For those of us who thrilled to “The Jewel in the Crown,” the latest PBS “Masterpiece” saga, “Indian Summers,” will scratch the same itch. As the Brits enjoy high tea on the subcontinent, the colors are so vivid, the characters so rich, the period piece so faithfully depicted, you can practically smell the Punjabi spices.
(the Harry Potter films, and an Oscar nominee for “Billy Elliot” and “Educating Rita”) portrays Cynthia Coffin. Cynthia is the scheming doyenne of an English social club at the end of the empire, dedicated to keeping traditions in place as the locals agitate for independence. Henry Lloyd-Hughes (“Madame Bovary”) portrays Ralph Whelan, the private secretary to the British Viceroy of India.
Set in 1932, the 10-part saga involves race, revolution, the Raj and attractions across class and caste lines. The story opens as the British upper crust make the annual trek to the colonial retreat of Simla in the Himalayan foothills, where they’ve concocted a miniature England, built around cocktails at the Royal Club.
A number of British, Indian and Pakistani stars fill the cast, including Bollywood legends Lillete Dubey (“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) and Alyy Khan (“Sharpe’s Challenge”).
“Indian Summers” centers on three brother-sister pairs. First, Ralph (Lloyd-Hughes), a politically ambitious bachelor, is joined by Alice (Jemima West of “The Borgias”), his beautiful younger sister who appears suddenly from England with her little boy. Her husband is conspicuously absent.
Next, Aafrin Dalal (Nikesh Patel), an idealistic clerk in the elite Indian Civil Service, wins Ralph’s trust by saving his life. Aafrin is put on a fast track in the British bureaucracy, but his sister Sooni (Aysha Kala of “Shameless”), an activist for national independence, threatens his career.
Finally, two American sibs: Eugene Mathers (Edward Hogg, “The Borgias”), an expatriate from a wealthy Chicago family, who has been taken in by Ralph; and Eugene’s seductive sister, Madeline (Olivia Grant, “Endeavour”), who arrives to care for her brother but ends up caring for Ralph.
As the Brits party and conduct illicit affairs, Gandhi is off-camera staging a hunger strike from prison that will reverberate through the empire.
The nine-parter ends on a bit of a cliffhanger that will leave viewers hungry for more.
“Indian Summers” will air on Sunday nights, Sept. 27 through Nov. 22, starting with a 90-minute installment, 9-10:30 p.m. locally on RMPBS.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830, jostrow@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ostrowdp
