Words by Kendall Clarke
Viceroy’s House, starring Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson, is a heart-warming political drama that tells the story of India gaining independence from Britain back in 1947. The film’s Director, Gurinder Chadha, beautifully depicts the period thWords by Kendall Clarkerough filming the majority of the movie in the Viceroy’s lavish house in Delhi.
Lord Mountbatten (played by Bonneville), was the last Viceroy of India, posted to Delhi to oversee a peaceful transition of power from Britain back to India. Many meetings were held at the Viceroy House and often conversations were overheard by any of his 300+ servants, who then found themselves in the middle of a political upheaval. In the house, Mountbatten and his highly politically motivated and outspoken wife Lady Edwina (played by Anderson), deliberated over plans for India’s destiny with high-ranking politicians and dignitaries. A resolution needed to be reached on how power would be transitioned, taking into consideration India’s complex religious diversity. Meanwhile, tensions were rising throughout India’s three religious groups (Hindu, Sikh and Muslim), and Mountbatten had to act quickly and rationally to achieve the most peaceful outcome.
After much consideration, it was decided that borders needed to be changed to create a new India (for Hindu and Sikhs), and the birth of a new nation, namely Pakistan (for the Muslim population). Resulting from the partition of India, its citizens had to declare their allegiance to either India or Pakistan.
Back in the Viceroy House, amongst the house servants, an unlikely union was forming between Jeet (a Hindu male servant), and Alia (a Muslim girl who had been promised to another man). With partition taking place Alia pledged her allegiance to Pakistan and was resisting the temptation of being with Jeet. Their relationship was symbolic of the religious divide, however in the end, love conquered these barriers.
Viceroy’s House is not only a confronting reminder of what India endured during the start of the partition era, but is also a heart-warming tale of how love overcomes all obstacles.
Viceroy’s House will screen during the 2017 Senior’s Film Festival (‘Young at Heart’), on Monday 3 April at Palace Nova Cinemas.
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