The Party (1968 film)

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 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 Clouseau in The Pink Panther series. Bakshi went on to inspire popular characters such as Amitabh Bachchan's role in Namak Halaal (1982) and Apu in The Simpsons. However, The Party has been criticized as having perpetuated brown stereotypes and using "brownface" with an exaggerated accent.