THEY PUT 'FUN' IN DYSFUNCTIONAL.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

Deservedly a big hit in Britain, ``East Is East'' is a rambunctious family comedy with genuine depth and a wide view of life. It's very funny, emotionally true at even its crowd-pleasing slickest, and it gives a large, cacophonous cast of characters their individual due.

It's also one of those stories that is so wonderfully specific, you can't help but relate to someone or something in it.

How specific? Well, it's about an Asian-English clan of nine that runs a fish-and-chips shop in 1970s Manchester. And if that's too generic for you, just wait.

Patriarch George Khan (the great Indian actor Om Puri) left East Pakistan before there was an East Pakistan, settled in Britain and married the very English Ella (Linda Bassett). Several decades and seven kids later, George is absurdly all about marrying off his growing kids in proper Muslim fashion - and this is a guy who threatens to import ``Mrs. Khan No. 1'' from the old country whenever Ella gives him lip.

Which is often. But his plain-speaking wife is nowhere near the burden to George that his thoroughly untraditional children are. From the youngest boy, Sajid (Jordan Routledge), who wears a ratty parka all the time and refuses to see the necessity of ritual circumcision, to the eldest, Nazir (Ian Aspinall), who runs out of his arranged wedding to set up a chic hat shop with his French boyfriend, these ungrateful beggars are just one big, hungry ball of filial disappointment.

Of course, George just doesn't get that his children aren't Pakistani and never will be. And the young ones don't understand that, even though he was obviously even more rebellious when he was their age, George has only survived years of British prejudice through cherishing his ethnicity and the support of his immigrant community.

The generational disconnect is deftly mirrored by an English family that lives down the street: the grandfather supports racist politicians who want to send the foreigners back where they came from, while his granddaughter is madly in love with George's handsomest son, Tariq (Jimi Mistry).

These and many other socially observant details are combined with numerous bits of behavioral humor that anyone who's had the misfortune and luck to live with relatives will instantly recognize. The Khan kids bust, betray and back up one another with alarming fluidity, their parents express a kind of middle-age passion that's rarely seen on screen, and the tough task of sustaining family loyalty amid endless and justifiable grievances is always on the agenda.

Ayub Khan-Din adapted the busy, insightful script from his award-winning play. First-time feature director Damien O'Donnell keeps the bustling human traffic moving smoothly and knows when to slacken the pace for meaning to sink in. Performances are all good, but little Routledge's and emotionally pragmatic Bassett's are the best.

And Puri? Frankly, he was better as a very different kind of transplanted Muslim in last year's slightly superior ``My Son the Fanatic.'' It's not the actor's fault - his performance here is as precise and fleshed-out as any he's done - but the scenario's, which makes the one glaring misstep of turning George into a stereotypical domestic tyrant.

``East Is East'' may be a comedy with serious intentions. But it's also one with a big, embracing heart, and it should have found a way to grant George a more original and humane compass with which to locate his disoriented feelings.

THE FACTS

--The film: ``East Is East'' (R; language, nudity, sex, mild violence).

--The stars: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge, Jimi Mistry, Archie Panjabi, Emil Marwa, Chris Bisson, Raji James

--Behind the scenes: Directed by Damien O'Donnell. Written by Ayub Khan-Din, based on his stage play. Produced by Leslee Udwin. Released by Miramax Films.

--Running time: One hour, 36 minutes.

--Playing: Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Westside Pavilion, West L.A.

--Our rating: Three and one half stars.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Archie Panjabi stars in ``East Is East,'' a film about an Asian-English family of nine.

Box: THE FACTS (see text)