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Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy [1986]
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The Panorama and Tragedy of India's Partition
Review date: 2005-10-16 Rating: 10 out of 10
Mountbatten was described by a historian as man whose
"immense vanity and hunger for publicity and power, coupled
with his vaulting ambition and propensity for realigning the
truth were narrowly outweighed by his colossal energy and charm". All of this is portrayed brilliantly by Nicole Williamson in this superb production about Mountbatten's terms as last Viceroy of India as well as its first Governor-General.
However, this series does not only focus on Mountbatten but shows the political and religious forces at work that brought about both India's independence, but also the savage violence that accompanied the partition of the sub-continent and the legacy of hate and religious fanaticism that now threaten not only the successor states, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but possibly the entire world due to their nuclear arsenals.
The series also features excellent performances by Janet Suzman as Lady Edwina Mountbatten who was one of the great "do-gooders" of history, Vladek Sheybal as the enigmatic,iron-willed, tubercular Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and especially Sam Dastor as Gandhi whose portrayal of him is far superior to that of Ben Kingsley in the film "Gandhi".
One drawback of the series is that it is based heavily on the memoirs of Mountbatten and his assistant Alan Campbell-Johnson who were clearly biased against Jinnah and fans of Nehru and Gandhi, blaming the partition of India solely on Jinnah's "stubborness". Other historians have a more nuanced view of the Indian leaders pointing out that Jinnah did accept the idea of a united India under a loose Federal system and that it was Nehru and Gandhi's Congress Party that rejected it giving Jinnah no alternative but to seek total separation for India's Muslims. Similarly, Jinnah is portrayed as responsible for the war in Kashmir, whereas according to the rules that defined the partition, the majority religious group should have been able to choose which successor state they associated with, but Kashmir's majority Muslims were never given this opportunity becuase Nehru, being a Kashmiri himself, was insistent on taking Kashmir for India.
None of this detracts, however, from the sheer pleasure of seeing this vast panorama portrayed on the television screen.
All people interested in history, great events and great personalities will find this series of great interest.
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Sam Dastor
Nicol Williamson
Ian Richardson
Creators:
Ian Richardson (Primary Contributor)
Nicol Williamson (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Acorn Media
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
EAN: 5036193094170
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2005-08-08
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Running time: 293 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1986
Language: English (Original Language)