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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Shows by Decade»1980s Television
    1980s Television Drama Shows F 2 Mins Read

    Far Pavilions, The

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    1 9 8 4 (UK)
    3 x 100 minute episodes

    Channel 4 produced this £8 million star-studded romance in 19th century Raj India which told of an earnest, dependable young British army officer, Ash Pelham-Martyn (Ben Cross), in service with the elite Corps of Guards.

    Because of his Indian upbringing, Ash found himself torn between the British and Indian cultures, and his forbidden love for former childhood playmate Princess Anjuli (Amy Irving) added to the torment.

    On a wider stage, political intrigue and civil unrest led to battles galore, with the series combining real and fictional characters – most notably in depicting the disastrous aftermath of the 1879 Treaty of Gandamak in which the members of the Kabul mission were massacred due to the intransigence of Sir Pierre Cavagnari.

    Cavagnari is played here fairly convincingly by John Gielgud despite being forty years too old for the role.

    The series was adapted by Julian Bond from a novel by M.M Kaye and attracted criticism for the politically incorrect casting (as Indians) of such disparate international actors as Christopher Lee (British), Rossano Brazzi (Italian), Omar Sharif (Egyptian) and, in the crucial role of Princess Anjuli, the blue-eyed American actress Amy Irving.

    The strangeness of this decision is particularly noticeable in the many scenes she shares with Sneh Gupta, who plays Anjuli’s half-sister. It led Salman Rushdie to excoriate the production, calling it a “‘blackface minstrel-show”‘ and “‘the purest bilge”‘.

    Ashton “Ash” Pelham-Martyn 
    Ben Cross
    Princess Anjuli 
    Amy Irving
    Kaka-Ji Rao
    Christopher Lee
    Koda Dad
    Omar Sharif
    Major Sir Louis Cavagnari 
    John Gielgud
    Lt. Wally Hamilton
    Benedict Taylor
    The Rana of Bhithor
    Rossano Brazzi
    Biju Ram
    Saeed Jaffrey
    Major Jenkins (Commandant)
    Robert Hardy
    Princess Shushila 
    Sneh Gupta
    Belinda Harlowe
    Felicity Dean
    George Garforth
    Rupert Everett
    Mrs Viccary
    Jennifer Kendal
    Prince Jhoti
    Shayur Mehta
    Mulraj 
    Parikshat Sahni
    The General
    Peter Arne
    Mrs Chiverton
    Caterina Boratto
    Crimpley 
    Michael Cochrane
    Squadron Commander
    John Forbes-Robertson
    Kelly 
    Clive Francis
    Wigram Battye
    Rupert Frazer
    Commissioner 
    William Gaunt
    Gul Baz
    Tanveer Ghani
    Porson 
    Constantine Gregory
    Zarin 
    Art Malik
    Podmore-Smythe
    Michael Malnick
    Mrs Harlowe
    Mary Peach
    Chiverton
    Anthony Sharp
    Raikes 
    Jeremy Sinden
    Ponsonby 
    James Snell
    Diwan 
    Goga Kapoor
    Gobind Dass
    Vinod Nagpal
    Prince Nandu
    Ravi Behl
    Prince Lalji
    Master Ravi
    Geeta 
    Rama Vij
    Unpora Bai
    Bharati Devi
    Manilal
    Bhushan Tiwari
    Promila Devi
    Praveen Paul
    Sita
    Jonie Sethi
    Awal Shah
    Ajit Singh
    Afzal
    Tej Sapru
    Mr Singh
    Soltan Lalani
    Dilasah Khan
    Jay Devi

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