Hrundi V. Bakshi, a little-known Indian actor played by Peter Sellers, is accidentally invited to a lavish Hollywood dinner party after a clerical mix-up at a studio. From the moment he arrives, he stumbles through a chain of awkward encounters with the hosts and guests, who are baffled by his unfamiliar manners. The film builds on the fish-out-of-water premise, with a protagonist who misreads every social cue and turns ordinary routines into disasters, all unfolding in a loose sequence of set pieces rather than a tightly plotted story.

How it was made

Blake Edwards directed, wrote and produced the film for the Mirisch Company, and it was the only project Sellers and Edwards made together outside the Pink Panther series. The original script ran only about 63 pages, and much of the material was improvised on set. Shooting began in May 1967 under the working title RSVP and lasted about twelve weeks over the summer. Edwards and Sellers first considered a modern silent approach with intertitles, but Sellers soon wanted the character to speak, and the name Hrundi V. Bakshi was devised on the spot. Interiors were shot on sets, and Henry Mancini provided the score. Several cast and crew members later remembered the shoot as one of the most enjoyable of their careers.

Reception and legacy

Hrundi Bakshi went on to influence later comic creations, including Arjun Singh in the Bollywood hit Namak Halaal, the Simpsons character Apu, and Mr. Bean. The film has also drawn criticism for perpetuating stereotypes about Indian characters, particularly through its exaggerated accent and darkened makeup. Its reputation therefore rests on both the admired physical comedy of Sellers and the lasting objections to that portrayal, a debate that has accompanied the film ever since.