The plot of the film revolves around Parvez, a Pakistani-born taxi driver and a tolerant, secular Muslim.

His life takes an unexpected dark turn when his son Farid converts to fundamentalist Islam, leading to a family breakdown and social conflict.

According to Rachel Donadio, The New York Times writer and editor, the film's theme is encapsulated in a pivotal scene: One of the most revealing insights into Britain's recent social history comes early in My Son the Fanatic, Hanif Kureishi's tender and darkly prescient 1997 film.

It’s morning in an unnamed city in northern England, and Parvez, a secular Pakistani immigrant taxi driver brilliantly portrayed by Om Puri, watches Farid, his increasingly devout college-age son, sell his electric guitar.

[4] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote Parvez "draws most on our sympathies in this moving, painfully funny film.