''Electric Moon'' is a 1992 Indian film directed by

Pradip Krishen Pradip Krishen (born 1949) is an Indian filmmaker, naturalist and environmentalist. He has directed three films, '' Massey Sahib'' in 1985, ''In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones'' in 1989 and '' Electric Moon'' for Channel 4, UK in 1991. His fil ...

and written by

Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. S ...

. The film was produced by Grapevine Media for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

Television and Bobby Bedi's

Kaleidoscope Entertainment Kaleidoscope Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (or KEPL) is an Indian film and television production company. Films produced by them include '' Bandit Queen'', ''Fire'', '' Electric Moon'', '' Saathiya'', ''Maqbool'', ''American Daylight'', and '' Mangal ...

and was reviewed at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) and the 36th

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

(1992). At the

40th National Film Awards The 40th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1992. Ceremony took place in 199 ...

, the film won the award for Best Feature Film in English. Set in an expensive tourist lodge in the forests of central India run by former royalty, Raja Ran Bikram Singh, 'Bubbles', the film is a satirical

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

on Westerners visiting India, in search for their stereotypical notions of the country, replete with images of former Indian royalty, and relics of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. In turn the film was a commentary on social pretense and ecology. The issue was previously taken up by the

Merchant-Ivory Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...

film '' The Guru'' (1969), and in time the film acquired a cult following. In a 2005 interview, Roy said, "The movie I had in my head and different from the one we shot. I wanted it to have a more anarchic quality, but I didn't know enough about cinema to make that come through on screen."

Cast

Roshan Seth Roshan Seth (born 2 April 1942) is a British-Indian actor, writer and theatre director who has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and India. He began his acting career in the early 1960s in the UK, but left acting the following decade ...

- Ranveer * Naseeruddin Shah - Rambuhj Goswami *

Leela Naidu Leela Naidu (1940 – 28 July 2009) was an Indian actress who starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including '' Yeh Raste Hain Pyar Ke'' (1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and '' The Householder'', Merchant Ivory Pr ...

- Sukanya 'Socks' *

Gerson Da Cunha Gerson da Cunha (16 June 1929 – 7 January 2022) was an Indian advertising professional who was also a stage and film actor, social worker, and author. He headed the Indian market communications agency Lintas and also worked for J. Walter Tho ...

- Raja Ran Bikram Singh, 'Bubbles' *

Raghuvir Yadav Raghubir Yadav is an Indian actor, music composer, singer and set designer who works in Hindi films. He made his film debut with '' Massey Sahib'' (1985), in which he played the title role. He has won two International Awards as Best Actor for ...

- Boltu * Alice Spivak - Louise Robinson * Frances Helm - Emma Lane *

James Fleet James Edward Fleet (born 11 March 1952) is an English actor of theatre, radio and screen. He is most famous for his roles as the bumbling and well-meaning Tom in the 1994 British romantic comedy film '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' and the dim- ...

- Simon Lidell *

Gareth Forwood Gareth L. John Forwood (14 October 1945 – 16 October 2007) was a British stage, film and television actor. Forwood was born to actors Glynis Johns and Anthony Forwood. He made his screen debut in 1965 and went on to prosper as a character ac ...

- Ian * Malcolm Jamieson - Thierry

References

External links

* 1992 films English-language Indian films British Indian films Indian satirical films Films set in India Best English Feature Film National Film Award winners British television films Films directed by Pradip Krishen 1990s English-language films {{India-film-stub