You can rely on Andrew Davies to cut down Vikram Seth's mammoth novel. The challenge is can he understand the nuances of Indian lives in post colonial India of the early 1950s.
It has a bright opening with a colourful wedding. The bride's widowed mother now turns her attention to find a suitable boy for her younger daughter Lata, a perky university student.
However Lata has caught the eye of fellow student Kabir Durrani, who is Muslim.
A relative of Lata, Maan Kapoor is the son of a local politician. He has fallen for an older courtesan and Urdu singer, Saeeda Bai who is also a Muslim.
The backdrop is the simmering ethno religious tensions of the post colonial and post partition India. A Hindu temple is proposed to be built next to a mosque.
Some of the local politicians look forward to India becoming a Hindu nation.
It was hard to grasp exactly who was who in the first episode. It did mean that the relationship saga took second place to the sectarianism.
Director Mira Nair who is experienced in making feature films and documentary films keeps the opening episode rather static. Although it is a television series, I thought it would have more cinematic flair.
It has a bright opening with a colourful wedding. The bride's widowed mother now turns her attention to find a suitable boy for her younger daughter Lata, a perky university student.
However Lata has caught the eye of fellow student Kabir Durrani, who is Muslim.
A relative of Lata, Maan Kapoor is the son of a local politician. He has fallen for an older courtesan and Urdu singer, Saeeda Bai who is also a Muslim.
The backdrop is the simmering ethno religious tensions of the post colonial and post partition India. A Hindu temple is proposed to be built next to a mosque.
Some of the local politicians look forward to India becoming a Hindu nation.
It was hard to grasp exactly who was who in the first episode. It did mean that the relationship saga took second place to the sectarianism.
Director Mira Nair who is experienced in making feature films and documentary films keeps the opening episode rather static. Although it is a television series, I thought it would have more cinematic flair.
