Shakespeare-Wallah (1965)

The story of a family troupe of English actors in India. They travel around the towns and villages giving performances of Shakespearean plays. Through their travels we see the changing face... See full summary »

Director:

James Ivory

Writers:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (story and screenplay) (as R. Prawer Jhabvala), James Ivory (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Shashi Kapoor, Felicity Kendal, Geoffrey Kendal

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Shashi Kapoor	...	Sanju
Felicity Kendal	...	Lizzie Buckingham
Geoffrey Kendal	...	Mr. Tony Buckingham
Laura Liddell	...	Mrs. Carla Buckingham
Madhur Jaffrey	...	Manjula
Utpal Dutt	...	Maharaja
Praveen Paul	...	Didi
Prayag Raj	...	Sharmaji (as Prayag Raaj)
Pinchoo Kapoor	...	Guptaji
Jim D. Tytler	...	Bobby (as Jim Tytler)
Hamid Sayani	...	Headmaster's Brother
Marcus Murch	...	Dandy in 'The Critic'
Partap Sharma	...	Aslam

Storyline

The story of a family troupe of English actors in India. They travel around the towns and villages giving performances of Shakespearean plays. Through their travels we see the changing face of India as the old is replaced by the new, Maharajas become hotel owners, sports become more important than culture and the theater is replaced by Bolliwood movies. Based on the travels of Geoffrey Kendal with his daughter Felicity Kendal.

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Plot Keywords:

india | theatre performance | based on true story | f rated | shakespearean | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is partly autobiographical as the actors who play the Buckinghams, father, mother and daughter, had those same roles in real life as the Kendal family and had spent years in India performing Shakespeare with a touring company. The daughter, Felicity Kendal, however, was not born in India like her character in the film.

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Quotes

Bobby: [Speaking to Lizzie] And when you're young, you never think. And when you're old... you're too tired to think.

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Connections

Featured in Shakespeare: The Legacy (2016)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 9
(uncredited)
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

Early Merchant-Ivory is Diamond in the Rough

This early (if not first) Merchant-Ivory collaboration anticipates what the team was later able to do with larger budgets and color cinematography. Set in post-independence India, it tells the story of a small, though thoroughly professional traveling Shakespeare company fallen on hard times. The troop, built on the talents of the three Buckingham family members, including the young and fetching daughter Lizzie, is slowly dissolving in a culture increasingly hostile to their art and readier to worship the queens of the silly Indian pop cinema.

The main thread of the plot concerns a rather thin romance between Lizzie and a young Indian playboy quite under the thumb of a local movie vixen named Manula. Meanwhile we are given snippets from various Shakespeare plays: Hamlet, Othello, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra.

Fine B&W photography, though much in this film seems dated now.

Details

Official Sites:

Merchant Ivory Productions [United States]

Country:

USA India

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

December 1965 (UK)

Also Known As:

Shakespeare Wallah

Filming Locations:

Bombay, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,378, 12 November 2017

Gross USA:

$4,650

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,650

Company Credits

Production Co:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1