Viceroy’s House, directed by Gurinder Chadha is releasing nationwide on 3rd March 2017 and stars Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Huma Qureshi and Manish Dayal. The film tells the true story of the final months of British rule in India and its release will coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the Independence of India and the founding of Pakistan.
The film is accompanied by a beautiful and moving score, composed by Oscar and Grammy winning maestro A.R. Rahman. Speaking in a recent interview, Rahman references Viceroy’s House:
“Gurinder’s expectation was to have something very classic, very rooted and at the same time universal. I’ve used the sarangi, a strings and brass orchestra, a lot of flute — mainly classical instruments.”
The official soundtrack for Viceroy’s House coincides its release with the film and will be available to buy on all digital outlets on Friday 3rd March. The album features a new version of the classic ‘Duma Dum’, sung by Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans, who also features with a performance of the song in one of the film’s stand out scenes.
The film stars Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington) as Lord Mountbatten; Gillian Anderson (The X Files, The Fall) as his wife, Lady Mountbatten; Lily Travers (Kingsman) as their daughter, Pamela; and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, Quartet) and Simon Callow (A Room With A View, Four Weddings and a Funeral) as key civil servants. As well as Manish Dayal (The Hundred Foot Journey), Huma Qureshi (Gangs of Wasseypur) and Om Puri (The Hundred Foot Journey, East Is East). The roles of the principal political leaders are played by Tanveer Ghani (Nehru), Denzil Smith (Jinnah) and Neeraj Kabi (Gandhi).
Plot:
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, great grandson of Queen Victoria, assumed the post of the last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people.
The film’s story unfolds within that great House. Upstairs lived Mountbatten together with his wife and daughter; 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 examines these events through the prism of a marriage – that of Dickie and Edwina Mountbatten – and a romance – that between a young Hindu servant, Jeet, and his intended Muslim bride, Aalia. 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 a film that is both epic and intimate, with an inspirational message that celebrates tolerance. Many of the events depicted are either unknown or forgotten, but all have strong contemporary relevance in terms of lessons to be learnt concerning the politics of division and fear, the origins of religious extremism, and our moral responsibility towards migrants fleeing violence for a better life.
We hear at BollySpice loved the film giving it 4 stars! Be sure to check out our review!
