The Courtesans of Bombay

Overview

In the Mumbai, India, tenement community of Pavanpul, young female courtesans sing, dance and perform sexual favors for male clientele. Directors James Ivory and Ismail Merchant blend documentary footage and dramatic reenactments in their exploration of this seamy underworld, the flip side of the Bollywood film industry, where aspiring actors and dancers -- some even sold into prostitution by their own families -- end up, with their innocence lost and their hopes for movie stardom shattered.

Details

Status

Released

Release date

January 1, 1983

Original language

English

Spoken languages

English

Countries

United Kingdom

Production

Merchant Ivory Productions

Cast

Saeed Jaffrey,Kareem Samar,Zohra Sehgal

Director

Ismail Merchant

Writer

James Ivory,Ismail Merchant,Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Producer

Ismail Merchant

Cinematography

Vishnu Mathur

Budget

Not recorded

Revenue

Not recorded

IMDb

tt0163591