Next year marks the 70th anniversary of India’s independence and the creation of Pakistan. It only seems fitting that there’s going to be a movie released detailing the events leading up to that historic event, and “Viceroy’s House” will do just that, taking viewers into the days leading up to India’s independence through the eyes of the last Viceroy during British rule.
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“Downton Abbey” star Hugh Bonneville leads as Lord Mountbatten, who is given the task as the last Viceroy in India. He has to prepare to hand the land back to the Indian people, and in the process of doing so a conflict arises leading to the creation of Pakistan. Joining him is his wife, played by Gillian Anderson, as they both navigate through the contentious political and religious disagreements. Here’s the official synopsis:
Viceroy’s House in Delhi was the home of the British rulers of India. After 300 years, that rule was coming to an end. For 6 months in 1947, Lord Mountbatten (played by Hugh Bonneville), great grandson of Queen Victoria, assumed the post of the last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people.
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The film’s story unfolds within that great House. Upstairs lived Mountbatten together with his wife (Gillian Anderson) and daughter (Lily Travers); downstairs lived their 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants. As the political elite – Nehru, Jinnah and Gandhi – converged on the House to wrangle over the birth of independent India, conflict erupted. A decision was taken to divide the country and create a new Muslim homeland: Pakistan. It was a decision whose consequences reverberate to this day.
The film is deeply personal to the director Gurinder Chadha, whose own family was caught up in the tragic events that unfolded as British rule came to an end. Her film examines those events through the prism of a marriage – that of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten – and a romance – that between a young Hindu servant, Jeet (Manish Dayal), and his intended Muslim bride, Aalia (Huma Qureshi). The young lovers find themselves caught up in the seismic end of Empire, in conflict with the Mountbattens and with their own communities, but never ever giving up hope…
“Viceroy’s House” is directed by Gurinder Chadha, known for “Bend It Like Beckham.,” who has a deeply personal attachment to the story, as her own family was affected by the events in 1947.
“Viceroy’s House” opens on March 3, 2017 in the U.K., but no word yet on a stateside date.
