''Miss Beatty's Children'' is a 1992 English-language Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Pamela Rooks in her directorial debut, with

Jenny Seagrove Jennifer Ann Seagrove (born 4 July 1957) is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and first came to attention playing the lead in a television dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's '' A Woman of Substance'' ...

, Faith Brook and Protima Bedi in lead roles. The film set in 1936 in South India, was based on Rooks' own novel of the same name. 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 ...

, the film won the award for Best Debut Film of a Director and the Best Cinematography.

Plot

In 1936 in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, Jane, an English schoolteacher comes to Trippuvur to work with Mabel Forster, a Christian missionary, who runs a mission school, and works towards young girls from being sold into temple prostitution. She has Kamla Devi, a senior temple woman as her opponent. Once when Mabel has gone away Jane finds herself trapped in a local controversy. She rescues an Anglo-Indian girl and takes her to

Ooty Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), Anglicisation, anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north ...

, but back in the town she is accused of kidnapping. However she manages to find help with an American doctor, Alan Chandler. Eventually she adopts Amber, and rescues several more children.

Cast

as Jane Beatty * Faith Brook as Mabel Forster * Protima Bedi as Kamla Devi * D. W. Moffett as Alan Chandler * Barry John * Emma Sanderson * Rituraj Singh * Catherine Stevens * Cecil Qadir

Bibliography

References

External links

*
Miss Beatty's Children, Online
at CinemasofIndia, NFDC {{National Film Award Best First Film of a Director 1992 films English-language Indian films Films set in 1936 Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award Films about social issues in India Indian drama films Films based on Indian novels Films set in Tamil Nadu Films set in the British Raj Best Debut Feature Film of a Director National Film Award winners 1992 directorial debut films National Film Development Corporation of India films 1990s English-language films