Set New Dehli in March 1947 . Too weak from World War II to continue enforcing its will in India, Britain finally grants India's independence . There arrives Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) to reside at the enormous and stately Viceroy's Palace . Its five hundred employees are busy preparing the coming of Lord Louis Mountbatten, and it is like a beehive . Mountbatten, whose complicated assignment consists of controlling the transition of British India to independence, comes at the Palace, accompanied by his wife (Gillian Anderson) and daughter (Lily Travers) . He meets prominent Indian figures of the day who fought for Indian independence from the British, such as Jawaharlal Nehru , Sardar Vallabhai Patel , Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Gandhi , despite some within that group believing Gandhi's methods ineffective . Religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims erupt into nation-wide violence . Meanwhile , in the staff quarters, a romance is born between Jeet Kumar (Manish Dayal) , a Hindu, and Aalia (Huma Qureshi) , a Muslim beauty , daughter of a blind old man , Ali Rahim Noor (Om Puri, his last films before his death in January 2017) . Things go wrong when confrontation , war , and violent events take place . The end of an empire. The birth of two nations. It's 1947 and British colonial rule in India is coming to an end.

It's an enjoyable historical drama story , adding fictional personal happenings , where the protagonist Hugh Bonneville , who looked so much like Mountbatten , is awesome , dealing with the final Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten who has just been appointed new and last viceroy of India by prime minister Clement Attlee who defeated in previous Great Britain elections to Winston Churchill . Being based broadly on real historical facts , including famous roles with biographic elements and romantic dramatic incidents . Splendid biopic about Mountbatten tasked with overseeing the transition of British India to independence, being an issue extremely complex and not to say very hard , both on the personal and geopolitical level . Things will prove difficult when he finds with a real conflict in which different sides clash in the face of monumental change . This exciting , overproduced and immortal story is plenty of emotion , history and some frames in documentary style . It is an epic and moving tale , as the starring fights and deals with violent forces , taking on the risks to survive in a world surrounded by political confrontation , hatred , racism and intolerance . The script relies heavily on the Mountbatten life in India but it doesn't make boring . There appears historical characters as the Indu leader Pandit Nehru , Muslim leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah , and , of course , Gandhi the lawyer who became the prestigious leader of the Indian revolts against the British through his philosophy of non-violence and he carried out the 'salt march' , he subsequently declared a hunger strike, saying he will not eat until the fighting stop . Hugh Bonneville gives a very good acting , along with Gillian Anderson as Edwina, his liberal-minded wife and their eighteen-year-old daughter Pamela , well played by Lily Travers . Support cast is frankly excellent , such as : Michael Gambon as Lord Lionel 'Pug' Ismay , Om Puri , David Hayman , Simon Callow , Denzil Smith as Muhammad Ali Jinna , Neeraj Kabi as Mahatma Gandhi and Tanveer Ghani as Jawaharlal Nehru . Lush cinematography woven into a rich and exotic tapestry from Ben Smithard . Sensitive score by Rahman, including musical sounds with Hindu motives . The picture was stunningly directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham , Bride & Prejudice , What's Cooking? , Blinded by the light , It's a wonderful afterlife) .

The motion picture was correctly based on historic events , these are the following ones : The fighting does stop eventually, but the country is divided . The actual division between the two new dominions was done according to what has come to be known as the 3 June Plan or Mountbatten Plan . The border between India and Pakistan was determined by a British Government-commissioned report usually referred to as the Radcliffe Line after the London lawyer, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who wrote it. During 1947, after 350 years of occupying India, the British decide to leave, but not before separating Islamic Pakistan and secular India. Millions of Muslims crossed from India to Pakistan, while an equal number of Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians crossed over from the other side .Pakistan came into being with two non-contiguous enclaves, East Pakistan (today Bangladesh) and West Pakistan, separated geographically by India. India was formed out of the majority Hindu regions of the colony, and Pakistan from the majority Muslim areas. Countries of Modern Indian sub-continent . On 18 July 1947, the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act that finalized the partition arrangement. The newly formed governments were completely unequipped to deal with migrations of such staggering magnitude, and massive violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the border. Estimates of the number of deaths range around roughly 500,000, with low estimates at 200,000 and high estimates 1.000.000. Gandhi spent his last days trying to bring about peace between both nations. He thereby angers many dissidents on both sides, one of whom finally gets close enough to assassinate him.

I thoroughly enjoy the historical fiction genre, and feel that this is an accomplishment. The story it tells, the partition of India and Pakistan as England grants freedom, is quite compelling. The acting from the whole cast is fantastic, there are heartwarming moments, but mostly great sadness. I didn't know about this event until watching this moment and was seized by the grand scale of displacement and fracturing. It's quite unbelievable, that such a plan would be executed at the deficit of all these people for the sake of politicians. Also a wonderful touch that the film was directed by the descendent of one such displaced family.

The film is beautifully acted and a good sub-plot revolving around staff in the viceroy's house.

However, the central conceit of the movie is complete rubbish (plot spoiler averted)...The film, unwittingly or deliberately, robs the Indians and Pakistanis of any agency in their own fate when, in fact, I-Congress and Jinnah made nearly all the running on what happened at partition. The potential for terrible violence between the two main religious communities was always present in India and not a cunning ruse by the imperial government or the Mughals before them. Less painful to blame third parties...

Anyway, the history aside this is a very well put together movie. It would have got 9 stars if it had not played so fast and loose with the truth, which matters if we are to deal with the hurts of the world.