Directed by Gurinder Chadha, film stars Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Sir Michael Gambon, Om Puri and others.
Director of Bend It Like Beckham Gurinder Chadha is all geared up for her upcoming period movie on Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Mahatma Gandi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
According to Mumbai Mirror, the English director of Sikh Indian origin kicked off an eight-week schedule of the film titled Viceroy's House in Jodhpur, India.
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In the film, Denzil Smith will play Jinnah; Neeraj Kabi will portray Gandhi and Tanveer Ghani will play Nehru.
British actor Hugh Bonneville, best known for his performances in Downton Abbey and Paddington, will play Mountbatten, while X Files detective Gillian Anderson as Lady Mountbatten. Lily Travers of Kingsman fame will play their daughter, Pamela.
Sir Michael Gambon, seen as Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series, and Simon Callow known for his roles in A Room With A View and Four Weddings And A Funeral have been cast as civil servants.
From left: Tanveer Ghani, Denzil and Neeraj KabiThe film, co-produced by Anil Ambani, also features Om Puri in a prominent role of a blind freedom fighter.
Speaking of his role, Puri was quoted as saying, "I'm Noor, a progressive character from those tumultuous times. He's a freedom fighter who, when in jail, develops a cataract and goes blind. Partition forced choices on people and when Noor's daughter (played by Huma Qureshi), wants to go to Pakistan, he reluctantly agrees."
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Their journey to Pakistan is horrific as every single person in the train is butchered but Noor manages to push his daughter off.
Om Puri plays a prominent role of a blind freedom fighter.The veteran actor reveals that Gurinder, who is also a dear friend of his, had offered him a role in Bend It Like Beckham as well.
"I wasn't able to do that but this is a sensitive script and I immediately came on board," he said.
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"Nehru, Jinnah and Sardar Patel are all being played by 'lookalike' Englishmen, with lots of prosthetic," says the actor, who still has eight days of shooting left.
Rashtrapati Bhavan formerly known as Viceroy's House in Delhi, India.The title of the movie is based on the home of the British rulers in Delhi. In 1947, for six months, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, lived upstairs with his wife and daughter. Below, 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants took up residence.
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