Masters had done his homework well his portrayal of railway detail is both accurate and well observed. The story is often quoted as being the only work of its kind that evokes forgotten images of India’s steam age. Masters has written a thundering fine novel with a swift moving narrative that carries the reader through drama, suspense, romance and nostalgia. Bhowani Junction, first published in 1954, is set in the final tumultuous years of the Raj and presents an authentic picture of the tensions and conflicts, particularly amongst the Anglo-Indian community, that accompanied Britain’s withdrawal from the subcontinent. Masters was a lieutenant colonel in the British Indian Army who retired in 1948 and settled in the US devoting the rest of his time to writing. Much of the shooting was done in and around Lahore, and after filming was over and the crew had departed, the hotel proudly named the room where the leading actress stayed, the ‘Ava Gardner Suite.’īhowani Junction, released in cinemascope in 1956 had Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, Bill Travers and Francis Mathews in the leading role, and is based on a screenplay that roughly runs parallel to the original plot of the novel.

For the lucky few who stayed in Room 55 of the hotel it must be an experience of unparalleled charm and nostalgia, with a large monochrome portrait of Ava Gardner smiling down from the wall, as though saying “ Oh hello! I too stayed here a long while ago…” The legendary Hollywood actress who passed away in 1990 had indeed been here, for, over fifty years ago, when John Masters’ Bhowani Junction was being made into a film, the cast had stayed at the Faletti. The Hotel Faletti in Lahore, now undergoing a major renovation, had until recently a suite called the ‘Ava Gardner Suite’.

Bhowani junction book