‘Indian Summers’ – catch up, episode 7 – justice and betrayal

April 3 2015

There are divisions among the Brits too, as the murder of Jaya shocks Simla…

By Chayya Syal

AS THE EPIC Channel Four drama continues, last week (March 29) saw things take a turn for the worse. There were am drams, murder, love, tears and a harrowing insight into the power struggle between the Indians and the British.

Episode 7 of “Indian Summers” opened with Jaya’s (Hasina Haque) lifeless body eerily floating in the river before a group of children from The Mission alerted the authorities.

It was a classic ‘whodunnit’ storyline that took centre stage, as everyone and anyone was deemed a suspect in Jaya’s brutal killing and kept viewers on their toes.

Ralph (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) was called to identify the body and managed to keep it together, until he was left alone with Jaya’s body. He wept and we saw a very different side to him; Ralph just wasn’t the same man afterwards.

After hearing about the murder, Ian McLeod (Alexander Cobb) decides to help the police and unwittingly tells them that Jaya had stolen Ramu Sood’s (Alyy Khan) dead wife’s wedding dress. Uh oh! With this motive in mind, the police jumped all over it as they arrested Ramu. We saw police corruption and brutality in the Raj come under the spotlight as they beat Ramu into confessing.

The hero of last week was undoubtedly Ian who defied caste and social convention to stand by his friend Ramu despite his massive blunder. Even after being warned by Ralph that he would be cut off, Ian stated: “I was never one of you Ralph” which saw social media erupt into triumph and band together in support for McLeod. Stick it to the man Ian!

There was the sideshow drama of the colonials staging the Oscar Wilde play “The Importance of Being Earnest” (see top picture) with Cynthia Coffin (Julie Walters) seemingly in her element and the actors largely indifferent to the black mood elsewhere, and determined to have ‘fun’.

The series continues to enthral viewers as we head into Sunday’s (April 5) episode. Here, the trial of Ramu Sood get under way, in what appears to be a courtroom style mash up of “To Kill a Mockingbird” meets “The Good Wife” in Simla. See the trailer below…

Will Ramu get justice? Will Ian’s firm stand against the corrupt Royal Club prove his bravery or naivety? Or will the corrupt power of imperialism rear its ugly head and send an innocent man to the gallows?

And join in the live tweet discussion, as the actors get involved too…

www.asianculturevulture.com’s Chayya Syal (twitter link at top) will be live tweeting here (@asianculturevul) about ‘Indian Summers’ every Sunday between 9pm – 10pm. To follow the discussion, please follow us, using the the hash tags #IndianSummers #asianculturevulture

*‘Indian Summers’, 9pm-10pm, Channel 4. Repeated on 4Seven on Mondays at 10pm-11pm