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{{Short description|1984 drama film directed by David Lean}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = A Passage to India
| image          = PassageToIndiaPoster.jpg
| caption        = Original theatrical poster
| director       = [[David Lean]]
| producer       = [[John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne|John Brabourne]]<br>[[Richard Goodwin (producer)|Richard Goodwin]]
| screenplay     = David Lean
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[A Passage to India]]'' (1924)|[[E. M. Forster]]|''[[A Passage to India (play)|A Passage to India]]'' (1960)|[[Santha Rama Rau]]}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Peggy Ashcroft]]
* [[Judy Davis]]
* [[James Fox]]
* [[Alec Guinness]]
* [[Nigel Havers]]
* [[Victor Banerjee]]
}}<!--per poster block-->
| music          = [[Maurice Jarre]]
| cinematography = [[Ernest Day]]
| editing        = David Lean
| studio         = [[EMI Films|Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment]]<br />[[Home Box Office, Inc.]]
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]]-EMI-[[Warner Bros.|Warner Distributors]] (United Kingdom)<ref>{{cite web|title=A Passage to India (1984)|work=[[BBFC]]|access-date=22 April 2021|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/a-passage-to-india-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmza1ndi}}</ref><br />Columbia Pictures (United States and Canada)
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1984|12|14}}
| runtime        = 163 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom<br>United States<ref>{{cite web|title=A Passage to India (1984)|website=[[British Film Institute]]|access-date=26 March 2024|url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150263965}}</ref>
| language       = English
| budget         = {{£|17 million|long=no|link=yes}}<ref name="icon">Alexander Walker, ''Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984–2000'', Orion Books (2005), p.35</ref> or {{US$|14.5 million|long=no|link=yes}}<ref name="times">MAGNIFICENT OBSESSIONS: Rosenfield, Paul. Los Angeles Times 24 March 1985: 1.</ref>
| gross          = $40 million ({{estimation}})
}}
'''''A Passage to India''''' is a 1984 [[epic film|epic]] [[period drama]] film written, directed and edited by [[David Lean]]. The screenplay is based on the 1924<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-30 |title=A Passage to India {{!}} British Empire, Colonialism & India {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Passage-to-India-novel |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> [[A Passage to India|novel of the same name]] by [[E. M. Forster]] and the [[A Passage to India (play)|1960 play adaptation]] by [[Santha Rama Rau]]. The film stars [[Peggy Ashcroft]], [[Judy Davis]], [[James Fox]], [[Alec Guinness]], [[Nigel Havers]], and [[Victor Banerjee]]<!--Arranged as per opening credits-->.

Set in the 1920s, in the [[British Raj]], the film follows the interactions of Dr. Aziz, Mrs. Moore, Adela Quested, Ronny Heaslop, and Richard Fielding in the fictional city of Chandrapore, which is split between the British elite and the native underclass. However, their relationships become strained due to cultural tensions and personal misunderstandings.

This was Lean's final film and marked his return to directing after a 14-year hiatus since ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970). Upon its release, ''A Passage to India'' was met with widespread critical acclaim, with some praising it as Lean's finest since ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]''. The film received 11 nominations at the [[57th Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], and [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for Davis. It won [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for Ashcroft, making her, at 77, the oldest actress to win the award, and [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]] for [[Maurice Jarre]], his third award in that category.

==Plot==
Adela Quested is sailing from England to British-ruled India with Mrs. Moore, the mother of her intended bridegroom, Ronny Heaslop, Mrs. Moore's son from her first marriage. Heaslop is the City [[Magistrate (England and Wales)|magistrate]] in Chandrapore, and Adela intends to see if she can make a go of it.

The ladies are disappointed to find that the British community is very much separated from the Indian population and culture with a growing [[Indian independence movement]] in the 1920s. They are encouraged when the local [[school superintendent]], Richard Fielding, introduces them to the eccentric elderly [[Hindu]] [[Brahmin]] scholar Professor Narayan Godbole. Mrs. Moore meets by chance another Indian local, Dr Aziz Ahmed, a widower who is surprised by her kindness and lack of prejudice. Aziz offers to host an excursion to the local [[Marabar Caves]].

The initial exploration of the caves shows that the size of the party should be limited when Mrs. Moore suffers from claustrophobia and the noise from the large entourage echoes exponentially inside the caves. Mrs. Moore encourages Adela and Aziz to continue their exploration of the caves alone with one guide.

They reach the caves at a higher elevation some distance from the group and, before entering, Aziz steps away to smoke a cigarette. Adela enters one of the caves on her own, lights a match, and inexplicably begins to cry. Aziz returns to find Adela has disappeared. Shortly afterwards, he sees her running headlong down the hill, disheveled. She is picked up by the doctor's wife, Mrs. Callendar, and taken to the Callendars' home. Adela is bleeding from cactus needles and delirious. Dr. Callendar medicates Adela with a hypodermic syringe.

Upon his return to Chandrapore, Aziz is accused of attempting to rape Adela inside the caves and is jailed awaiting trial. The incident becomes a cause célèbre. Mr. Fielding, who has befriended Aziz, insists he is innocent. Mrs. Moore also firmly believes Aziz did not commit any offence and departs India for England. Seemingly enjoying her passage at sea, Mrs. Moore suddenly suffers an apparent heart attack and dies.

In court, Adela is questioned by the prosecutor, who is stunned when Adela replies that Aziz never entered the cave, where the supposed attempted rape took place. It becomes clear to Adela that her earlier signed accusation of attempted rape was false, so she recants. Aziz is freed and his innocence celebrated. Adela is abandoned to her own devices by the British except for Mr. Fielding, who assists her to safety at the college. She plans to return to England at the earliest moment. Aziz vows to find a new job in another Indian state away from British rule; he opens a clinic in the [[Dal Lake|lake area near Srinagar]], [[Kashmir]].

Meanwhile, through Adela, Fielding has married Stella Moore, Mrs. Moore's daughter from her second marriage. Aziz eventually reconciles with Fielding, and Aziz writes to Adela asking her to forgive him for taking so long to come to appreciate the courage she exercised when she withdrew her accusation in court.

==Cast==
{{castlist|<!--Arranged as per closing credits-->
* [[Judy Davis]] as Adela Quested
* [[Victor Banerjee]] as Dr. Aziz Ahmed
* [[Peggy Ashcroft]] as Mrs. Moore
* [[James Fox]] as Richard Fielding
* [[Alec Guinness]] as Professor Narayan Godbole
* [[Nigel Havers]] as Ronny Heaslop
* [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]] as Collector Turton
* [[:de:Antonia Pemberton|Antonia Pemberton]] as Mrs. Turton
* [[Michael Culver]] as Major McBryde
* [[Art Malik]] as Ali
* [[Saeed Jaffrey]] as Advocate Hamidullah
* [[Clive Swift]] as Major Callendar
* [[Ann Firbank]] as Mrs. Callendar
* [[Roshan Seth]] as Advocate Amrit Rao
* Sandra Hotz as Stella Moore-Fielding
* Rashid Karapiet as Das
* H. S. Krishnamurthy as Hassan
* [[Ishaq Bux]] as Selim
* Moti Makan as Guide
* Mohammed Ashiq as Haq
* Z. H. Khan as Dr. Panna Lal
* Ashok Mandanna as Anthony
* [[Dina Pathak]] as Begum Hamidullah
* [[Adam Blackwood (actor)|Adam Blackwood]] as Mr. Hadley
}}

==Production==

===Background===
[[E. M. Forster]] began writing  ''[[A Passage to India]]''  during a stay in India from late 1912 to early 1913 (he was drawn there by a young Indian Muslim, Syed Ross Masood, whom he had tutored in Latin), completing it only after he returned to India as secretary to a maharajah in 1921. The novel was published on 4 June 1924.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/18/100-best-novels-a-passage-to-india-em-forster-robert-mccrum |title=The 100 best novels: No 47 – A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924) |date=August 18, 2014 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=January 16, 2015 }}</ref>

''A Passage to India'' deals with the delicate balance between the English and the Indians during the [[British Raj]].<ref name=" Phillips 406">Phillips, ''Beyond the Epic '', p.406</ref> The question of what actually happened in the caves remains unanswered in the novel. ''A Passage to India'' sold well and was widely praised in literary circles. It is generally regarded as Forster's best novel, quickly becoming a classic of [[English literature]].<ref name=" Phillips 403">Phillips, ''Beyond the Epic '', p.403</ref>

Over many years several film directors were interested in adapting the novel to the big screen, but Forster, who was criticised when the novel was published, rejected every offer for the film rights, believing that any film of his novel would be a travesty. He feared that whoever made it would come down on the side of the English or the Indians, and he wanted balance. However he did allow Indian author [[Santha Rama Rau]] to adapt it for the theatre in 1957.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WX2wCwAAQBAJ&q=comedy+theatre+a+passage+to+india+1960&pg=PA132|title=E. M. Forster|first=J. H.|last=Stape|date=18 December 1992|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349128501|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[David Lean]] had read the novel and saw the play in London in 1960, and, impressed, attempted to purchase the rights at that time, but Forster, who rejected Santha Rama Rau's suggestion to allow Indian film director [[Satyajit Ray]] to make a film, said no.<ref name=" Phillips 407">Phillips, ''Beyond the Epic '', p.407</ref>

Following Forster's death in 1970, the governing board of fellows of King's College at Cambridge inherited the rights to his books. However, Donald Parry, his executor, turned down all approaches, including those of [[Joseph Losey]], [[Ismail Merchant]] and [[James Ivory]], and [[Waris Hussein]], who after adapting Santha Rama Rau's play for the BBC in the 1960s now wanted to make a feature film. Ten years later, when Professor [[Bernard Williams]], a film enthusiast, became chief executor, the rights for a film adaptation became available.<ref name="los"/>

===Development===
Producer [[John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne|John Brabourne]], also known as John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, whose father had been [[Governor of Bombay]] and later [[Governor of Bengal]], and who was married to the daughter of [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten]], the last viceroy, had sought the film rights for twenty years.<ref name=" Phillips 407"/> He and his business partner, [[Richard Goodwin (producer)|Richard Goodwin]], had produced [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s ''[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)|Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1968) and films based on [[Agatha Christie]]'s mysteries, including the 1974 ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]].'' In March 1981, Brabourne and Goodwin obtained the rights to make a film adaptation of ''A Passage to India''.<ref name=" Phillips 407"/> The contract stipulated that Santha Rama Rau write the screenplay and it reserved the right to approve the director.

"Forster gave us a verbal go-ahead", remembered Goodwin later, "but my partner (John Brabourne) and I never got it in writing. So it was another 10 years before the Forster estate arranged the sale of film rights".<ref name="times"/> [[Lindsay Anderson]] later claimed he turned down a chance to direct the film of the novel.<ref>LINDSAY ANDERSON BREWS SOME CHAOS
New York Times17 Jan 1982: A.19.</ref>

Brabourne, an admirer of the film ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'', wanted David Lean to direct the film. Lean was ready to break his 14-year hiatus from filmmaking following mostly negative reviews received for ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' in 1970. Since then, Lean had fought to make a two-part epic telling the true story of the [[Mutiny on the Bounty]], for which he could not obtain financing (the budget was an estimated $50 million), and had given some thought about doing a film adaptation of ''[[Out of Africa]]'', from the book by [[Isak Dinesen]], which [[Sydney Pollack]] ultimately directed in 1985. By September 1981, Lean was approved as director and Santha Rama Rau completed a draft of the script.<ref name="los"/>

===Writing===
The contract stipulated that Santha Rama Rau would write the screenplay. She had met with E. M. Forster, had successfully adapted ''A Passage to India'' as a play, and had been charged by the author with preserving the spirit of the novel. However, Lean was determined to exercise input in the writing process. He met with Rau in [[Berkeley, Gloucestershire]], and over ten days they talked about the novel and discussed the script.

The initial script pleased neither the producer, John Brabourne, nor Lean. They considered it too worldly and literary, the work of a playwright, and unsuitable for a film. Most of the scenes took place indoors and in offices while Lean had in mind to film outdoors as much as possible. With India in the title of the film, he reasoned, audiences would expect to see many scenes filmed of the Indian landscape. Lean commented: "We are blessed with a fine movie title, ''A Passage to India''. But it has built in danger; it holds out such a promise. The very mention of India conjures up high expectations. It has sweep and size and is very romantic". Lean did not want to present a poor man's pre-independence India when for the same amount of money he could show the country's visual richness.

During 1982, Lean worked on the script. He spent six months in New Delhi, to have a close feeling for the country while writing. As he could not stay longer for tax reasons, he then moved to Zurich for three months, finishing it there.  Following the same method he had employed adapting [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[Great Expectations (1946 film)|Great Expectations]]'', he went through Rau's original script and his copy of the novel, picking out the episodes that were indispensable and passing over those that did not advance the plot. Lean typed out the whole screenplay himself, correcting it as he went along, following the principle{{which|date=September 2025}} that scripts are not written, but rewritten.

===Casting===
The director cast Australian actress [[Judy Davis]], then 28, as the naive Miss Quested after a two-hour meeting. When Davis gave her interpretation of what happened in the caves — "She can't cope with her own sexuality, she just freaks out" — Lean said that the part was hers. Davis had garnered international attention in [[Gillian Armstrong]]'s ''[[My Brilliant Career (film)|My Brilliant Career]]'' (1979) and had appeared in ''[[A Woman Called Golda]]'' (1982) as a young [[Golda Meir]].

Lean wanted [[Celia Johnson]], star of ''[[Brief Encounter]]'', to play Mrs Moore, but she turned down the part and died before the film was released. The director then offered the part to [[Peggy Ashcroft]], a stage actress who had appeared in films only sporadically. She was not enthusiastic when Lean asked her to be Mrs Moore. "Mr Lean, I'm 75 years old", she protested. "So am I", he replied. Although she had recently worked in India on the TV miniseries ''[[The Jewel in the Crown (TV series)|The Jewel in the Crown]]'', she said, "I thought, 'Oh dear, I really don't want to do it', but it's very difficult to turn down a Lean film". In addition to Ashcroft, actor [[Art Malik]] also appeared in "The Jewel in the Crown".

[[Satyajit Ray]], who had hoped to direct his adaptation of ''A Passage to India'', recommended 38-year-old Bengali actor [[Victor Banerjee]] for the role of Dr Aziz. The character required a combination of foolishness, bravery, honour and anger. After some hesitation, Lean cast Banerjee, but the director had to overcome the restrictions of British Equity to employ an Indian actor. Lean got his way, and the casting made headlines in India. "It was a matter of national pride that an Indian was cast instead of an Asian from England" observed Banerjee.

[[Peter O'Toole]] was Lean's first choice to play Fielding. The role eventually went to [[James Fox]]. Despite having quarrelled with Lean in the 1960s about a proposed film about Gandhi that ultimately was scrapped, [[Alec Guinness]] agreed to portray Professor Godbole. The relationship between the two men deteriorated during filming, and when Guinness learned that much of his performance was left on the cutting room floor due to time constraints, he saw it as a personal affront. Guinness would not speak to Lean for years afterwards, patching things up only in the last years of Lean's life.<ref>Read, Piers Paul, ''Alec Guinness: The Authorized Biography''.</ref> [[Nigel Hawthorne]] was cast as Turton but fell ill and was replaced on-set by [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]].

===Financing===
Financing the film was difficult. EMI provided some initial money, but Lean paid his own expenses scouting locations and writing the screenplay. Eventually the budget was raised from EMI, Columbia and HBO.<ref name="los">LEAN'S 14-YEAR PASSAGE TO LOVE
Mann, Roderick. Los Angeles Times 10 April 1983: w21.</ref><ref name="ver">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=4 November 2025|access-date=4 November 2025|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-moguls-verity-lambert-at-thorn-emi-films/|title=Forgotten British Moguls: Verity Lambert at Thorn-EMI Films}}</ref>

In December 1984, Thorn EMI offered investors the chance to invest in several films by issuing £36million worth of shares. The films were ''A Passage to India'' (1984), ''[[Morons from Outer Space]]'', ''[[Dreamchild]]'', ''[[Wild Geese II]]'' and ''[[The Holcroft Covenant (film)|The Holcroft Covenant]]''<ref>Walker 1985 p286</ref> (all 1985).<ref>Producer splits cost of films The Guardian 10 January 1985: 4.</ref> ''Passage to India'' would be regarded as one of EMI's best later movies.<ref name="five">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-nat-cohen-part-five-1971-1988/|access-date=5 February 2025|date=5 February 2025|title=Forgotten British film moguls – Nat Cohen: Part Five (1971-1988)}}</ref>

===Filming===
Filming took place from November 1983 to June 1984.

The [[Marabar Caves]] are based on the [[Barabar Caves]], some 35&nbsp;km north of [[Gaya, India|Gaya]], in [[Bihar]]. Lean visited the caves during pre-production, and found them flat and unattractive; concerns about bandits were also prevalent. Instead he used the hills of [[Savandurga]] and Ramadevarabetta some tens of kilometers from [[Bangalore]], where much of the principal filming took place; small cave entrances were carved out by the production company.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Makins|first=Tim|date=3 August 2007|title=The Marabar Caves - page 1|url=https://www.mapability.com/travel/p2i/marabar.php|access-date=17 October 2020|website=A Passage To India}}</ref> Other scenes were filmed in [[Ramanagaram]] ([[Karnataka]]) and [[Udhagamandalam]] ([[Tamil Nadu]]) and in [[Srinagar]] ([[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]). Some interiors were shot at [[Shepperton Studios]] in Surrey and in [[Bangalore Palace]].

=== Costume ===
Costume designer [[Judy Moorcroft]] was brought on to design the period costumes for the film, along with supervisor [[Rosemary Burrows]], wardrobe master Keith Morton and assistant Sally Turner. David Lean and Judy Davis disagreed about the characterisation of Adela, which caused problems for the costume designer - dresses that had been agreed between Moorcroft and Davis were ‘too frumpy’ according to Lean, and had to be changed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=Gene |title=Beyond the epic: the life & films of David Lean |date=2010 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-7155-5 |location=Lexington |pages=420–22}}</ref> Nevertheless, Moorcroft received her second Academy Award nomination for the film.

===Music===
The film's score was composed by longtime Lean collaborator [[Maurice Jarre]]. According to Jarre, the director told him, "Maurice, I want you to write music right from your groin for this very long scene in the cave. This isn't a story of India, it's a story of a woman. I want you to write music that evokes awakening sexuality".<ref name="times"/>

Jarre wrote 45 minutes of music in two and a half weeks. He said, "David talks to me in images. A film artist never asks for an oboe to cover up a bad scene; a film artist doesn't think of music as medicine for a sick movie. David talks to me as he would talk to an actor."<ref name="times"/>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
Lean's final film received widespread critical acclaim, and became a critics' favourite of 1984. [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called it "[Lean's] best work since ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' and ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' and perhaps his most humane and moving film since ''[[Brief Encounter]]''. Though vast in physical scale and set against a tumultuous Indian background, it is also intimate, funny and moving in the manner of a film maker completely in control of his material ... Though [Lean] has made ''A Passage to India'' both less mysterious and more cryptic than the book, the film remains a wonderfully provocative tale, full of vivid characters, all played to near perfection."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=14 December 1984|title=The Screen: 'Passage to India,' by David Lean|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/14/movies/the-screen-passage-to-india-by-david-lean.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524153542/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/14/movies/the-screen-passage-to-india-by-david-lean.html|archive-date=24 May 2015|access-date=21 August 2019|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' observed that "Forster's novel is one of the literary landmarks of this century, and now David Lean has made it into one of the greatest screen adaptations I have ever seen ... [He] is a meticulous craftsman, famous for going to any length to make every shot look just the way he thinks it should. His actors here are encouraged to give sound, thoughtful, unflashy performances ... and his screenplay is a model of clarity."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=A Passage to India Movie Review (1984)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-passage-to-india-1984|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509053520/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-passage-to-india-1984|archive-date=9 May 2019|access-date=21 August 2019|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called the film "impeccably faithful, beautifully played and occasionally languorous" and added, "Lean has succeeded to a great degree in the tricky task of capturing Forster's finely edged tone of rational bemusement and irony."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793886.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0|title=''Variety'' review|access-date=12 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229073147/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793886.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0|archive-date=29 February 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Time Out London]]'' thought the film was "a curiously modest affair, abandoning the tub-thumping epic style of Lean's late years. While adhering to perhaps 80 per cent of the book's incident, Lean veers very wide of the mark over E.M. Forster's hatred of the British presence in India, and comes down much more heavily on the side of the British. But he has assembled his strongest cast in years ... And once again Lean indulges his taste for scenery, demonstrating an ability with sheer scale which has virtually eluded British cinema throughout its history. Not for literary purists, but if you like your entertainment well tailored, then feel the quality and the width."<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Passage to India 1984, directed by David Lean {{pipe}} Film review|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/a-passage-to-india|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311004704/http://www.timeout.com/london/film/a-passage-to-india|archive-date=11 March 2016|access-date=21 August 2019|website=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|date=3 May 2011 }}</ref>

[[Channel 4]] said, "Lean was always preoccupied with landscapes and obsessed with the perfect shot – but here his canvas is way smaller than in ''Lawrence of Arabia'', for instance ... Still, while the storytelling is rather toothless, ''A Passage to India'' is certainly well worth watching for fans of the director's epic style."<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Passage to India Movie Review (1984) from Channel 4 Film|url=http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=106941&section=review|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807235850/http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=106941|archive-date=7 August 2007|access-date=12 March 2009|website=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''A Passage to India'' holds a rating of 77% from 30 critics, with an average rating of 7.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''A Passage to India'' is a visually striking exploration of colonialism and prejudice, although it doesn't achieve the thematic breadth of director David Lean's finest work."<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Passage to India (1984)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/passage_to_india|access-date=28 September 2024|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> The film is assigned an average score of 78 out of 100 on [[Metacritic]], based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Passage to India|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-passage-to-india|access-date=13 October 2020|publisher=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

===Box office===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! [[Box office territory|Market(s)]]
! Release
! [[List of films by box office admissions|Ticket sales]]
! [[Box office]] gross revenue
! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref|Reference(s)}}
|-
| United States / Canada
| 1984
| 7,700,000
| {{US$|27,187,653|long=no|link=yes}}
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=A Passage to India (1984)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passagetoindia.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209182402/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=passagetoindia.htm|archive-date=9 February 2018|access-date=21 August 2019|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref><ref name="kinopoisk">{{cite web |title="Поездка в Индию" (A Passage to India, 1984) |url=https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/8761/ |website=[[KinoPoisk]] |language=ru |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
| United Kingdom
| 1985
| {{formatnum:{{#expr:4313000/<!--1985 price-->1.7056 round 0}}|}} ({{estimation}})
| {{£|4,313,000|long=no|link=yes}} ({{US$|{{#expr:4313000/<!--currency-->0.779 round 0}}|long=no}})
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf|page=30|title=Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing|website=British Film Institute|date=2005|access-date=13 August 2022|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912042419/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-back-to-the-future-the-fall-and-rise-of-the-british-film-industry-in-the-1980s.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=A Passage To India |url=https://www.25thframe.co.uk/detail-page/?rimage=a_passage_to_india |website=25th Frame |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) - United Kingdom |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.FCRF?end=1985&locations=GB&start=1984 |website=[[World Bank]] |year=1985 |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UK cinema ticket prices |url=https://www.terramedia.co.uk/reference/statistics/cinema/cinema_ticket_prices_1.htm |website=Terra Media |date=20 August 2014 |access-date=23 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718064606/http://httpwww.terramedia.co.uk/reference/statistics/cinema/cinema_ticket_prices_1.htm |archive-date=18 July 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| France
| 1985
| 984,724
| {{US$|{{#expr:984724*<!--1985 price-->2.71 round 0}}|long=no}} ({{estimation}})
| <ref name="jp">{{cite web |title=A Passage to India (1984) |url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=6648 |website=JP's Box-Office |language=fr |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>{{efn|name=Price|See {{Section link|Box office|Average ticket price}}.}}
|-
| Germany
| 1985
| 713,303
| {{Currency|3,136,849|Euro}} ($2,716,217)
| <ref>{{cite web |title=Die Erfolgreichsten Filme in Deutschland |trans-title=The Most Successful Films in Germany |url=https://www.insidekino.com/DJahr/D1985.htm |website=Inside Kino |year=1985 |language=de |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historical currency converter with official exchange rates |url=https://fxtop.com/en/historical-currency-converter.php?A=3136849&C1=EUR&C2=USD&DD=31&MM=12&YYYY=1985 |website=fxtop.com |date=21 December 1985 |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
| Spain / Sweden
| 1985
| 317,100
| {{US$|{{#expr:317100*<!--1985 price-->2.27 round 0}}|long=no}} ({{estimation}})
| <ref name="kinopoisk"/>{{efn|name=Price}}
|-
| Italy
| 1985
| 285,646
| {{US$|{{#expr:285646*<!--1985 price-->2.27 round 0}}|long=no}} ({{estimation}})
| <ref name="jp"/>{{efn|name=Price}}
|-
| South Korea
| 1986
| 135,032
| {{Currency|{{#expr:135032*<!--1986 price-->3500}}|KRW}} ({{US$|{{#expr:472612000/<!--currency-->881.45 round 0}}|long=no}}) ({{estimation}})
| <ref>{{cite web |title=영화정보 |trans-title=Movie Information |url=http://www.kobis.or.kr/kobis/business/mast/mvie/searchMovieList.do |website=KOFIC |publisher=[[Korean Film Council]] |language=ko |access-date=26 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Park |first=Seung Hyun |title=A Cultural Interpretation of Korean Cinema, 1988-1997 |date=2000 |publisher=[[Indiana University]] |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilEeAQAAMAAJ |quote=Average Ticket Prices in Korea, 1974-1997 [...] * Source: Korea Cinema Yearbook (1997-1998) * Currency: won [...] Foreign [...] 1986 [...] 3,500}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) - Korea, Rep. |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.FCRF?end=1986&locations=KR&start=1985 |website=[[World Bank]] |year=1986 |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
| Netherlands / Iceland / Portugal
| 2007
| 217
|
| <ref>{{cite web |title=Film #20156 : A Passage to India |url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=20156 |website=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]] |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
| New Zealand
| 2011
|
| {{US$|13,591|link=yes}}
| <ref>{{cite web |title=A Passage to India |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0087892/ |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" | Total
! 12,664,751+ ({{estimation}})
! $40,027,057+ ({{estimation}})
!
|}

===Awards and honors===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="11"| [[57th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne|John Brabourne]] and [[Richard Goodwin (producer)|Richard Goodwin]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="11"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1985 |title=The 57th Academy Awards (1985) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=October 13, 2011 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004214/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1985 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[David Lean]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Judy Davis]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Peggy Ashcroft]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| David Lean
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction]]
| Art Direction: [[John Box]] and [[Leslie Tomkins]]; <br> Set Decoration: [[Hugh Scaife]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Ernest Day]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]
| [[Judy Moorcroft]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| David Lean
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]
| [[Graham V. Hartstone]], [[Nicolas Le Messurier]], <br> [[Michael A. Carter]], and [[John W. Mitchell]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Film Institute]]
| [[AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores]]
| Maurice Jarre
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/scores250.pdf |title=AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106023410/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100years/scores250.pdf |archive-date=November 6, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 1984|Boston Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Judy Davis
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://bostonfilmcritics.org/past-winners-1980s/ |title=BSFC Winners: 1980s |date=27 July 2018 |publisher=[[Boston Society of Film Critics]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="9"| [[39th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| John Knatchbull, Richard Goodwin, and David Lean
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="9"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1986/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1986 |publisher=[[British Academy Film Awards]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| [[Victor Banerjee]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress|Best Actress in a Leading Role]]
| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
| [[James Fox]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| David Lean
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| Ernest Day
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]]
| Judy Moorcroft
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Production Design|Best Production Design]]
| John Box
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film Music|Best Score for a Film]]
| Maurice Jarre
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[British Society of Cinematographers|British Society of Cinematographers Awards]]
| [[British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film|Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film]]
| Ernest Day
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://bscine.com/media/uploads/awards/bsc-cinematography-feature-film.pdf?v |title=Best Cinematography in Feature Film |publisher=[[British Society of Cinematographers]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[37th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| David Lean
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1984.aspx?value=1984 |title=The 37th Annual DGA Awards |publisher=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Evening Standard British Film Awards]]
| Best Actor
| Victor Banerjee
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[42nd Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldenglobes.com/film/passage-to-india-a/ |title=A Passage to India |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director – Motion Picture|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| rowspan="2"| David Lean
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Motion Picture]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score – Motion Picture]]
| rowspan="2"| Maurice Jarre
| {{won}}
|-
| [[28th Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/28th-annual-grammy-awards |title=28th Annual GRAMMY Awards |publisher=[[Grammy Awards]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Japan Academy Film Prize]]
| colspan="2"| [[Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film|Outstanding Foreign Language Film]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="3"| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Film
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://kcfcc.org/kcfcc-award-winners-1980-89/ |title=KCFCC Award Winners – 1980-89 |publisher=Kansas City Film Critics Circle |date=December 14, 2013 |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| Best Director
| David Lean
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Supporting Actress
| rowspan="2"| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{won}}
|-
| [[1984 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]]
| [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lafca.net/Years/1984.php |title=The 10th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards |publisher=[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1984|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="5"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1984/ |title=1984 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| David Lean
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Victor Banerjee
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1984 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]]
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| David Lean
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/03/movies/stranger-than-paradise-wins-award.html |title='Stranger Than Paradise' wins award |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 3, 2018 |date=January 3, 1985}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[1984 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z31iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nncNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1195,3008667 |title='Passage' Wins Two Big Awards |via=Google News Archive |access-date=December 28, 2017 |work=Observer-Reporter |date=December 20, 1984}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| David Lean
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Peggy Ashcroft
| {{won}}
|-
| [[37th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| David Lean
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|}

==Home video==
[[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment]] released the first DVD on 20 March 2001. It was in [[anamorphic widescreen]] format with audio tracks and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. Bonus features included ''Reflections of David Lean'', an interview with the screenwriter/director, cast biographies, and production notes.

On 9 September 2003, [[Columbia Pictures]] released the box set ''The David Lean Collection'', which included ''Lawrence of Arabia'', ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', and ''A Passage to India''.

On 15 April 2008, Sony released ''A Passage To India (2-Disc Collector's Edition)''. In addition to ''Reflections of David Lean'' from the 2001 release, bonus features included commentary with producer [[Richard Goodwin (producer)|Richard Goodwin]]; ''E.M. Forster: A Profile of an Author'', covering some of the main themes of the original book; ''An Epic Takes Shape'', in which cast and crew members discuss the evolution of the film; ''An Indian Affair'', detailing the primary production period; ''Only Connect: A Vision of India'', detailing the final days of shooting at Shepperton Studios and the post-production period; ''Casting a Classic'', in which casting director Priscilla John discusses the challenges of bringing characters from the book to life; and ''David Lean: Shooting with the Master'', a profile of the director.
On 15 April 2008, Sony released a Blu-ray HD Collector's Edition with a restored print and new digital mastering.

==See also==
* [[List of Asian historical drama films]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Sources
* [[Gene D. Phillips|Phillips, Gene D.]], ''Beyond the Epic: The Life & Films of David Lean''. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky 2006. {{ISBN|0-8131-2415-8}}
* Read, Piers Paul, ''Alec Guinness: The Authorized Biography''. New York: Simon and Schuster 2005. {{ISBN|0-7432-4498-2}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{TCMDb title}}
* {{cite web|last= Lean |first= David |author-link= David Lean |title= A Passage To India - Complete Script of the Movie |access-date= 2017-01-05 |url= http://www.mapability.com/travel/p2i/script.php}}
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20151123224610/http://www.mapability.com/travel/p2i/index.php Photos and notes of locations used in A Passage to India]'' (archived 2015)

{{David Lean}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''A Passage to India''
|list =
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1965–1989}}
{{Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Film}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passage to India (film), A}}
[[Category:1984 films]]
[[Category:1984 drama films]]
[[Category:1980s historical drama films]]
[[Category:American epic films]]
[[Category:British epic films]]
[[Category:British drama films]]
[[Category:British Indian films]]
[[Category:British historical drama films]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by E. M. Forster]]
[[Category:English-language Indian films]]
[[Category:Films directed by David Lean]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1920s]]
[[Category:Films set in India]]
[[Category:Films set in the British Raj]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Films scored by Maurice Jarre]]
[[Category:Films shot in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Films shot in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Films shot at Shepperton Studios]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:EMI Films films]]
[[Category:HBO Films films]]
[[Category:1984 English-language films]]
[[Category:1984 American films]]
[[Category:1984 British films]]
[[Category:Films produced by John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne]]
[[Category:Films produced by Richard Goodwin (producer)]]
[[Category:English-language historical drama films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]