Continuing with Hollywood movies about India that educated the West, here is another from the early 1980’s.
Octopussy
Statistics:
- Release date: 10 June 1983
- Box Office Revenue: $187 million
- Ranking: #3 Worldwide for 1983, #6 in the US in 1983
- Other top movies of 1983: Return of the Jedi, Scarface, Risky Business, Terms of Endearment
While the target audience for James Bond is quite large, the UK has always had a special relationship with India. They have built-in stereotypes that come from generations of eating Indian food and buying medicine from Indian pharmacists. (As opposed to Americans, who first need to be convinced that India actually exists.)
So would a film that features a British hero naturally be a better source of knowledge about India? We’ll see. [Read more…]