Movie Description

Heat and Dust is a 1983 British historical romantic drama film, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on her novel, Heat and Dust (1975). It was directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. It stars Greta Scacchi, Shashi Kapoor and Julie Christie.

The plot of Heat and Dust follows two intertwined stories. The first is set in British India of the 1920s, and deals with an illicit affair between Olivia, the beautiful young wife of a British colonial official, and an Indian Nawab. The second, set in 1982, deals with Anne, Olivia's great-niece, who travels to India hoping to find out about her great-aunt's life, and while there, also has an affair with a married Indian man.

Heat and Dust form part of a cycle of film and television productions which emerged during the first half of the 1980s, reflecting Britain's growing interest in the British Raj. In addition to Heat and Dust, this cycle included the films Gandhi (1982) and A Passage to India (1984), and the television series The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and The Far Pavilions (1984). Heat and Dust was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. At the 1984 BAFTA Awards, it earned eight nominations, including Best Film, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.