Opened: March 3, 2017

Directed by: Gurinder Chadha

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi, David Hayman & Michael Gambon

Some of history’s most tense moments have been overshadowed, but this brings to light the discord of when a portion of India separated to become Pakistan.

In 1947, Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife Edwina (Gillian Anderson) arrived in Delhi to ease the separation of the British Raj, making India an independent nation. When India and Pakistan became areas based on religion, loved ones were torn apart.

This was a story that I was unaware of and the film tells it brilliantly. Unfortunately, sometimes it tells too much instead of just letting the viewers watch for themselves. Bonneville’s Mountbatten will often be telling the history while images of the Indian people are being shown.

The love story between Jeet (Manish Dayal) and Aalia (Huma Qureshi) is a heartbreaking one. Though sometimes switching between the history and the romance is a bit jarring.

Final say: Important history lesson to be learned. ★★★☆☆