Sixth Happiness

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Sixth Happiness is a 1997 film directed by Indian director Waris Hussein. It is based on the autobiography of Firdaus Kanga entitled Trying To Grow. Kanga played himself in this film about Britain, India, race and sex.

Sixth Happiness is about Brit - a boy born with brittle bones who never grows taller than four feet. It is also about the Parsi or Parsees - descendants of the Persian empire who were driven out of Persia by an Islamic invasion more than a thousand years ago and settled in western India. Parsees had a close relationship with the British during the years of the Raj. Brit is named by his mother, both after his brittle bones, and in tribute to his mother's love of Britain. The depiction of Brit's parents as ardent Anglophiles with fond memories of the Raj and WW2, presents a glimpse of a non-stereotypical Indian family. This, along with the moving story of a young disabled man's sexual awakening as family life crumbles around him makes Sixth Happiness an interesting exploration of modern, urban India. Kanga's creation - both as writer and performer - resists drawing the main star Brit as either martyr or victim. Brit is bright, spiky, opinionated and selfish with a razor-sharp wit. He prefers the Kama Sutra to Shakespeare and does not allow gender or disability to come in the way of his desire for sex and love.

With powerhouse performances from Kanga and Souad Faress, and featuring great support from Nina Wadia (Goodness Gracious Me), Indira Varma (Bride and Prejudice, Kama Sutra) and Meera Syal (The Kumars at No. 42), Sixth Happiness manages to turn just about every stereotype about India, disability and sexuality on its head.