A Passage to India (1984)

Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

E.M. Forster (by), E.M. Forster (based on the novel by),

Stars:

Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft

Won 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judy Davis	...	Adela
Victor Banerjee	...	Aziz
Peggy Ashcroft	...	Mrs. Moore
James Fox	...	Fielding
Alec Guinness	...	Godbole
Nigel Havers	...	Ronny
Richard Wilson	...	Turton
Antonia Pemberton	...	Mrs. Turton
Michael Culver	...	McBryde
Art Malik	...	Ali
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Hamidullah
Clive Swift	...	Major Callendar
Ann Firbank	...	Mrs. Callendar
Roshan Seth	...	Amritrao
Sandra Hotz	...	Stella Fielding

Storyline

Tensions between Indians and the colonial British come to a boil when a white female tourist accuses a young Indian doctor of rape during a visit to some caverns. A study of colonial relations and the nature of memory. Based on E. M. Forster's novel.

---

Plot Keywords:

doctor | india | mosque | english | magistrate | 

---

Taglines:

David Lean, the Director of "Doctor Zhivago", "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai", invites you on . . .[A Passage to India]

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

25 January 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pasaje a la India

Filming Locations:

Bangalore Palace, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$26,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

EMI Films, Home Box Office (HBO), Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

164 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Lean's first (and last) film after a 14-year hiatus from the industry. He was so devastated by the negative reviews of Ryan's Daughter, he dropped out of the filmmaking scene.

---

Goofs

When Aziz goes to the party after his trial, Fielding stands on or near the verandah and sees him off. In a later shot of Fielding, protest signs appear each side of Aziz's door that were not there earlier.

---

Quotes

Indian crowd member #1: [pointing at Mr. Fielding and Adela leaving in the carriage] That was Mr. Fielding!
Indian crowd member #2: And Mrs. Moore!
Entire Indian crowd: Mrs. Moore! Mrs. Moore! Mrs. Moore!...

---

Connections

Version of BBC Play of the Month: Passage to India (1965)

---

Soundtracks

"God Save the King"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by John Dalby

User Reviews

Mercifully, This Is No Epic

My interest in caves led me to watch this film. A small, but pivotal, part of the film's plot centers on what happens at the Marabar Caves. While the cave segment was a disappointment to me, I was pleasantly surprised by the film as a whole. It was not the grandiose, pretentious cinematic epic I had feared.

"A Passage To India" tells the story of a young British woman and her elderly traveling companion who journey from England to India, at a time when the British still ruled that country. The film's theme centers on British attitudes toward the people of India. Those attitudes can be summarized as: condescending, snobbish, and racist. It was the English vision of cultural superiority over the Indian people that E.M Forster wrote about in his 1924 novel, upon which the screenplay is based. That cultural vision represents a bygone, imperial era that today seems quaint.

The cinematography here is excellent, though perhaps not quite as sweeping or majestic as in some of Director Lean's previous films. What comes through in the visuals is India's spectacular scenery. The film's acting is competent. And I liked the film's original score.

My main complaint is the film's length. It's a two-hour story stretched to fill almost three hours. I would have cut out most, or all, of the crowd and mob scenes because they are not needed, and because they infuse the film with a "cast of thousands" aura that moves the film implicitly in the direction of epic status. Even as is, the film is sufficiently low-key and personal to be enjoyable.