JEWEL IN THE CROWN, THE, EPISODE 2: THE BIBIGHAR GARDENS (TV)
Summary
Part two of this epic fourteen-part drama which chronicles the final turbulent years of English rule in India from 1942-1947. Based on author Paul Scott's "The Raj Quartet," this mini-series concentrates on the intricate personal relationships between British and Indian characters against the backdrop of India's struggle to assert its sovereignty from the declining British Empire. In the second episode, "The Bibighar Gardens," random violence sweeps through India after Mahatma Gandhi is placed under arrest by Great Britain. Englishwoman Daphne Manners and her Indian lover Hari Kumar are set upon by a group of Indian thugs following their lovemaking in the Bibighar. Kumar is beaten and bound while Manners is raped by the assailants.
Hoping to shield Kumar from being mistakenly identified with the gang of thugs because he is Indian, Manners makes him promise that they will pretend they did not meet that night. Racist district police superintendent Ronald Merrick -- who was spurned by Manners in favor of the Indian -- frames Kumar and a group of students for the crime. Unbeknownst to Manners, while she recovers from the assault, Merrick mercilessly tortures Kumar in prison trying to get him to confess to the crime. As young Indian students take to the streets to protest the incarceration of Kumar and the others -- who are now known as the "Bibighar victims" -- Manners attempts to convince the British authorities that Kumar, whom she secretly loves, is innocent of any wrongdoing.
(This series also aired on PBS under the umbrella of "Mobil Masterpiece Theatre" from December 16, 1984 through March 17, 1985.)
Details
- NETWORK: Granada (United Kingdom)
- DATE: November 30, 1983
- RUNNING TIME: 0:52:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T86:1232
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Drama, historical; India - History - Drama; International Collection - United Kingdom; Rape
- SERIES RUN: Granada (United Kingdom) - TV series, 1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Denis Forman … Executive Producer
- Christopher Morahan … Producer, Director
- Milly Preece … Associate Producer
- Irene Shubik … Series Devised by
- Lesley Beames … Researcher
- Paul Scott … Writer, Based on "The Raj Quartet" by
- Ken Taylor … Adapted by
- George Fenton … Composer
- Tim Pigott-Smith … Cast, Ronald Merrick
- Susan Wooldridge … Cast, Daphne Manners
- Art Malik … Cast, Hari Kumar
- Matyelok Gibbs … Cast, Sister Ludmila
- Kamini Kaushal … Cast, Aunt Shalini
- Rowena Cooper … Cast, Connie White
- Jeremy Child … Cast, Robin White
- Zohra Segal … Cast, Lili Chatterjee
- Madan Choughoy … Cast, Raju
- Renee Goddard … Cast, Dr. Anna Klaus
- Tony Arjuna … Cast, the Sergeant
- Dev Sagoo … Cast, Vidyasagar
- Tanveer Ghani … Cast, Bapu Ram
- Marne Maitland … Cast, Pandit Baba
- Rashid Karapiet … Cast, Judge Menen