Sixth Happiness

7:30 p.m. Friday, July 9, 1999, Caravan of Dreams theater

Adapting his own fictional autobiography, Firdaus Kanga also stars as a young Parsee (non-Hindu) man suffering from brittle bone disease, a malady that earns him the rather unfortunate name, Brit.

Growing up in 1960s Bombay, the spirited Brit seems the most "normal" of his quirky clan. His father (Khodus Wadia) parades the boy before bogus local witch doctors in the hopes of finding a cure. His eccentric mother (Souad Faress) instills in him dignity along with a wicked sense of humor while his doting sister (Nina Wadia) remains his greatest champion.

After the tragic death of his father, Brit finds himself smitten when a handsome lodger called Cyrus (Ahsen Bhatti) moves in with the family, introducing him to the joys and pains of first love.

Funny, frenetic and fiercely moving, this engaging tale of perserverance recalls My Left Foot, though its third act examination of sexual awakening carries it far beyond mere triumph-over-disease fare. Rated R. UK/India, 1997, 97 min., color.

Director: Waris Hussein; Producer: Tatiana Kennedy; Writer: Firdaus Kanga; Based on: Trying to Grow by Firdaus Kanga; Starring: Firdaus Kanga, Souad Faress, Khodus Wadia, Ahsen Bhatti

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