The Jewel in the Crown (TV series)
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''The Jewel in the Crown'' is a 1984 British television serial about the final days 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 himsel ...
in India during and after World War II, based upon the ''
Raj Quartet ''The Raj Quartet'' is a four-volume novel sequence, written by Paul Scott, about the concluding years of the British Raj in India. The series was written during the period 1965–75. ''The Times'' called it "one of the most important la ...
'' novels (1965–1975) by British author Paul Scott. Granada Television produced the series for the
ITV network ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition to BBC Television (established in 1936). ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passin ...
.


Plot

The serial opens in the midst of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in the fictional Indian city of Mayapore, against the backdrop of the last years 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 himsel ...
and the
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
. Hari Kumar is a young Indian man who was educated at Chillingborough, a
British public school In England and Wales (but not Scotland), a public school is a fee-charging endowed school originally for older boys. They are "public" in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, denomination or paternal trade or profess ...
; he identifies as
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
rather than Indian. The bankruptcy of his father, a formerly successful businessman, forces him to return to India to live with his aunt. Working as a journalist, Kumar now occupies a lower social status in India, and lives between two worlds, British and Indian. Numerous Anglo-Indians discriminate against him, and he is held in some suspicion by Indian independence activists. During this time, violent anti-British demonstrations are taking place in the city. Hari becomes romantically involved with Daphne Manners, a young British woman who shows an egalitarian attitude to Indians. One night, after Hari and Daphne make love in the public Bibighar Gardens, the couple are attacked by a group of unknown Indian men. Hari is beaten and Daphne is gang raped. Ronald Merrick, a young lower-middle-class Englishman, is intelligent and hardworking. He is the local Indian Police superintendent. Merrick once professed to be romantically interested in Daphne, though she politely but firmly rebuffed him. He arrests Hari for her rape, holding him in the local jail. Hari is beaten and sexually humiliated. Merrick resents Hari's privileged education and disdains Daphne's preferring the young Indian to him. When Daphne refuses to cooperate with the investigation, the police do not prosecute Hari for rape. However, Kumar and other young, educated Indians, are jailed without trial under the security regulations adopted to suppress the Indian independence movement. Word that Hari was tortured causes outrage in the Indian community. Merrick is transferred from Mayapore to a smaller and less important town in the province. Daphne learns she is pregnant. She chooses to believe Hari is the father, rather than one of the rapists. She dies in childbirth. The
mixed-race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...
daughter, Parvati, is taken in by Daphne's great-aunt, Lady Manners, widow of a former provincial governor. While Lady Manners takes the infant to the resort area of Srinagar, she meets Sarah Layton, a young British woman vacationing with her mother, Mildred, and sister, Susan. Sarah and Susan's father is the colonel of the Indian Army regiment in Pankot, a hill station near Mayapore. He is being held as a
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
in Germany, after his unit was captured early in the war. Susan and their mother prefer to stay away from Lady Manners due to the scandal of her great-niece's illegitimate birth, but Sarah pays a call on Lady Manners and the two women become friendly. Sarah and her family soon encounter Merrick, who has left the police and procured a commission in the Indian Army. Teddie Bingham, an Indian Army officer and the fiancé of Sarah's sister Susan, is stationed in the nearby princely state of Mirat; Merrick, also assigned there, happens to share quarters with him. Because the unit is soon to leave for the border with Burma, Teddie and Susan have to marry in Mirat. When Teddie's best man for the ceremony becomes ill, he asks Merrick to step in. Merrick, seeing a relationship with the upper-class Teddie and the Laytons as a means to career advancement, is pleased to help. While Merrick and Teddie are driving to the ceremony a stone is thrown at their car, slightly injuring Teddie. Merrick understands that he was the target of the attack, as this is one of a series of incidents suggesting he is being harassed because of his treatment of Kumar and the other suspects in the Manners case in Mayapore. Shortly after the wedding, Teddie and Merrick leave for the Burma front with their unit. Teddie is soon killed in an ambush by the Japanese-sponsored Indian National Army (INA). Merrick is badly wounded trying to get Teddie to safety and is evacuated to a Calcutta hospital. When Sarah visits him (at Susan's request), she learns that his arm will be amputated and that his burned face is permanently disfigured. Merrick says that Teddie was ambushed because of him. Teddie had left their unit to try to persuade two Indian soldiers of his regiment, who had been captured by the Japanese and joined the INA, to surrender and come in. Merrick believes Teddie wanted to prove to him that the Indian soldiers, even after becoming turncoats, would resume their loyalty to the British if given the chance. Merrick's disfigurement has increased hostility against Indians. Lady Manners presses for a formal inquiry into Hari Kumar's arrest and detention. Nigel Rowan, an aide to the governor of the province conducts the interview with Hari, who learns during it that Daphne died. After Rowan establishes that Merrick tortured Hari and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing, he arranges Hari's release. No action is taken against Merrick, however. After convalescing, Merrick is promoted and assigned to intelligence activities concerning the INA and Indian soldiers who collaborated with the enemy. He comes across the Laytons again in Bombay, where Sarah is reunited with her father, Colonel Layton, just released from a German POW camp. Merrick is there to interrogate an Indian soldier who had served under Colonel Layton and assisted the Germans after Layton's unit was captured, and who has been deported to India. Merrick gains assistance from Sergeant Guy Perron, a young
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
graduate and Indian history scholar, who was serving with an Intelligence Corps Field Security unit; he speaks fluent
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physi ...
", releasing the ancient competition for power between the Hindus and Muslims, who had earlier conquered and ruled the country. Some confrontations had been restrained by the power of the British as rulers. Sarah, Susan, and their aunt attend Merrick's funeral in Mirat. Perron accompanies them, along with Merrick's ashes, on the train back to Pankot. Joining them is Ahmed Kasim, the educated son of a prominent Muslim politician who has been working for Bronowsky in Mirat for the past few years. En route to Pankot, the train is stopped by Hindus, who attack Muslim passengers in retaliation for recent attacks on Hindus in Mirat. The attackers demand that Kasim be turned over to them. Kasim voluntarily leaves the train car and surrenders himself to the attackers, who murder him. Perron, Sarah, and the other English passengers are unharmed, but are horrified by the slaughter of Kasim and other Muslim passengers. Before leaving India again, Perron visits Hari Kumar, now living in a poor neighbourhood and supporting himself by tutoring Indian students in English. He leaves his calling card, as Kumar is out. Perron reflects on how Kumar was caught in an impossible position, between England and India.


Cast

*
Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...
as Barbara Batchelor *
Janet Henfrey Janet Ethne Anne Henfrey (born 16 August 1935) is a British stage and television actress. She is best known for playing Mrs. Bale on '' As Time Goes By'', and for her role as the schoolteacher in the Dennis Potter television play '' Stand Up, N ...
as Edwina Crane *
Derrick Branche Derrick Branche (born 1947) is a British actor, best known for his role in the film ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' and television roles in '' The Jewel in the Crown'' and ''Father Ted''. Early life and education Branche was born in 1947 in Bomba ...
as Ahmed Kasim *
Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...
as Sgt Guy Perron *
Geraldine James Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950) is an English film and television actress. Biography Early life and family James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to a cardiologist father and an alcoholic mother, who had been a nurse. She failed her ...
as Sarah Layton *
Rachel Kempson Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty. Career Kempson trained at RADA ...
as Lady Manners * Art Malik as Hari Kumar * Wendy Morgan as Susan Layton *
Judy Parfitt Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt (born 7 November 1935) is an English theatre, film and television actress. She made her film debut in a minor supporting part in '' Information Received'' (1961), followed by supporting role in the BBC television ...
as Mildred Layton *
Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...
as Supt./Capt/Maj/Lt Col Ronald Merrick *
Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents ho ...
as Count Dmitri Bronowsky *
Susan Wooldridge Susan Wooldridge (born 31 July 1950) is a British actress. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Hope and Glory'' (1987). Her television credits include '' Jewel in the Crown'', (1984), ''All Quiet on the Preston ...
as Daphne Manners *
Ralph Arliss Ralph Arliss (born 11 September 1947) is a British actor. His television credits include: ''Doctor Who'' (in the serial '' Planet of the Spiders''), ''Z-Cars'', ''The Sweeney'', '' Survivors'', '' Return of the Saint'', '' Secret Army'', '' Love ...
as Capt. Samuels *
Geoffrey Beevers Geoffrey Beevers (born 15 January 1941) is a British actor who has appeared in many different stage and screen roles. Career Theatre Beevers has worked extensively at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond upon Thames, both as an actor (including ...
as Capt Kevin Coley * James Bree as Maj/Lt Col Arthur Grace *
Jeremy Child Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, 3rd Baronet (20 September 1944 – 7 March 2022) was a British actor. Early life Coles John Jeremy Child was born on 20 September 1944 in Woking, Surrey, son of Foreign Office diplomat Sir Coles John Child, 2nd ...
as Robin White *
Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included '' Dalz ...
as Cpl "Sophie" Dixon *
Rowena Cooper Rosemary Rowena Cooper (born 1935) is a British actress. She began her career in 1956, joining the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary. In 1959 she joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre Company and went on to have an exten ...
as Connie White *
Anna Cropper Anna Cropper (also Roache; 13 May 1938 – 22 January 2007) was an English stage and television actress. Early years Cropper was born in Brierfield, Lancashire, the daughter of Margaret, a stage actress and director, and Jack Cropper, a dentis ...
as Nicky Paynton *
Fabia Drake Fabia Drake OBE (born Ethel McGlinchy; 20 January 1904 – 28 February 1990) was a British actress whose professional career spanned almost 73 years during the 20th century. Drake was born in Herne Bay, Kent. Her first professional role in ...
as Mabel Layton *
Nicholas Farrell Nicholas C. Frost (born 1955), known professionally as Nicholas Farrell, is an English stage, film and television actor. Education Farrell was educated at Fryerns Grammar and Technical School in Basildon, Essex, followed by the University of ...
as Edward "Teddie" Bingham * Matyelok Gibbs as Sister Ludmila Smith * Carol Gillies as Clarissa Peplow * Rennee Goddard as Dr Anna Klaus * Jonathan Haley and Nicholas Haley as Edward Bingham Jr *
Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and 1990s he wa ...
as Ahmed Ali Gaffur Kasim Bahadur, the Nawab of Mirat *
Karan Kapoor Karan Kapoor (born 18 January 1962) is an Indian photographer, actor and model. He is the son of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles are Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor ...
as Colin Lindsey * Rashid Karapiet as Judge Menen *
Kamini Kaushal Kamini Kaushal (born as Uma Kashyap, 24 February 1927) is an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films and television. She is noted for her roles in films such as ''Neecha Nagar'' (1946), which won the 1946 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at Cannes Fil ...
as Shalini Sengupta *
Rosemary Leach Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...
as Fenella "Fenny" Grace *
David Leland David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987. Life He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speech ...
as Capt Leonard Purvis *
Nicholas Le Prevost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 1964. ...
as Capt Nigel Rowan *
Marne Maitland James Marne Kumar Maitland (18 December 1914 – March 1992) was an Anglo-Indian character actor in films and television programmes. Biography Maitland was born in Calcutta, and educated at Bedales School before going up to Magdalene College, ...
as Pandit Baba *
Jamila Massey Jamila Massey (born 7 January 1934) is a British actress and writer. Massey has had a long career on UK television and radio. She is known for playing Auntie Satya in the long-running radio soap ''The Archers'', Jamila Ranjha in ''Mind Your Lan ...
as Maharanee Aimee *
Zia Mohyeddin Zia Mohyeddin (; born 20 June 1931) is a British-Pakistani actor, producer, director and television broadcaster who has appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television as well as in British cinema and television throughout his career. Zia ...
as Mohammad Ali Kasim * Salmaan Peerzada as Sayed Kasim * Om Puri as Mr de Souza * Stephen Riddle as Capt Dicky Beauvais * Norman Rutherford as Edgar Maybrick * Dev Sagoo as S.V. Vidyasagar *
Zohra Sehgal Zohra Mumtaz Sehgal (born Sahibzadi Zohra Mumtazullah Khan Begum; 27 April 1912 – 10 July 2014) was an Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer. Having begun her career as a member of a contemporary dance troupe, she transitioned into actin ...
as Lady Lili Chatterjee * Frederick Treves as Lt Col John Layton * Stuart Wilson as Capt James Clark * Leslie Grantham as Signals Sergeant


Episodes

The following titles are as given on the DVD release. The first episode is double-length (105 minutes). All others are 53 minutes.


Soundtrack

''The Jewel in the Crown'' is a soundtrack album by Anthony Randall and Orchestra performing the compositions of
George Fenton George Richard Ian Howe (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five Academy Award nominations, several Ivor No ...
that appeared in the miniseries, released in 1985. It was originally released on LP by Chrysalis Records and subsequently reissued on CD by
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
.


Track listing

All compositions by George Fenton #”Jewel in the Crown – Main Theme” – 2:32 #”The Lakes” – 1:57 #”The Triangle” – 3:48 #”Crossing the River” – 2:22 #”Imprisoned” – 2:03 #”Death by Fire” – 2:35 #Chillingborough School Song” – 1:47 #”Butterflies Caught in a Web” – 4:25 #”Daphne & Hari” – 3:44 #”Mirat, Princely State” – 3:25 #”Kedara and Waltz Kedara” – 6:12 #”Barbie Leaves Rose Cottage/Champagne Charlie” – 2:30 #”Guy Perron’s March” – 2:09 #”Pankot - The Hills” – 3:02 #”Jewel in the Crown – End Titles” – 1:50


Personnel

*
George Fenton George Richard Ian Howe (born 19 October 1949), known professionally as George Fenton, is an English composer. Best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, he has received five Academy Award nominations, several Ivor No ...
– arranger * Anthony Randall – conductor * Gavyn Wright – leader * Clem Alford – sitar * Clive Bell – flute * Nicholas Maigrel – sarangui *
Keshav Sathe Keshav Sathe (31 January 1928 – 18 January 2012) was an Indian tabla player, best known for his contributions to the Indo-jazz fusion genre. Among his significant collaborations are the ones with Joe Harriott and John Mayer in 1965–70; Ire ...
tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
* Leslie Pearson – piano on “Butterflies Caught in a Web” * Michale Jeans –
Cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...
on “Daphne & Hari”


Production

Sir Denis Forman, then chairman of Granada Productions, wrote in 1983 that the impetus for doing an adaptation of the ''Raj Quartet'' was the success of Paul Scott's novel '' Staying On''. The decision was made to attempt an adaptation of the quartet but to first test the company's ability to successfully complete a production in India by doing an adaptation of ''Staying On''. With the success of that television film, plans proceeded for the quartet. The series was shot on 16mm film, much of it on location in India. The scenes of the Nawab of Mirat's palace were filmed at
Lake Palace Lake Palace (formally known as Jag Niwas) is a former summer palace of the royal dynasty of Mewar, it is now turned into a hotel. The Lake Palace is located on the island of Jag Niwas in Lake Pichola, Udaipur, India, and its natural foundation s ...
in
Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...
. Besides all the Mirat scenes, Udaipur was also the location for Mayapore and some Pankot scenes.
Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
was the primary location for Pankot and many scenes were filmed in
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
and
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
. All filming not from India was filmed at Manchester's Granada Studios. The programme was often screened from grainy prints, but was fully remastered for its 2005
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
release and ITV3 screening, resulting in much better picture quality.


Adaptation

The series is based on the ''Raj Quartet'' novels by Paul Scott: * '' The Jewel in the Crown'' (1966) * ''
The Day of the Scorpion ''The Day of the Scorpion'' is a 1968 novel by Paul Scott, the second in his ''Raj Quartet''. It is set in India during World War II as the influence of the British erodes. The novel focuses on old Raj family, the Laytons, the aftermath of the ...
'' (1968) * ''
The Towers of Silence ''The Towers of Silence'' is the 1971 novel by Paul Scott that continues his ''Raj Quartet''. It gets its title from the Parsi Towers of Silence where the bodies of the dead are left to be picked clean by vultures. The novel is set in the Bri ...
'' (1971) * ''
A Division of the Spoils ''A Division of the Spoils'' is the 1975 novel by Paul Scott. It is the fourth and final book of his ''Raj Quartet''. The novel is set in the British Raj. It follows on from the storyline in '' The Jewel in the Crown'', '' The Day of the Scorpi ...
'' (1975) While the novels are written from different characters' viewpoints and move back and forth in time, the adaptation places events in roughly chronological order.


Cast

The series made stars of Art Malik and
Charles Dance Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...
. Other leading actors included
Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...
(who won the BAFTA Best TV Actress award for her performance),
Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...
,
Geraldine James Geraldine James, OBE (born 6 July 1950) is an English film and television actress. Biography Early life and family James was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to a cardiologist father and an alcoholic mother, who had been a nurse. She failed her ...
,
Judy Parfitt Judy Catherine Claire Parfitt (born 7 November 1935) is an English theatre, film and television actress. She made her film debut in a minor supporting part in '' Information Received'' (1961), followed by supporting role in the BBC television ...
,
Rachel Kempson Rachel, Lady Redgrave (28 May 1910 – 24 May 2003), known primarily by her birth name Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty. Career Kempson trained at RADA ...
,
Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter (8 April 192815 May 1995) was an English actor of stage, film and television. Early life Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to bus conductor Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Spall). His parents ho ...
,
Susan Wooldridge Susan Wooldridge (born 31 July 1950) is a British actress. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for '' Hope and Glory'' (1987). Her television credits include '' Jewel in the Crown'', (1984), ''All Quiet on the Preston ...
,
Zohra Sehgal Zohra Mumtaz Sehgal (born Sahibzadi Zohra Mumtazullah Khan Begum; 27 April 1912 – 10 July 2014) was an Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer. Having begun her career as a member of a contemporary dance troupe, she transitioned into actin ...
,
Saeed Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey (8 January 1929 – 15 November 2015) was a British-Indian actor. His career covered film, radio, stage and television roles over six decades and more than 150 British, American, and Indian movies. During the 1980s and 1990s he wa ...
, and
Karan Kapoor Karan Kapoor (born 18 January 1962) is an Indian photographer, actor and model. He is the son of actors Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal. His paternal grandfather was Prithviraj Kapoor and his paternal uncles are Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor ...
(son of Shashi Kapoor and
Jennifer Kendal Jennifer Kendal (28 February 1934 – 7 September 1984) was an English actress and the founder of the Prithvi Theatre. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' (1981). Her oth ...
). The complexities of the plot ensured that no one character was at the centre of the action throughout. All four "Best TV Actress" nominations at that year's BAFTAs went to stars of the series, with Ashcroft winning over Wooldridge, James and Parfitt. Pigott-Smith won Best TV Actor. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes compiled by the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
in 2000 and voted by industry professionals, ''The Jewel in the Crown'' placed 22nd.


Broader context

According to the
Museum of Broadcast Communications The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum, the stated mission of which is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our archi ...
there was "a cycle of film and television productions which emerged during the first half of the 1980s, which seemed to indicate Britain's growing preoccupation with India, Empire and a particular aspect of British cultural history". In addition to ''The Jewel in the Crown'', this cycle also included ''
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
'' (1982), ''
Heat and Dust ''Heat and Dust'' (1975) is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that won the Booker Prize in 1975. The book was also ranked by ''The Telegraph'' in 2014 as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels. Plot summary The initial stages of the nove ...
'' (1983), ''
The Far Pavilions ''The Far Pavilions'' is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the British Raj. There are many parallels between this novel and Rudyard Kipling's '' Kim'' th ...
'' (1984) and ''
A Passage to India ''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English liter ...
'' (1984). Mini-series co-star Charles Dance has commented how it has a devout following to this day. "I think that aired here in 1983, and there are people still to this day who assemble in each other’s houses and have ''Jewel In The Crown'' weekends and watch all 14 hours, mostly in America," he told Attention Deficit Delirium. "I have people stopping me in the street now saying that they watched ''Jewel In The Crown'' again a couple of months ago, and I think, 'Bloody hell, did you really?' So I’m known to that generation for a completely different type of work. The current film and television viewing audience is much younger, and the kind of things that I’m known for are these rather off-the-wall, slightly villainous characters in fantastical film and television things, but that’s okay. It’s better to be looked over than to be overlooked in my business."


Reception

In contemporary reviews, John J. O'Connor of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote, "the careful accumulation of marvelous detail is never less than fascinating. And once again in a British production, the performances are rarely less than extraordinary... What emerges in the end is a comprehension of India far more convincing than the posturings of a
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
and far deeper than the tightly focused biography of a ''Gandhi.'' ''The Jewel in the Crown'' is not only engrossing television. It is important television, a model of what the medium can do." Jeff Jarvis of ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine called it "first-rate; the settings are stunning. It does a masterly job of making you care about its characters and what happens to them. That is what a mini-series is supposed to do, and Jewel does a spectacular job of it. It is this year’s best fictional mini." ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' called the series "Ravishing, reverberant and profoundly sad" and regarding the setting; "The inscrutability of India to outsiders is not romanticized, just contemplated, celebrated, just as its intoxicating physical beauty is." In reviewing the box-set video in 2010, Alexandra Coghlan of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote that the series "sits alongside ''
Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
'' as the high-water mark of 1980s British TV."


References


External links

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Museum of Broadcast Communications


{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewel In The Crown, The 1984 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1980s British television miniseries ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television series set in the 1940s Television shows based on British novels Peabody Award-winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners Best Miniseries or Television Movie Golden Globe winners International Emmy Award for Drama winners Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows Indian National Army in fiction Television shows set in the British Raj