The film is notable for featuring a significant amount of color and black-and-white archival footage of India.
One of eight productions that Indian actress Madhur Jaffrey made with Merchant Ivory Productions. The films include The Guru (1969), The Delhi Way (1964), Heat and Dust (1983), Cotton Mary (1999), The Perfect Murder (1988), The Wandering Company (1985), Shakespeare-Wallah (1965) and Autobiography of a Princess (1975).
The character portrayed by Madhur Jaffrey is never known by a personal name other than as "The Princess".
Most of the picture is a two-hander which means its features an entire cast of just two performers in this case just the one actor and just the one actress.
Many DVDs of the film feature Autobiography of a Princess (1975) as a special feature on the disc for the epic Merchant Ivory Productions movie of Heat and Dust (1983).