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Gurinder's grandmother, seen above, lost one of her daughters during the Partition of Punjab.

Film/Stage

Gurinder Kaur Chadha‘s Latest Film ‘Viceroy's House’:
Inspired By Family Experience Of Partition Of Punjab And India

NINA NANNAR

 

 

 





Sikh-Briton director Gurinder Kaur Chadha's latest film is one of her most personal yet.

Viceroy's House is set during the Partition in 1947, when Punjab and the rest of the subcontinent were divided to create India and Pakistan.

Fourteen million people were forced to leave their homes, including Gurinder's grandmother, aunties and uncles, who were all refugees.

The film was inspired by the events Gurinder's family went through leading up to the Partition.

She said making the film was one of the most emotional experiences of her life.

“I had to make a film about what happened in 1947 and how it effected generations since and also for my children who know nothing about what happened. Making Viceroy's House was one of the most emotional experiences of my life.”

On August 15, 1947, the subcontinent, hitherto occupied by the British, was partitioned into the new states of India and Pakistan, resulting in widespread violence.

The film tells the story of the final six months of British Rule which had lasted 300 years.

It follows life in the Viceroy's House - the home of the British rulers of India.

Downton Abbey
star Hugh Bonnerville, who plays the last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten in the film, said he was honoured to tell the story alongside Gurinder.

He said: "I think this film could have only really been made by her. It is very much her story, her family's story or the roots of her family.

"She is a [Sikh-Briton] director, having made some glorious comedies and films with a great lens of British, Asian culture on them.

"It's a deeply personal story for her and it was a very great honour to try and tell that story with her."

The film, which is released next month, will coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the Partition of Punjab and the subcontinent and the creation of Pakistan and India.


[Courtesy: ITV News. Edited for sikhchic.com]
February 24, 2017
 

Conversation about this article

1: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), February 24, 2017, 5:30 PM.

Guru Nanak, the greatest Director ever, scripted in just one line, addressing God Himself: "aytee maar pa-ee karlaanay tain kee darad na aa-i-aa" [GGS:360] - "So much slaughter, so much agony; did You not feel any pain?"

2: Ravinder Singh (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), February 25, 2017, 12:23 AM.

I guess behind the scenes, Guru Nanak, the Director, wanted to fulfill another of His blessings to his people: "Ujarrh jao" (Be uprooted and scatter!) ... and go to the corners of the earth to spread the love and values that have been given. It's now for the eyes of the beholder how they see us, but the onus is first on us to display ourselves as role models. Although I write these lines, I for sure have a lot of work to do on myself and hence would desist from citing the original gurbani quote which when translated means, "Beware of great talkers but pathetic practitioners, in the mind who are pitch dark and on the outside snow white." As a first step, I won't wear the white turban again until I'm worthy of it.

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