Few days after India celebrated its 71st Independence day, comes Gurinder Chaddha's film on the partition of India and Pakistan
The patriotic fervour didn't end with the celebrations of Independence Day on August 15, as filmmaker Gurinder Chadha brings back the memories of Partition of India, the migration and massacre of millions of Hindus and Muslims when two nations were born - India and Pakistan. Releasing in English as Viceroy's House and titled Partition 1947 for the Hindi audience, this film is about the last Viceroy to India - Lord Mountbatten. He has been assigned with the task of overseeing the transition of British owned India become an independent nation. But it's not easy, considering conflicts among Indian leaders and strong desires to form two separate nations.
There have been numerous films made on partition of India before, Deepa Mehta's 1947 Earth or even Anil Sharma's over the top drama, Gadar Ek Prem Katha. But Partition:1947 fails to leave a mark and here are the top 5 reasons why we are disappointed with the film
The major portion of the film is about Lord Mountbatten and how he was British's best bet as the last Viceroy to India. There are many scenes which glorify Mountbatten and his wife Edwina's stature. On such instance, when British characters praise him saying, " woh sher ko bhi shakahari bana sakta hai'. Lady Edwina is shown compassionate towards Indians and even says how the Rashtrpati Bhawan (which was home to Viceroy in Britishers' rule) makes Buckingham Palace palace appear like a hotel.
The film which appeared to be a take at one of the most tragic chapters of Indian history had little to show about the devastation caused by partition. In fact, Partition:1947 steps out of the Viceroy's House only in the last 20 minutes of the film.
Love story between Huma Qureshi and Manish Dayal's character add nothing to the story. Films made on partition have explored the romance of a Muslim girl and Hindu boys many times. But in Partition 1947, Jeet and Aalia's love and even their pain of separation feels superficial. Although the two actors have given their best shot, but the script gave them little opportunity to perform. Even late Om Puri who plays Aalia's father had very little to do in one of the last movies of his career.
Casting has been a major issue with Partition:1947, specially for the parts of historical figures of India. In spite of making him sound like a villain, Denzil Smith looks impressive in the role of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Tanveer Ghani looks a misfit in the role of Nehru. Even Hugh Bonneville doesn't have any physical resemblance with Lord Mountbatten but it can be ignored as the actor plays the role with all heart. Neeraj Kabi manages to make an impact in the role of Mahatma Gandhi, but please ignore his make up for the role of Bapu.
Gurinder Chadha's films about Indians living in Britain have appeared to be more patriotic, than her attempt at telling the story of partition. Her films have been light hearted take on confused desi living abroad. Be it Bride and Prejudice or Bend it like Beckham, Gurinder has always depicted the clash of tradition and modern culture in the west in an entertaining way. This time the filmmaker became too serious and made a documentary out of historical drama. The expectations from the film change right from the start with Churchill's quote saying 'History is made by victors' followed by a long introductory scene where Indian servants are seen preparing for the welcome of last Viceroy to India in his swanky residence in Delhi.
The best portion of the film is the end credits, where Gurinder Chadha showcases the archival footage of Lord Mountbatten with Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah during India's independence. Rahman's soulful music and Navdeep Virk's lyrics bring back the pain of partition with the song, 'Do dilon ke dyaare, sarhade toh utaare. Tu sagaron ke seene mein, haan bandh bhi le deewarien...girti chaton ke ret se tu mahal apna bana lena.'
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