Viceroy's House

Synopsis

When India was finally granted its independence from British rule in 1947, it was a country divided by sectarian violence. As part of the new era, partition was introduced – breaking the country along religious lines and leaving thousands of people displaced. Overseeing the upheaval was Lord Mountbatten, the final British viceroy after 300 years of British command over India. Negotiations for the transition took place in the Viceroy’s house, a fine mansion serviced by a 500-strong staff made up of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs where Mountbatten lived and met with key political influencers. British director Gurinder Chadha, whose own family was forced to flee India as a result of partition, focuses on the house as a microcosmic symbol of Indian society and its concerns during this turbulent period.