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British Punjabi director Gurinder Chadha explores the 1947 partition of India from myriad perspectives in the lustrous period drama Viceroy’s House.
This chocolate box of historical fact and forbidden romance, a la Romeo And Juliet, aims for a similar collision of upstairs downstairs affairs of the heart as Robert Altman’s film Gosford Park and ITV costume drama Downton Abbey.
Lord Louis Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) arrives in the swelter of 1947 Delhi at the behest of King George VI to replace Archie Wavell (Simon Williams) as viceroy of India and oversee the transfer of power.
Lady Edwina Mountbatten (Gillian Anderson) and daughter Pamela (Lily Travers) also make the journey in the face of shocking reports about sectarian violence.
Louis and chief of staff Lord Ismay (Michael Gambon) host the political elite including Jawaharlal Nehru (Tanveer Ghani), Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Denzil Smith) and Mahatma Gandhi (Neeraj Gabi) to debate the way forward and end the bloodshed.
In the absence of compromise, barrister Sir Cyril Radcliffe (Simon Callow) arrives to decide geographic borders that will define Pakistan.
Meanwhile, romance blossoms between two members of the household Hindu servant Jeet (Manish Dayal) and Muslim sweetheart Aalia (Huma Qureshi) - who will be torn apart if partition goes ahead.