Ahir Shah: Ends 2024 Movie Review
Ahir Shah has had a big year – he got married, the Tory administration finally caved at the General Election (no secret where Shah’s political leanings are) and his hit show Ends has been very successful. When he reveals after an hour of funny, scathing and heartfelt story telling why he has called his new show that you realise what a romantic and philosophical soul he is.
Shah is a second generation British Indian. One who has experienced racism, sadly no surprise there, but the worst he had to put up with at school was some mild bantz, at 17 he was given a 5 minute showcase at the Hackney Empire and now the most pressing issue he has is what to do with double copies of Yotam Ottolenghi recipe books (merging households on marriage) and his PC spell check autocorrecting Nanaji to Navaho – as he says “the wrong sort of Indian.”
His Nanaji, (grandfather) came to England in 1964 leaving behind a wife and three young children and Ends is his story as much as his grandson’s. If Nanaji had a mantra it would be if a job is worth doing – in this case being a good father – it is worth doing well and for the next 5 years he worked first in Bradford (a baked bean factory to start with) and then north-west London sharing one room with two others on an 8-8-8 system (each on different 8 hour shifts). When Shah’s mother and siblings came to England in 1969 she had no recollection of the man who came to Heathrow to meet them. What greeted the migrant family was an England riled up by Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech. Shah creates a great metaphor for his feelings of inadequacy for his present day activism versus what the previous generations did – “we are the subs brought on after all the goals have been scored, when the game is all but over.” Although with a wry acknowledgement that the last few weeks might be leading to extra time and a penalty shoot out.
Nanaji died relatively young and Shah is sad that he never got to see Sadiq Khan as London Mayor and Sunak Prime Minister. Never got to see “the remarkable become unremarkable” (copyright A Shah). Ends is in part an ode to the success of multiculturalism in Britain – you may not agree with Suella’s, Pritti’s and RIshi’s politics but bloody hell isn’t it amazing they have got where they are. Shah’s delivery spans the deprecating to the downright bloody angry like a hell-fire and brimstone preacher. Judging by the audience reaction he was probably preaching to the converted but all troops need a rallying cry in times which can still feel a bit desperate. “Despair is easy, it is hope that requires a lot more effort” is probably what Nanaji felt. Shah has so much to say in his allotted Fringe hour that sometimes the middle-age section of his appreciative audience might struggle a bit with catching all of his crafted comedy but this is a show very much worth catching on tour.
