Director Nikhil Advani skillfully captures the political turmoil of the time, which ideally should have been the celebration of free India but ended as a harrowing experience with the religious conflicts.
Freedom At Midnight (Hindi), 14-11-2024, Historical drama ,7 episodes, 13+, OTT
- Main Cast: Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra, Rajendra Chawla, Luke McGibney, Cordelia Bugeja, Arif Zakaria, Ira Dubey, Malishka Mendonsa, and Rajesh Kumar
- Director: Nikhil Advani
- Producer: Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani
- Music Director: Ashutosh Patak
- Cinematography: Malay Prakash
- Rating: 4/5
Starting from Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Salaam- E- Ishq (2007) director and producer Nikhil Advani has had a fascinating career so far.
He has dabbled in various genres whether it is the action dramas Batla House (2019) and D-Day (2013) or the two seasons of Mumbai Diaries— a medical thriller.
This year Nikhil further proved his versatility with the movie Vedaa—a gritty social drama with hardcore action.
Synopsis
The web series Freedom At Midnight, streaming on Sony Liv, though has to be the biggest risk taken by the director. Given the complexity of the events and also the probability of being accused of aligning to a particular political spectrum.
The series is based on the book “Freedom at Midnight” by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins.
Fortunately, Nikhil has passed the test with flying colours. He has succeeded in not only making a gripping series but at no point does the show take sides blaming a particular person or party. Instead, it places the viewers amidst the powerful leaders who have fought for India’s independence letting the audiences make their own judgments.
At the heart of Freedom At Midnight are the complex political scenarios represented by the numerous leaders. The main ones are Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (Sidhant Gupta), Sardar Vallabhai Patel (Rajendra Chawla), Mahatma Gandhi (Chirag Vohra), Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Arif Zakaria) and Lord Louis Mountbatten (Luke Mc Gibney).
Through the seven episodes, Nikhil Advani along with writers Gundeep Kaur, Ethan Taylor, Divy Nidhi Sharma, and Revantha Sarabai, gives a strong insight into the political machinations and the numerous differences of opinions leading to clashes.
Analysis
As already mentioned, Freedom At Midnight doesn’t take sides at any point, instead, it presents the viewers with various perspectives.
Whether it is Gandhiji’s unwavering idealism in spite of the clash of opinions between Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel, or Jinnah’s uncompromising attitude on wanting Pakistan among others.
The series presents the leaders with their flaws, fears and contradictions. The best examples of this are the portions involving Jinnah’s calculated decisions or Nehru’s quiet torment.
The scenes of religious discord leading to incidents of communal violence give the show some of its best emotional scenes. Although these scenes are set in a particular time period, there is contemporariness to them, as religious discord, is still a major issue in the present time.
Technical brilliance
Freedom At Midnight immerses the viewers from the first frame and a major reason for this is Malay Prakash’s cinematography.
The close-up shots of the emotional upheavals faced by Nehru, and Gandhi in particular transports the viewers into those turbulent times making them feel that they are watching the happenings from up close.
Both the cinematography and the production design are the main pillars of this web show.
Talking about the production design, the scenes of the Viceroy’s house along with the portions showcasing the riot-torn neighbourhoods serve as a perfect masterclass in creating an authentic world in an era where VFX is dominating mainstream cinema.
Ashutosh Patak’s music is equally poignant enhancing the series’ emotional scenes significantly. There is a haunting quality to the tunes in perfect sync with the nature of the show.
Performances
Sidhant Gupta as Nehru in ‘Freedom At Midnight’. (X)
The performances of the entire cast are brilliant starting from Sidhant Gupta. The young actor successfully takes off from his fantastic performance in Jubilee (2023).
As Jawaharlal Nehru, he perfectly portrays the inner conflicts of a leader who is torn between his ideals and the grim pragmatism that was the need of the hour, his scenes with Chirag Vohra’s Gandhi in particular are very impressive.
The scenes of the unfortunate discord and how he portrays a quiet resolve are truly brilliant.
Arif Zakaria is also terrific making sure that Mohammad Ali Jinnah never becomes a caricature. He portrays him as a complex personality with shades of frailty, ambition and conviction.
Jinnah is someone who is both formidable and tragically flawed. Both the writing and Arif Zakaria’s performance bring out these nuances wonderfully.
Chirag Vohra as Gandhi plays his part with lots of grace. His performance particularly in the scenes of anguish is praiseworthy.
Rajendra Chawla as Sardar Patel portrays both the grit and the gentleness of the leader in a perfect manner. Special mention must also be made of Rajesh Kumar playing Liaquat Ali Khan. The actor makes for a perfect partner in crime for Jinnah.
The women characters though needed better etching. Both Ira Dubey’s Fatima and also the actress playing Lady Mountbatten are introduced with great promise but end up mostly relegated to the background.
Final take
Keeping aside this small niggle, Freedom At Midnight is a moving emotional tale of how freedom came at a heavy price.
(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
