Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The English rebel and the Indian dancing girl who led her own army
STORY BEHIND BEECHAM HOUSE: TV’S BIG NEW PERIOD DRAMA
IT has all the ingredients you’d expect in a period drama – and much, much more.
There’s an actress from Downton Abbey, an actor from Mr Selfridge and a dashing leading man cut in the mould of Captain Poldark himself.
The plot features a dancing girl, who led an army, and a principled Brit with a mysterious past, who arrives in 18th-century India to start a new life.
And as millions prepare to tune in to the first episode of Beecham House, writer and co-creator Shahrukh Husain tells the Sunday Mirror how her leading character was inspired by one of her husband’s ancestors.
In the six-part series, John Beecham – played by Tom Bateman, 30 – ruffles feathers as he tries to trade in a city dominated by the ever-powerful British East India Company.
Shahrukh, 69, says: “I based John Beecham’s character and personality on an ancestor of my husband called Thomas Metcalfe.
“I wanted an Englishman who didn’t want a part in the profiteering and banditry that went on in the East India Company, but did it fairly.
“Thomas started off in the East India Company, as did his father, but he did leave – he was still part of the establishment but not part of the company.
HONEST
“He was honest. The fact he was there all those years and had his children there shows his love of India.
“He was the kind of man I wanted to write about, someone who was different and stood out.”
The East India Company was a powerful concern which imported fabrics and spices to Britain.
It was often condemned for exploiting resources and locals in India – and eventually became instrumental in British rule there.
In tonight’s episode, Beecham seeks to distance himself from his past role in the company – and declares his love for India.
Shahrukh was inspired by Thomas Metcalfe’s own love for the country.
She added: “I discovered he’d lived in India for 40 years and he was really dedicated to the country. He built a beautiful house in Delhi which is still there today and used as a government building.”
His daughter Emily Bayley is a well-known author in the country.
Metcalfe was born in 1795 and went to India in 1813 – but Beecham House is set earlier than this, when there were very few Brits in Delhi.
Of her main character, Shahrukh adds: “John wants to reinvent himself away from anyone who knew him, so he comes to Delhi. He builds Beecham House. A lot of people were leaving Delhi, it was a bit like the Wild West – but it was still a centre of trade.”
Beecham House merges fact with fiction, and one of the real-life characters is Begum Samru, played by 41-year-old Bollywood star Lara Dutta.
According to William Dalrymple, a consulting historian on the series, Begum was a dancing girl from Kashmir who went on to head an army of mercenaries.
According to legend, she led her troops to battle on an elephant.
She became incredibly rich when her German husband died.
William adds: “She controlled quite an important chunk of territory as an important duchess.
“She fell in love with a Frenchman and an Italian. She had a suicide pact with the French guy, they ran away from their own kingdom at night.
“They said if they were captured they would kill themselves. The man killed himself and Begum didn’t. She’s quite a character.”
Begum ended up converting to Catholicism, switching sides to be with the British and building the largest cathedral in India.
In Beecham House, the costumes and opulent set transport the viewer to India, where the series was filmed.
Writer and director Gurinder Chadha says: “You can’t beat India on camera... the architecture, the palaces, the forts.
“We have used many, many shots of those amazing buildings and that is
Beecham is based on a real Brit who loved life in India
SHAHRUKH HUSAIN ON INSPIRATION FOR DRAMA
India, for me. You cannot shoot that anywhere else.”
Tonight, Beecham arrives at his grand mansion on the outskirts of Delhi. Servants Badaal and Mood Chand wait in anticipation as he turns up with a baby son, named August, and two nursemaids.
The secretive Beecham is treated with suspicion by the household who question who the baby’s mother could be.
Nursemaid Chanchal, played by Shriya Pilgaonkar, 30, seems particularly fond of August – so could she be the mum?
Beecham wants to distance himself from the East India Company but must beg the Emperor for his own licence to trade. He meets French mercenary General Castillon – Mr Selfridge star Gregory Fitoussi, 42 – who also regards him with suspicion.
No period drama is complete without romance, plotting and interfering relatives... and Beecham House ticks every box.
Before he can get to know Margaret – a governess who works for a neighbour – Beecham’s mother arrives, with a friend in tow who has her own sights set on him. Beecham’s mum is played by Lesley Nicol, 66 – famous as dowdy Downton cook Mrs Patmore – while Dakota Blue Richards, 25, plays Margaret.
Tom Bateman was thrilled to land the role of Beecham. He says: “I’ve never played a character with so much weight to him, and that appealed.
“My characters are normally quite energetic, but John is very strong, quite hard and you don’t really know who he is at first. He’s got a baby but there’s no mother and he doesn’t tell anybody anything about that, which instantly makes you think something’s going on.
“He’s inherently a very good man who’s trying to do the right thing, but he’s been through the wars.
“He’s also very forward-thinking. He left the East India Company because he didn’t agree with the way they did things which, at the time, was very bold.
“A lot of people just went along with it and didn’t question it but he refused to be part of it.”