The Party

The Party is a 1968 American comedy film, produced, co-written and directed by Blake Edwards. Based on a fish-out-of-water premise, the film stars Peter Sellers as Hrundi V. Bakshi, a bungling actor from India, who accidentally gets invited to a lavish Hollywood dinner party. The film is a farce with a very loose structure; it essentially serves as a series of set pieces for Sellers's improvisational comedy talents. The protagonist Hrundi Bakshi was influenced by two of Sellers' earlier characters: the Indian doctor Ahmed el Kabir in The Millionairess (1960) and Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther series. Bakshi went on to inspire popular characters such as Amitabh Bachchan's character Arjun Singh in Namak Halaal (1982), Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (voiced by Hank Azaria) in The Simpsons, and Mr. Bean. However, The Party has been criticized as having perpetuated brown stereotypes and using "brownface" with an exaggerated accent.