Period series begins from September 27th.By Raif Karerat
Originally airing on Britain’s Channel 4, “Indian Summers” is a period piece slated to make its debut for American audiences on PBS, on September 27th.
A “melodrama of the highest, most intelligent order” per the San Francisco Chronicle, the production tells the story of the British Empire’s decline and the birth of modern India from the dual perspectives of both Indians and their colonial overlords.
As the historical drama unfolds, the year is 1932; nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas is Shimla, a microcosm of English sensibilities where every summer British power-brokers are posted to govern during the summer months.
“Indian Summers” was written by Paul Rutman and directed by the team of David Moore and Anand Tucker.
“Rutman uses both sex and violence as lenses to examine the culture of prejudice that only fuels the independence movement that would finally achieve self-rule in 1948 … Rutman’s writing, his exquisite sense of character, the subtle shadings behind even the most sexual or violent events combine for much of the way to make ‘Indian Summers’ so exceptional,” wrote The Chronicle.
Ralph Whelan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) is a coolly ambitious man tipped for promotion and serves as Private Secretary to the Viceroy of India. His sister, Alice (Jemima West), returns to Shimla alone with her child and finds herself drawn to Aafrin (Nikesh Patel), a Junior Clerk in the Viceroy’s office and son to Roshana (Lillete Dubey) and Darius (Roshan Seth), a gentle man and veteran of The Great War. Aafrin is brother to Sooni (Aysha Kala), both severe and beautiful, and his pampered younger sister Shamshad.
Seemingly pulling the strings of Simla’s society is Cynthia (Julie Walters), a “widowed doyenne of the Royal Club who is as at home in the tack room as she is the ballroom,” according to a PBS release.
The cast of characters also includes Douglas (Parkinson), who runs a missionary school, his wife Sarah (Fiona Glascott) who yearns for the comforts of home, Ian McLeod (Alexander Cobb), the young and naïve Scottish tea plantation heir, and the mysterious Anglo-Indian woman Leena (Amber Rose Revah).
“Indian Summers” is set to air under the PBS “Masterpiece” marquee at 9 p.m. EST on Sundays from Sept. 27, through Nov. 22.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M77IfQc7JbU