Shatranj Ke Khilari (aka The Chess Players) (1977)

Set in 1856, two rich landowners (Saeed Jaffrey, Sanjeev Kumar) pour every ounce of passion into a never ending game of chess while ignoring their wives and the changing political landscape around them. At the same time, an ambitious British General (Richard Attenborough) plots his own move to overthrow a King (Amjad Khan) and seize his province. Based on a short story by Munshi Premchand and adapted for the screen and directed by Satyajit Ray (PATHER PANCHALI). Ray infuses his poignant examination of historical shift with humor while still keeping the unfairness of it all in the forefront. As the privileged upper class rich as personified by Jaffrey and Kumar's chess players are oblivious to the seismic change about to occur, the arrogance of the British as embodied by Attenborough connive behind the scenes to add more to Queen Victoria's dominion. While not one of Ray's major works, it's still an engrossing watch. With Victor Banerjee and Shabana Azmi.