Louis Mountbatten is appointed Viceroy of India to shepherd through India's independence: he will be the last Viceroy after 300 years of British government. However, the Muslim population of India wants the simultaneous creation of Pakistan, splitting India, and Mountbatten hasn't been told everything agreed by the British establishment prior to his appointment. Meanwhile, a young Hindu man in the Viceroy's household loves a young Muslim woman...
This film tells two stories simultaneously: the story of independence and the accompanying partition of India, and the rather soapy accompanying romance of Jeet and Aalia. I assume that they are fictitious in the manner of Titanic's Jack and Rose, sympathetic characters to hang your audience identification on, so as to give the events more impact.
The film is nicely presented, with production value on display all over the place. OK, so perhaps the crowd scenes aren't quite as extensive as they were in Gandhi, but the location work and set design is still very impressive.
And we have a quality cast, too, with Hugh Bonneville looking and sounding nothing like Mountbatten, but providing a pleasing screen presence. Gillian Anderson as his wife gets much closer to the accent one expects. And the rest of the cast is solid, too - first division, reliable English thesps, with some names among the Indian cast members who are recognisable to Western filmgoers.
It is interesting, especially if you are not well-informed about this period in Indian (and British) history, and very slickly put on screen, but it is just the tiniest bit dull. The romance sub-plot does hold the interest but if, as I suggest it may be, it is fictitious, that perhaps reduces the credibility of the film as a whole.
I'm glad I watched this, but I don't anticipate watching it again.
This film tells two stories simultaneously: the story of independence and the accompanying partition of India, and the rather soapy accompanying romance of Jeet and Aalia. I assume that they are fictitious in the manner of Titanic's Jack and Rose, sympathetic characters to hang your audience identification on, so as to give the events more impact.
The film is nicely presented, with production value on display all over the place. OK, so perhaps the crowd scenes aren't quite as extensive as they were in Gandhi, but the location work and set design is still very impressive.
And we have a quality cast, too, with Hugh Bonneville looking and sounding nothing like Mountbatten, but providing a pleasing screen presence. Gillian Anderson as his wife gets much closer to the accent one expects. And the rest of the cast is solid, too - first division, reliable English thesps, with some names among the Indian cast members who are recognisable to Western filmgoers.
It is interesting, especially if you are not well-informed about this period in Indian (and British) history, and very slickly put on screen, but it is just the tiniest bit dull. The romance sub-plot does hold the interest but if, as I suggest it may be, it is fictitious, that perhaps reduces the credibility of the film as a whole.
I'm glad I watched this, but I don't anticipate watching it again.