Heat and Dust (1983)
Trivia
Producer Ismail Merchant has said of the film's financing problems: "Halfway through the shooting, some of the finance committed to the project failed to materialize, and we found we were suddenly penniless. The cast and crew continued to work despite the fact that they weren't being paid, but that couldn't go on indefinitely. There was the strongest possibility that we would go under. We would lose not just the film but our whole company [Merchant Ivory Productions]". Renown European banker Sir Jacob Rothschild viewed a rough cut of the unfinished film and in a rescue package acted as a completion guarantor so the picture could be completed.
Greta Scacchi was only chosen for her part one week before shooting.
The movie's source "Heat and Dust" novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala won the Booker Prize in 1975.
First Merchant Ivory Productions (MIP) picture that was "epic" in scope and started the company's new era of big-scale production of period films based on mostly historical novels.
Actor Simon Callow was offered a major role but had a West End Play which clashed with the shooting dates.
In order to be in this film, Julie Christie turned down a very well paid role for The Verdict (1982) by Sidney Lumet, that ultimately ended up being played by Charlotte Rampling.
Breakthrough film role of actress Greta Scacchi.
Actress Greta Scacchi was only about a year out of drama school when principal photography started.
Part of an early 1980s cycle of British productions set in India. These included Gandhi (1982), Heat and Dust (1983), The Far Pavilions (1984), A Passage to India (1984), Octopussy (1983) and The Jewel in the Crown (1984).
Greta Scacchi received an 'introducing' credit on the movie's trailer but not during the opening titles of the picture.
During the time of the film's original theatrical release this Merchant Ivory Productions movie was the company's biggest commercial success at the box-office.
Very nearly abandoned after a budgetary collapse midway through shooting, Heat and Dust (1983) went on to become Merchant Ivory's biggest hit in years, paving the way for their even more successful trio of E.M. Forster adaptations, A Room with a View (1985), Howards End (1992) and Maurice (1987).
Naseeruddin Shah was offered the film but refused due to problems with Shashi Kapoor. He also did not like the script. Zakir Hussein replaced him.
The first of two 1980s British period films with the word "dust" in the title with the second being the Evelyn Waugh adaptation A Handful of Dust (1988) around five years later.
The film was made and released about eight years after its source novel of the same name by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala had been first published in 1975.
The original theatrical release of the picture marked the 21st Anniversary of Merchant Ivory Productions.
Debut English language theatrical feature film of actress Greta Scacchi.
One of eight productions that Indian actor Saeed Jaffrey made with Merchant Ivory Productions. The films include The Guru (1969), The Delhi Way (1964), Heat and Dust (1983), The Deceivers (1988), The Sword and the Flute (1959), The Courtesans of Bombay (1983), The Creation of Woman (1961), and Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978).
One of nine productions that Indian actor Shashi Kapoor made with Merchant Ivory Productions. The films include Bombay Talkie (1970), Side Streets (1998), In Custody (1994), The Deceivers (1988), Heat and Dust (1983), The Householder (1963), Shakespeare-Wallah (1965), In Ismail's Custody (1994), The Wandering Company (1984).
One of eight productions that Indian actress Madhur Jaffrey made with Merchant Ivory Productions. The films include The Guru (1969), The Delhi Way (1964), Heat and Dust (1983), Cotton Mary (1999), The Perfect Murder (1988), The Wandering Company (1984), Shakespeare-Wallah (1965) and Autobiography of a Princess (1975).
Lindsay Anderson was offered the chance to direct " Heat and Dust" in November 1978 but it failed to materialise.
Shammi Kapoor's daughter Kanchan and Manmohan Desai's son Ketan got married while Shashi Kapoor was shooting for Heat and Dust. Shashi was stuck shooting for the film in Hyderabad,India. Shammi Kapoor phoned Shashi Kapoor several times and warned him that he better be at the wedding. Shashi ended up not going to the wedding. His excuse was he was not allowed to leave Hyderabad. When Hollywood shoot films, there are several rules about actors taking a leave of absence. Shammi Kapoor later blasted Shashi for missing the wedding, some even saying he physically assaulted Shashi.
Greta Scacchi's first of many nude scenes. In a 2008 interview, she said she spent most of her early acting career playing femmes fatales and taking her clothes off on screen in this and other films because they were demanded by the script as necessary and by the box office to attract audiences. Also, if she had said no, she wouldn't have worked. If she wanted to be cast, she had to strip naked. It was the nature of the industry.
Of the film's digital restoration, the movie's DVD sleeve notes state: "Heat and Dust (1983) is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78.1. This new digital transfer was created from the original 35mm interpositive. The Revival Digital Restoration System was used to remove dirt, debris, and scratches. The soundtrack was mastered from the LT/Rt magnetic audio tracks".
Many DVDs of Heat and Dust (1983) feature as a special bonus Merchant Ivory Productions' short feature film Autobiography of a Princess (1975).
