“Indian
Summers steps up a pace as
tensions
rise during the struggle for
India’s
independence with the
resentment of the British increasing;
but while passions run high at Simla,
danger lurks at every corner in the
colourful, opulent but perilous closing
days of the Raj in Indian Summers
Series Two...”
DESPITE THE INCREASING UNREST during the three years that have passed
since the final episode of the first series of the compelling Indian Summers,
the British at Simla in the Summer of 1935 are still indulging themselves in
the ultimate pleasures afforded by their privileged life.
Private Secretary Ralph Whelan (Henry Lloyd Hughes: The Inbetweeners; Anna
Karenina) has set his sights on becoming the next Viceroy of India, which
is what he believes his father would have wanted of him.
“Indian
Summers — Fabulous,
steamy, sultry and poignant.
Full of Eastern promise.
The heat is on...”
Both
Ralph's American wife, Madeleine (Olivia Grant), and manipulative society queen
Cynthia Coffin (the wonderful Julie Walters), who shares the secret of Ralph's
birth, encourage him in his ambition.
Ralph's
younger sister Alice (Jemima West: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones;
Lines of Wellington) is reluctantly living back with her husband Charlie
Havistock (Blake Ritson: Da Vinci's Demons; Upstairs, Downstairs), who
has followed her to India, but his cruelty drives her back into the arms of
the man she loves, Parsi Aafrin Dalal (Nikesh Patel: Bedlam; Honour).
A rising star in the Indian civil service, Aafrin has been away in Bengal where,
unbeknown to his colleagues, he was active in the campaign to free India from
the British. While in Bengal he met a young woman to whom he has become close,
but Aafrin's involvement with the terrorist Naresh Banerjee (Arjun Mathur: Fireflies)
leads to violence and tragedy. He is sailing close to the wind.
Aafrin's parents have risen in status, thanks to their son's career, and have
arranged a marriage for his sister Sooni (Aysha Kala). Sooni is aghast, as her
feelings lie elsewhere; and even when the gentle Ian McLeod (Alexander Cobb)
offers to marry her, she cannot accept.
Fending off the unwanted advances of Lord Hawthorne (James Fleet: Agatha
Christie's Partners In Crime; The Vicar of Dibley), Leena Prasad (Amber
Rose Revah) finds both she and her son Adam (Dillon Mitra) are in trouble when
her home catches fire and Hawthorne is badly burned.
Having suffered a heart attack following an apparent attempt on his life, the
Viceroy Willingdon is still indisposed during his final few months. At this
vital point in his career, Ralph is still refusing to acknowledge the events
of 1932. He is financially embarrassed and unable to finance any career progression.
A suspect gift for King George for the celebration of his Silver Jubilee in
the hands of an innocent forces Dougie Raworth (Craig Parkinson) into an act
of bravery that will cost him dearly and leave the troubled Sarah (Fiona Glascott)
devastated.
Madeleine is persuaded into a distasteful situation in order to secure the patronage
of the powerful Maharaja Maritpur of Patiala (Art Malik: Homeland; True Lies),
who with his mysterious Australian mistress Sirene (Rachel Griffiths: Six
Feet Under; Brothers and Sisters) is staying at Chotipool. The Maharaja
has shown his true colours by toying with a young boy's life during a tiger
hunt.
There are deep disappointments ahead for Ralph and Cynthia is preparing herself
for India's likely independence. Britain is attempting to secure a new deal
for India while India will settle for nothing less than independence.
News comes in of a riot in Karachi, with many killed, and a village on the way
to Delhi has become a bloodbath following the death of a young Hindu boy who
was killed by explosives on Muslim land.
Alice's husband, determined not to lose his wife, makes a decision to leave
Simla with their son Ernest that puts them all in terrible danger.
Simla has been as fun and debauched as ever, with Cynthia firmly at its head;
but she recognises that she must act fast to secure herself a place in these
changing times.
Channel 4's sumptuous period drama returned for a second series that aired on
Sunday evenings and Indian Summers Series Two is now available on home
entertainment. Indian Summers continues to enthral and enchant. Fabulous,
steamy, sultry and poignant. Full of Eastern promise. The heat is on.
Indian Summers also features: Sugandha Garg as Kaira Das; Tanmay Daanania
as Naseen Khan; Lillete Dubey as Roshana Dalal; Roshan Seth as Darius Dalal;
Rick Warden as Ronnie Keane; Patrick Malahide as Viceroy Willingdon; Chloë Webster
as Daphne; Caleb Allen as Percy Havistock; Ash Nair as Bhupi; Dishaaleny Jegathesan
Jack as Ruth; Indi Nadarajah as Kaiser; Antha Abdul Hamid as Sumitra; and Lisa
Kay as Stella.
Costume Designer is Wendy Clark; Original Music is by Stephen Warbeck; Cinematography
by Tim Palmer, John de Borman and Garry Phillips; Written by Paul Rutman, Lisa
McGee and Anna Symon; Producer is Dan Winch; Directed by Paul Wilmshurst, John
Alexander and Jonathan Teplitzky.
*Indian
Summers Series Two and Indian Summers The Complete Series One and Two
are released on DVD in the UK, courtesy of RLJ Entertainment's Acorn Label,
on 16 May 2016.
Indian Summers Series Two DVD: Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 450 Minutes
| 2 Discs | Catalogue Number: AV3294 | RRP: £24.99.
Indian Summers Complete Series One and Two DVD: Certificate: 15 | Running
Time: 958 Minutes | Catalogue Number: AB2018 | RRP: £31.99.
"Fabulous, steamy, sultry and poignant. Full of Eastern promise. The heat is
on" ~ Maggie Woods
"Stifling heat, bubbling passions and political intrigue… this stylish 1930s
drama does the trick nicely" ~ The Guardian
"Sumptuous settings and impeccable performances… beautifully bleak tale of scheming
Brits and compromised Indians… a 1930s version of House of Cards" ~ The
Independent
“Indian
Summers steps up a pace