Synopsis
This lighthearted romp through Royal India presents a world of Maharajas, palaces, imperiled art objects, and the foreign collectors who will stop at nothing to possess them. Peggy Ashcroft and Larry Pine star as two rapacious art collectors who come to the decaying Art Deco palace of a young Maharaja (Victor Banerjee) to examine a legendary collection of Indian miniature paintings. While vying with each other to get the pictures away from the royal couple—nicknamed Georgie and Bonnie as children by their Scottish governess—they must also divine the true motives of the Indian curator of the collection (Saeed Jaffrey), who, in league with the Maharaja’s beautiful sister (Aparna Sen), may be working against them. Amidst the backdrop of lavish tourist entertainments, Christmas parties, fireworks, and even an English ghost, a desperate game of palace intrigue will determine the ultimate resting place of the priceless paintings.
Cast
| Lady Gwyneth McLaren Pugh | Peggy Ashcroft |
| Clark Haven | Larry Pine |
| The Maharaja of Tasveer, aka “Georgie” | Victor Banerjee |
| Sri Narain | Saeed Jaffrey |
| The Maharani of Timarpur, aka “Bonnie” | Aparna Sen |
Credits
| Director | James Ivory |
| Producer | Ismail Merchant |
| Screenplay | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala |
| Music | Vic Flick |
| Cinematography | Walter Lassally |
| Editing | Humphrey Dixon |
Disc Features
- New digital transfer
- Hullabaloo over Billy Fish, a new interview with actor Saeed Jaffrey
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
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