Aug 21, 2017
Filmmaker Gurinder Chadhas "Partition:
1947" -- the Hindi version of period drama "Viceroy's House" -- has
been banned from releasing in Pakistan, reportedly over
"misrepresentation" of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The director says it's
unfortunate.
"It is unfortunate my film has been banned in Pakistan. It will always
be the land of my ancestors. ‘Partition: 1947'," Chadha posted on
Twitter on August 20.
"Partition: 1947" was released internationally as "Viceroy's House".
For the film, the British film director of Sikh origin, whose mother
grew up in Rawalpindi, went back to trace her roots and document events
that led to India's Partition.
The film narrates the story of the trauma that people went through due
to the division, and how it changed their lives. Featuring Hugh
Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Huma Qureshi and Manish Dayal, the movie
released in India on August 18.
According to The Express Tribune, the Sindh Film Censor Board deemed it
unsuitable, stating that "the political narrative contradicts the
national interest of Pakistan".
The Board's secretary Abdul Razzaq Khuhawar said: "It's a historical
film and nothing negative is shown against Pakistan. The main reason
for banning it was the misrepresentation of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah.
"We felt his character was not portrayed correctly and it felt strange.
Although the character only appears in a few scenes as the film mostly
revolves around Lord Mountbatten, the actor didn't look like Jinnah at
all. If you had seen it, you couldn't tell it was Jinnah. Otherwise,
there were no issues with the film."