The Deceivers
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The Deceivers is a 1952 novel by John Masters on the Thuggee movement in India during British imperial rule. It was filmed in 1988, starring Shashi Kapoor, Pierce Brosnan, Bijaya Jena, and Saeed Jaffrey.
| The Deceivers | |
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| Directed by | Nicholas Meyer |
| Produced by | Ismail Merchant |
| Written by | Novel: John Masters Screenplay & Story: Michael Hirst |
| Starring | Pierce Brosnan Saeed Jaffrey Shashi Kapoor Helena Michell Gary Cady |
| Music by | John Scott |
| Release date(s) | 1988 |
| Running time | 98 min. approx. |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
[edit] Synopsis
The story shows how British officer and colonial administrator William Savage (Brosnan in the film version) comes to know about the thuggee cult, infiltrates their society, learns their ways and code of communication, and destroys them by capturing or killing their key leaders. During his travels with the thuggee he almost falls prey to the cult's ways as he comes to experience the ecstasy of ritual killings. The movie shows how complex the web was in terms of type and stature of people involved with the thuggee cult.
[edit] Analysis
The Deceivers portrays both the thuggee cult and British governance (as administered by the East India Company) in an accurate way. Historically, the East India Company, which was exploiting the natural resources of India for their own colonial interests, was underwritten by the British government and the British Army was providing the administrative services. Their attitude to colonial administration is pointedly expressed by Savage at the beginning of the film version: "Do nothing, have nothing done, and let no one do anything." The film is shot on location and shows the countryside not as a jungle, as many think of India, but as an arid steppe.
The main character, William Savage, is a Captain of the British Indian Army and tax collector (or, as he would rather view himself, colonial administrator) of the fictional district of "Madhia". He is deeply committed to his duties, which he considers to lie with the people of his district, rather than tax extraction for the East India Company. He is fluent in four dialects and has a highly developed sense of honor. At the beginning of the film, he marries his fiancée Sarah Wilson, the daughter of Colonel Wilson. In the course of the story he discovers a mass grave, filled with the remains of travellers, all of whom were evidently strangled to death in ritualistic fashion, among them a recently killed British officer. This leads him to begin an investigation, in the course of which he arrests Hussein, who confesses to being a thuggee, or deceiver. Colonel Wilson arrives and is furious at the measures that Savage has taken to find the ones responsible for the mass murders. He refuses to believe Savage's story of the thuggee cult, blaming the murders on dacoits (bandits) instead. Savage then decides to become a thuggee and infiltrates their society with Hussein's help. His character is loosely based on William Sleeman, who historically started an extensive campaign involving profiling, intelligence, and executions.
