come and help me?

Families.

I hate families.

Take care of him.

Good night, Uncle.

Take my advice. There's money in muck.

What is it that the gora Englishman

always needs?

Clean clothes.

Go on.

Pick it up.

Drive us back, will you?

You can pick your own car up tomorrow.

Salim's not feeling very well.

Hello, darling.

F***ing nice, man, I want to see it!

Get off the car, will you?

Get off the f***ing car!

It's me.

I know who it is.

How are you? All right? Working?

What are you doing now?

This kind of thing.

Omar, come back! Come...

What are you now, a chauffeur?

No, I'm onto something.

What?

I'll let you know.

Still living at the same place?

No, I don't get on with my mom and dad.

You?

She died last year, my mother.

Jumped onto the railway lines.

I heard.

All the trains stopped.

I'm still there.

Got my number?

Like my friends?

Ring us, then.

I will.

Leave them there.

We can do something now.

Just us.

Can't.

What are you doing?

I want to pee.

Can't you wait for me to take you?

My tool will drop off

before you show up, these days.

You know who I met? Johnny.

The boy who came here dressed as a

fascist with a quarter-inch of hair?

He was a friend once, for years.

There were times when he didn't deserve

your admiration so much.

Christ, I've known him since I was 5.

He went too far.

They hate us in England.

And all you can do is to kiss their asses.

Think of yourself as a little Britisher.

I'm being promoted...

to Uncle's laundrette.

Illustrate your washing methods.

It's nothing but a toilet and a youth club.

A constant boil on my bum.

How's your foot?

Is it? Good.

Do you fancy coming for a walk?

- Where did you get those?

- Church.

You little bastard.

That's how machines get buggered.

What?

I'll come round then, shall I?

All right, see you in a minute.

All right, get started.

- You have the broom, move it.

- I don't only want to sweep up.

What are you, Labor Party?

I want to be manager of this place.

I think I can do it.

Please let me.

Here I was thinking how to tell your father...

how four punks nearly drowned you

in a washing machine.

On the other hand, a little water on

the brain might clear your thoughts.

Okay, I'll charge you basic rent.

Above that, you keep.

You're everything to me.

Of course I prefer you to Jenny.

Get up.

Please, Salim.

I don't know how to make this place work.

I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself.

Never make a penny here.

Your uncle's given you a dead duck.

That's why I've decided

to help you, financially.

Go to this address near the airport.

Pick up some videocassettes...

and bring them straight back to my flat.

That's all.

Go and sit down.

- You're okay? No problems?

- No.

It's one of the best collections

of modern Indian paintings, Omar.

I patronize many painters.

Right.

I won't be a minute.

Make yourself comfortable.

Watch something, if you like.

You're one of us now.

Hello, can I speak to Johnny, please?

Right. Do you know where he's staying?

Are you sure?

No, I just wanted to help him.

If you see him...

ask him to ring Omo.

Is that the tape playing?

- What the hell are you doing?

- Watching something.

Not these. Who gave you permission

to touch these?

It's just a tape. What are you doing?

What business?

Nasser tells me you're ambitious.

But you failed your exams twice.

You've done nothing with the laundrette,

and now you're trying to screw me up.

Become like those white a**holes

that call us "wog"?

Your family, rich and powerful back home,

has been let down by you.

Go on, f*** off.

Have you seen Johnny?

Piss off back to the jungle, wog-boy.

These people, they're too tough for you.

I'll tell Nasser you're through with them.

Hello?

Why did you do that?

Useless fool.

- Hello?

- Now look!

- What?

- Bloody ass.

- What?

- You've amputated my entire f***ing foot!

Didn't I say you should've been a doctor?

- Hello?

- Typical, you know that?

Johnny.

See you later, Johnny-boy.

I'll throw you out of this flat...

if you ever bring

that bum-liability friend of yours here.

I'm dead impressed by all this.

You were the one at school, the one I liked.

All the Pakis like me.

I've been through all that,

with my parents and that...

and with people like you.

But now there's some pretty big things

I've got in mind.

I need to raise money

to make this place good.

And I want you to help me with that.

I want you to work here with me.

What kind of work is it?

A variety.

Variety of menial things.

Cleaning windows kind of thing?

Sure.

And you can start

by cleaning those bastards out.

Now?

I want everything done now.

That's the only attitude,

if you want to do anything big.

Christ.

Sorry, what happened before.

Too much to drink.

Just go on another little errand for me.

Same as before.

For 50.

You little bastard.

All right.

Come on.

I saw Salim's game.

This is going to finance our whole future.

Cut him out.

You know where to sell this stuff?

Don't you?

I wouldn't be working for you now

if I wanted to go on being a bad boy.

This means more.

Real work. Expansion.

Salim will kill us.

We'll resell it fast, tonight.

Come on. I couldn't be doing any of this

without you.

Do you want some red?

Will you excuse me a moment?

Let's have a private chat.

You can go.

You haven't paid me.

I'm not in the mood.

Nothing happened to you on the way here?

No.

Something may happen to you

on the way back.

She's nice.

Gosh.

Tell me a about the beach in Bombay,

Uncle. Juhu Beach.

Or the house in Lahore...

when Auntie Nina put the garden hose

in Father's bedroom window...

'cause he wouldn't get out of bed,

and Papa's bed started to float.

You look beautiful.

What about my laundrette?

Damn these stories

about places you've never been to.

- What are you doing, boy?

- What am I doing?

Lt'll be going into profit any day now,

partly because I've hired a bloke...

of astounding competence

and strength of body and mind...

to look after it with me.

Yasmeen, fiddle with my toes.

What bloke?

He's called Johnny.

And how are you going to pay him?

Nasser, sahab.

Zaki!

Everything is good.

But...

- Speak in English, so he can understand.

- Doesn't he understand his language?

Not only that, I've given him

that pain-in-the-ass laundrette to run.

I know.

But this is the point.

He's hired someone else to do the work.

Typically English, if I can say that.

You haven't f***ed

your uncle's laundrette, little fool?

I don't think you should talk to him like that.

- Why, is he royalty?

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