The Mystic Masseur

The Mystic Masseur

Directed by	Ismail Merchant
Produced by	Nayeem Hafizka, Richard Hawley
Written by	Caryl Phillips (based on the novel by V. S. Naipaul)
Starring	Om Puri Aasif Mandvi Ayesha Dharker Rajendra D.
Release dates	2001 (2001)
Language	English

The Mystic Masseur is a 2001 Merchant Ivory film based on the novel of the same title by V. S. Naipaul. It is one of relatively few films directed by Ismail Merchant who is better known as the producer in the Merchant Ivory partnership and addresses issues of Hindu subculture on the island of Trinidad.

The movie was the first film adaptation of a novel by Naipaul. It was filmed in Trinidad and was released in 2001, to lukewarm response. The screenplay is by Caryl Phillips. The film features performances by Om Puri and Aasif Mandvi, and original music by Zakir Hussain.

Synopsis

The semi-mystical novel by V. S. Naipaul moves between farce and acerbic social commentary on Trinidad, the country of his birth. The characters are mainly members of Trinidad's South Asian subculture and community. The protagonist is a frustrated writer of Indian descent (Ganesh Ramsumair) who rises from poverty on the back of his dubious talent as a 'mystic' masseur - a masseur (Pundit Ganesh) who can cure illnesses. In the end he becomes a successful colonial politician (G. Ramsay Muir).

Cast

Om Puri as Ramlogan
Aasif Mandvi as Ganesh Ramseyor
Ayesha Dharker as Leela G. Ramseyor
Jimi Mistry as Pratap Cooper
Sanjeev Bhaskar as Beharry
Zohra Sehgal as Auntie
Sakina Jaffrey as Suruj Mooma
Rez Kempton as Basdeo
Pip Torrens as Governor
Albert Laveau as Headmaster
Grace Maharaj as Mrs. Cooper
James Fox as Mr. Stewart
Rajendra D. as Mrs. Cooper's Assistant and Man carrying cup of juice.
Michael Cherrie as Man in yellow suit
Maureen Thompson as Woman in rainbow dress
Dinesh Maharaj -a Taxi driver
Danesh Khan as Young Pratap Cooper

External links

Merchant Ivory Productions

Films

1960s	The Householder (1963) Shakespeare Wallah (1965) The Guru (1969) The Night of Counting the Years (1969)

1970s	Bombay Talkie (1970) Savages (1972) The Wild Party (1975) Autobiography of a Princess (1975) Roseland (1977) Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978) The Five Forty-Eight (1978) The Europeans (1979)

1980s	Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980) Quartet (1981) The Courtesans of Bombay (1983) Heat and Dust (1983) The Bostonians (1984) A Room with a View (1985) Maurice (1987) The Deceivers (1988) The Perfect Murder (1988) Slaves of New York (1989)

1990s	Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990) The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (1991) Howards End (1992) The Remains of the Day (1993) In Custody (1994) Feast of July (1995) Jefferson in Paris (1995) The Proprietor (1996) Surviving Picasso (1996) Side Streets (1998) A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1999) Cotton Mary (1999)

2000s	The Golden Bowl (2001) The Mystic Masseur (2002) Le Divorce (2003) Heights (2004) The White Countess (2005) The City of Your Final Destination (2007) Before the Rains (2008)

Collaborators and artists

James Ivory Ismail Merchant Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Madhur Jaffrey Saeed Jaffrey Shashi Kapoor Jennifer Kendal Aparna Sen Leela Naidu Tony Pierce-Roberts Richard Robbins Greta Scacchi Helena Bonham Carter Emma Thompson Rupert Graves Hugh Grant James Wilby Simon Callow Anthony Hopkins Glenn Close Uma Thurman Vanessa Redgrave Natasha Richardson Ralph Fiennes

Film portal

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