Shakespeare Wallah

Merchant Ivory achieved international recognition with their second film, a gentle Chekhovian comedy about a traveling theater group set in India in the early 1960s, just over ten years after the country won its independence. The Buckingham Players try to uphold English heatrical tradition by staging Shakespeare for the general public, boarding schools, and local royalty, but are unable to compete with the wildly popular Bollywood film industry.

The film traces the developing relationship between the acting troupe’s young ingénue, Lizzie (Felicity Kendal), and Sanju (Shashi Kapoor), a wealthy Indian playboy. But their romance is beset by hindrances, not the least being the jealous machinations of Manjula (Madhur Jaffrey), a fiery film star who is also in love with Sanju.

The story, thought up by Ivory and Jhabvala, was inspired by Felicity Kendal’s real-life adventures with her strolling theater-company family. Featuring a music score by Satyajit Ray.

Winner — 1965 Berlin International Film Festival: Best Actress, Silver Bear

USA / India | English | 1965 | 120 mins | 4K Restored