First Look at New 2K Restoration of James Ivory's Shakespeare Wallah

The Cohen Media will introduced in U.S. theaters a brand new 2K restoration of director James Ivory's classic film Shakespeare Wallah (1965), starring Felicity Kendal, Geoffrey Kendal, Shashi Kapoor, Madhur Jaffrey, and Laura Liddell. The new restoration will premiere in New York City on November 10 at the Quad, and then on December 15 it will be screened at the Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts in Beverly Hills, CA.

A Blu-ray release of Shakespeare Wallah is expected to be announced next year, after the theatrical run ends.

Synopsis: Elegiac and atmospheric, Shakespeare Wallah was the feature film that put Merchant Ivory Productions on the international movie map, winning them great critical acclaim, and is now recognized as a classic.

Starring Shashi Kapoor, Madhur Jaffrey, and a young Felicity Kendal, the film's inspiration lies in the real-life adventures of Ms. Kendal's family as a traveling theater group in India during the final days of English colonial rule. They try to uphold British tradition by staging Shakespearean plays but are unable to compete with the wildly popular Bollywood film industry. The film also traces the developing relationship between the acting troupe's young ingénue, Lizzie (Kendal), and Sanju (Kapoor), a wealthy Indian playboy. But their romance is beset by hindrances, not the least being the machinations of Manjula (Jaffrey), a fiery Indian film star who is also in love with Sanju.