4. Film

Madhur Jaffrey returns to her family in India, as her divorce is finalised.

While there, she films Shakespeare Wallah with Merchant and Ivory. Its success at the Berlin Film Festival heralds an exciting fresh start for her.

Madhur Jaffrey is a well-known writer and performer, whose work was seminal in introducing Indian and Asian cooking to the USA and UK.

Her first cookbook, An Invitation to Indian Cooking, was an instant hit, in 1973.

By then, Ms Jaffrey was already a Broadway name, living in New York. The Jaffreys' dinner parties were hugely popular, in part because of Madhur’s wonderful cooking, and attended by many celebrities, such as Merchant and Ivory. She made her name from her family recipes, sent by her mother in letters from home, and their enthusiastic reception culminated in An Invitation to Indian Cooking.

Dramatised by Anjum Malik.

Madhur Jaffrey …… Archie Panjabi
Ismail Merchant …… Raj Ghatak
Kashmiran Rani (Madhur’s mother) …… Balvinder Sopal

Producer: Polly Thomas

A Somethin’ Else production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2021.