The end of an empire. The birth of two nations.
Viceroy's House in Delhi was the home of the British rulers of India. After 300 years, that rule was coming to an end. For 6 months in 1947, Lord Mountbatten, great grandson of Queen Victoria, assumed the post of the last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people. The film's story unfolds within that great house. Upstairs lived Mountbatten together with his wife and daughter; downstairs lived their 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants. As the political elite - Nehru, Jinnah and Gandhi - converged on the House to wrangle over the birth of independent India, conflict erupted. A decision was taken to divide the country and create a new Muslim homeland: Pakistan. It was a decision whose consequences reverberate to this day.
"This is easily Chadha's most ambitious film to date, and her best in a long time." - Guardian
"A vivid and coherent account of an impossibly complex period of Indian history which is driven by fine performances by Dayal, Bonneville and, particularly, Anderson." - Screen International
"The most profound accomplishment of this haunting film is Chadha's ability to manage the multi-protagonist elements and the multi-layered story, forging a cohesive and satisfying epic." - Urban Cinefile