A day trip to Blackpool to see the lights offers 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.
Gurinder Chadha’s directorial feature debut of Meera Syal’s witty and observant script is an empowering comedy and celebration of the enduring bond between women.