In India, several directors have experimented with movies made on partition. Acclaimed British director Gurinder Chadha too has joined the bandwagon. After hits like Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, her next, Partition 1947 (also known as Viceroy's House for English speaking audiences), is also a film on the bloody topic in Indian history. However, she calls it to be different than the others.
"It is a political story and a love story. The film will uncover the real conspiracy behind partition. The film in no way is highlighting negativity but the agendas of different leaders—Jinnah, Gandhi and Nehru—on the future of India. I feel that the different people have a certain opinion about what happened during partition. But that is different from what actually happened and I feel the film will be able to change those opinions. Our film starts with 'history is written by the victors'. I have challenged the British history,” says Chadha.
The film star cast includes a blend of actors from India, Britain and America. From India, actor Huma Qureshi will be seen in a prominent role of a translator in the film, who is in love with a Hindu-Punjabi guy.
Director Gurinder Chadha with Huma Qureshi
Bollywood actor Huma Qureshi, when asked to share her experience of working in her first Hollywood project, she called working with Gurinder Chadha a privilege. She also clarified that the story was about life and hope.
“It is a story about the impact of partition on common people. The film speaks about the various aspects of partition. A lot of new information through documents has been uncovered that talk about the real conspiracy behind the partition which all of us should know because it is a very important part of our history. It is also a story about how common people are affected by a political decision,” says Huma.
Chadha extensively researched for the film and had spent seven years on it. She also referred to 25 books on the subject to get her facts right. She also met professors, ordinary people who suffered as well as experts who had written on partition. But things changed after she met Prince Charles as he introduced her to a book that unveiled the true story on how Lord Mountbatten was used by the British establishment.
“When I started making the film and writing the script, I had the book 'Freedom At Midnight' and initially, our script relied on it. Two years after, we were still researching, I met Prince Charles at a reception and told him that I am writing a movie on your favourite uncle, Lord Mountbatten. He said, that's good and introduced me to Narender Singh Sarila’s book The Shadow Of The Great Game. He told me to read it as the book showed how his uncle was set up by the British establishment. I was quite shocked to hear that. Later I met Narender ji and asked him questions about his research,” says Chadha.
Besides texts, Chadha also made sure to showcase Mountbatten's character as he was at that time. For this, she also took help from her family members from defence forces who introduced her to key linkages who worked with Lord Mountbatten.
“My family members in Delhi are from Army and Navy background. My uncle introduced me to lots of people. Another friend of his worked with Lord Mountbatten at that time, I got introduced to him. He briefed me about the life of Mountbatten that was quite useful to me to portray the smallest details in the film.”
The film also stars veteran actor Puri playing the role of Huma's father and a freedom fighter. Describing her experience of working with Om Puri, Chadha says, “He was a jovial man who used to have a lot of fun on the sets of the film. I remember, when I sent the script of the film to Om Puri ji, he was were excited to do the film. He told me that he worked in Gandhi 37 years ago and that was the start of his career. At that time, he could not have imagined a day would come when a Punjabi girl who would make a film on partition and he would get a chance to be in it,” she says.
Partition 1947 will release on August 18.