Jinnah
Tags: psychedelic, historical

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with the words of Professor Stanley Wolpert:
The film begins with the events surrounding the death of Jinnah. On 11 September 1948, the ailing Jinnah's plane lands at Karachi Airport from Quetta where he was retreating at higher altitude in Ziarat. Jinnah's deteriorating health had led doctors to urge him to go to Karachi. On his way to Governor House Jinnah's ambulance breaks down with engine failure, where fate leaves the dying Quaid of Pakistan in a state of confusion.
The film then cuts to a heavenly place where Jinnah is awaiting the final judgement on his deeds, where it is found that the celestial bureaucrats in charge have misplaced Jinnah's life-file and the whole heavenly computer network is down. With nothing but time on his hands, Jinnah has to answer the questions of his life asked by the heaven guide or Narrator (Shashi Kapoor) in order to decide where Jinnah should be sent, to Heaven or Hell.
The guide takes Jinnah to 1947 where, at the Simla conference with Lord Mountbatten, Jinnah demanded a homeland for British Indian Muslims. After World War II, the British Imperial Government intends to withdraw grant independence to the subcontinent. This would mean a Hindu-dominated state. Religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims that were already increasing further erupt into violence throughout the subcontinent, leading to the idea of the partition and dissolution of British India. Jinnah's sister Fatima Jinnah starts to campaign for Muslims and is arrested by an Indian Imperial Police officer for inciting Muslims. In a meeting with Mountbatten, Mohandas Gandhi(Mahatma Gandhi) proposes making Jinnah the first prime minister of the Union of India in order to avoid the formation of two states instead of one, but Jawaharlal Nehru opposes the idea. Jinnah in any case refuses the offer and says, "Why do you want to force reluctant partners into a marriage?" He argues that by encouraging the Muslims to live in a separate country, violence will abate.
Flashbacks resume when the Guide recounts the marital life of Jinnah, when he fell in love and married a Parsi named Rattanbai Petit, later known as Maryam Jinnah, against the will of her parents, mainly on grounds of religion. In 1922, Jinnah faces political isolation as he devoted every spare moment to be the voice of moderation in a nation torn by Hindu-Muslim antipathy. This created tension between Rattan and Jinnah. She finally leaves him with their daughter in September 1922, and they eventually separate in 1927. Ratti died of cancer on 18 February 1929. The death of Ratti had a huge impact on Jinnah's life. Allama Iqbal writes to Jinnah to run the Muslim League and fight for Pakistan. Initially, Jinnah refuses but accepts after the betrayal of the Indian National Congress. He went to back to British India from the UK in order to start political journey of two nation theory. In 1940, the Muslim League annual conference is held from 22–24 March. Jinnah addresses thousands of Muslims and gives them the assurance of the birth of Pakistan.
Guide questions Jinnah as to who he loves the most apart from Ratti and Fatima. He then remembers his daughter who married a Parsi boy without his permission.
While addressing a Muslim League conference in 1947, rebel Indian Muslims who were not in the favor of Pakistan attack the conference, arguing that if Pakistan is to be a Muslim state it cannot give equal rights to women and non-Muslims. However, the independence of Pakistan was carried out and Guide and Jinnah saw the massacre of Muslims in migration done by Hindus and Sikhs. Jinnah is sworn in as the first Governor-General of Pakistan and announces Liaqat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.
After independence and the end of British rule, Pakistan stands as a new nation and sanctuary for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Jinnah is given the title of Quaid-e-Azam of Pakistan. Jinnah waits for the first train carrying Muslims who left India for Pakistan, but when the train arrives, they are all found dead save for one infant child. Fatimah and Lady Edwina Mountbatten visit refugees and Iris learns the importance of independence. Mountbatten betrays Jinnah as the Hindu Maharaja, Sir Hari Singh, stalls his decision on which nation to join. With the population in revolt in October 1947, aided by Pakistani irregulars, the Maharaja accedes to India; Indian troops are airlifted in. Jinnah objects to this action, and orders that Pakistani troops move into Kashmir. This leads to a war between India and Pakistan then and afterward from time to time in the Kashmir conflict.
The film jumps into a final fictional scene of Lord Louis Mountbatten (last Viceroy of British India) in a Heavenly Court. Jinnah is fighting a case against him over his betrayal. The film ends with Jinnah and his angel judge traveling back in time to the scene of Muslim refugees. Jinnah expresses his sorrow over the plight of the refugees and result during the division of Punjab. They chant "Pakistan Zindabad" and "Quid-e-Azam Zindabad" in response which ends the film.

Review: Christopher Lee's excellent performance goes a long way towards making Jinnah a sympathetic character despite the controversial decisions he takes; I would say that this is some of his finest acting and I found the final scenes very moving indeed.The flashback technique works well most of the time, although it's not always clear where some scenes are set (England, India, Pakistan or the imagination).
and that was a start of my education on the subcontinent and its politicians that created India nd Pakistan today....i find the movie Jinnah simply fantastic.
and even though i was not very well versed with the history of Pakistan, (in fact i wasn't even sure where Pakistan was exactly before seeing this movie), what i found was a series of reports by great biographers and historians, who have instead of being factual have decided to be emotional to the point of being ridiculously biased.
Mountbatten is quoted as saying about Jinnah; "...That son of a Bit--, could turn you to stone with one look..." sounds like he was scared?but its much easier to praise a movie like "gandhi" whose hero is such a simple case study, perfect in his nature and morals..etc etc...
No one knows the real Jinnah, but many have formed opinions based on 'stories' with no real truth behind them.i read a excerpt from an article written by an Indian author, who wrote that in a rally held in 1930's, Jinnah was giving a speech in English and almost no one in the predominantly Hindi speaking crowd understood what he was saying, but when a British journalist queried a bystander on this he replied; "Its Mohammed Ali Jinnah, we trust him, whatever he says is right"i don't think a man described in an unkind and biased history, as something close to Hitler, would command such respect and admiration from his people.
Best work under wraps - Christopher Lee Christopher Lee may be starring in the forth-coming Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Star Wars: Episode II, but the lack of distribution for his 1998 film Jinnah continues to be a source of frustration for the actor.
Lee who plays the title role of Mohammed Ali Jinnah  who founded the nation of Pakistan in 1947  shot the film on location there over a ten-week period in 1997 amid significant controversy (including attempts to have him arrested and deported).
It has absolutely nothing to do with Fundamentalism," said Lee, adding that the film was not a political movie and had"played in Pakistan for a couple of months to packed houses and there was not one dissenting voice." Lee did hit out at the portrayal of Jinnah in Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning movie Gandhi, however, telling Empire Online: "The presentation of him in the film Gandhi was on the level of distortion.
The film is very good and brings out the best about Jinnah- a leader who sacrificed his home, family and love for his people.
i think apart from certain aspects which can be presented more efficiently, the film is a good presentation of the life of Jinnah.the movie has portrayed the life of a politician who never went to jail during a whole revolution.
over all a good film, some people may disagree with the creation of two nation theory but no body can object the personality of Jinnah as a law abiding and man of principal politician..
Very neutral film, without making Jinnah an angel and Hindu's or British the scapegoat.I only feel sorry for my country men , majority of whom will not be able to understand the story telling technique..
some people objected to a hindu (Shashi Kapoor) playing an angel, some objected that the role of Jinnah was given to an actor who played Dracula, and still others objected to the director, since he is persona non grata in Pakistan, because more than 2 decades ago he made the film that defied martial law regimes and made a monkey out of a certain general (now deceased).
Jinnah the Movie' is tribute to this great personality of the previous century.The film took a long time in making and was surrounded with all sorts of rumors and controversies, but the end product is definitely very impressive.
Christopher Lee gives probably the best performance of his life and Shashi Kapoor deserves special applaud for working in a film that negates many of the India's political beliefs.
A host of actors from Pakistan television have also performed in minor roles although the pick of them is Talat Hussain who shines in his cameo appearance.All in all Jinnah the Movie' is a tribute to the great leader who, though called snobbish and arrogant, was respected by all his contemporaries for his integrity and honesty.
This movie??Compare it to any routine box-office movie,,whether it be some action,thriller,true story or any other,,this movie has got a very very different and a bewitching touch to it with Mr.Jinnah explaining his motives behind everything he did,what a concept,awesome.Just like a live interview,I really appreciate the writer,the director,the whole team for carving out such a splendid concept and the actors/actresses deserve great applause for the work they did.
A must-watch movie for everybody,,go and watch it whether you be a student,a professional,a teacher,a lawyer or even a family-man,you'd get many many lessons for your life to come when you get to see Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's life story on screen,it's what can make you rise and individual and as a nation too..
It is a great character portrayal of a key figure in the history of the Indian subcontinent, and it peels away layers of Jinnah's life in the context of the events that shaped the independence struggle and the partition into India and Pakistan.
Lee, Fox, Kapoor, and Lintern were especially notable.Being from India, I especially appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the life and persona of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who no doubt was among the most important historic figures of the time that shaped the history of the two countries.
I liked the form of the film where Jinnah is challenged and questioned on many of the events in his personal life and on his political ideology.
However, films like Jinnah and also Gandhi to some extent offer a critical glimpse into the human aspects of the leaders of those times and what made them Quaid-e-Azam or Mahatma for the people then and also for the generations that followed..
The Quaid-e-Azam (Muhammed Ali Jinnah) is portrayed as a leader of unwavering integrity and impeccable determination, all set to win a country for the hapless Muslims of the sub-continent.
NO AMOUNT OR REASON AS EXCUSE FOR THE DISTORTION OF HISTORY CAN BE JUSTIFIED.It may be the best acting performance of Christopher Lee, quite in contrast with his earlier dreadful image of Count Dracula and mostly negative roles as villain like in the Bond movie "The Man with The Golden Gun" ....
but, he was, indeed too bulky to portray an aged and skinny Jinnah, as in reality.All said, the movie is respectably poised to exalt the saintly image of an honest and principled leader of the Muslims of the South Asian subcontinent..
The movie follows Muhammad Ali Jinnah through his life, bringing out his sincerity, his suave educated personality, and his passion.
It's not a big budget movie, probably, but then Hollywood doesn't like a Muslim leader --- even when he was in favor of the separation of religion from the state, and unlike Gandhi, disapproved of mixing religion with politics.
Unfortunately, Dehlavi's controversial past would come back to haunt him two decades later during the filming of Jinnah.Dehlavi's contentious choice of making a western Christian—that too someone whose most famous portrayal hitherto had been that of Count Dracula—to portray the part of Muhammad Ali Jinnah didn't go well with the extremist elements in Pakistan.
Christopher Lee considers Jinnah to be the greatest achievement of his long and illustrious career.The cinematic importance of Dehlavi's film can be easily gauged by the fact that till date it has been cinema's first and only major attempt at capturing in essence the philosophies and principles that underlined Muhammad Ali Jinnah's life.
Jinnah being the grand architect behind the partition of British India into two separate states based on religion, a Hindu state and a Muslim state, was hailed as a hero in the newly formed state of Pakistan.
As Mr. Jinnah defends the accusations made against him, the audience is treated to sumptuous vignettes from different junctures in History as the story follows important events in Mr. Jinnah's life (not necessary in a linear fashion): be it his early days as a love- struck lawyer who dotes on a beautiful Parsi girl named Ruttie (whom he eventually married); his later days as the greatest adversary of Mahatma Gandhi; or his brief stint as the 1st Governor General of Pakistan before finally succumbing to tuberculosis.
When the film began, I noticed right away something that surely must have upset many Pakistanis when the film debuted...the man playing Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Father of their country, was played by the very English Christopher Lee!
The man M.A.Jinnah in my opinion wasted and spoiled his life for an incapable , callous corrupt nation nation like Pakistan.Although he was a man who thoroughly believed in what he do , always kept his principles come 1st, what he meant he really do but he failed to forecast what his followers will do to his country for which he made hard efforts to build.
If talking about this film i will say that however this movie may be very good , maybe accurate but if the future a Pakistan is concerned this country now is a failed state and its not gonna last,nobody can save it.
While Pakistanis are right to claim that Jinnah created their nation for them from India, they must also remember that there would be nothing called Pakistan had British India not won her Independence.
If not for Gandhi, India would have taken a few more decades to gain independence and by that time Quaid and his ideas of Partition would have long been dead.I would give an above-average rating of 6 for a relatively bold story telling and good acting, but on the whole it was quite disappointing..
'Jinnah' is probably the best movie to come out of Pakistan.
At best the movie is an attempt to show Jinnah as a man wronged by the Western media, and Gandhi and the others wrongly depicted as martyrs.
It's a great movie but if you really want to know about Muhammad Ali Jinnah read a decent history book (perfiberabally not one from USA or India) and the guy who commented about the killings in East Pakistan should also consider Abrahim Lincoln's USA when he killed millions of people to win his civil war.
The movie has a bazaar theme that Jinnah after his death journeys in time with an angel to review events in his life as well as other's lives.
Mr. Dehalvi should know better that what has happened in Pakistan since its inception is also what Gandhi, Nehru and various British officials forewarned about and thought exactly why Pakistan should not be created.From acting point of view, Richard Lintern portrays young Jinnah vibrantly well but Christopher Lee some how does not seem to get out of his Dracula shell and much of the portrayal of older Jinnah is dull, monotonous and zombie-like.One item well below the horizon and was done very well was the symphonic version of Pakistani anthem done by Nigel Clarke and Michael Csanyi-Wills which is one of a kind I have heard..
Though the movie was an obvious attempt to portray Jinnah in a good light, we see that while he was preaching "all religions are welcome in Pakistan", and fighting for a separate country for muslims.
Obviously this movie tries to justify Jinnah's "nations based on religions" and "people will die, but that is the only way to divide the country by fanning the religious flames" policy.
However the director does not feel this small matter is worth a mention.The disaster of this film is that Jinnah is a very interesting man.
However, I need not have worried since, not only was it a compelling biopic (the titular founder of the Muslim state of Pakistan was a contemporary – and religious rival – of "Mahatma" Gandhi) but one that was tackled in a quite original fashion for pictures of its ilk.Having mentioned the beloved Hindu leader, at 110 minutes against the 188 of Richard Attenborough's GANDHI (1982), the film under review feels somewhat like a subplot within the epic narrative of that multiple Oscar-winner – in which Jinnah is said to have been unflatteringly portrayed (I have not watched it for years, so I cannot really say myself).
Ironically, despite their often radically different approach (Jinnah coming across as Malcolm X to his Martin Luther King), Gandhi was assassinated by his own people because of his ultimate consent to the country's "partition" – allowing the Muslim minority in India to have its own nation; in the film, he even meets Jinnah in the computer-driven(!) afterlife and chides him for it.Incidentally, it is scenes such as the latter – which surprisingly abound here – that stand out, even more perhaps than the expected stirring speeches (powerful though these undeniably are); in fact, the movie emerges as more of a fantasia (though obviously far removed from the self-indulgent excesses of Ken Russell's treatment of many a classical composer in his 1970s heyday) than a typical biopic.
Even today it is screened on Movie channels at unearthly hours.The likeness of Mr. Lee to the real life Jinnah more then justify his choice for the leading role and despite its artistic slant, the historical accuracy of people and events give the film a chilling touch of reality that veterans and historians will appreciate.This is a highly moving film but in contrast to Attenborough's Ghandi film it does not shower the hero with praises and gold dust.
The best thing that could happen to this film would have been to caste Ali G as Jinnah.
Gandhi did not want India to be divided along religious lines, Jinnah was pressured by various Muslim groups for a separate homeland.This film is biased in favour of Pakistan and grim scenes of massacres are highlighted as the work of Hindus and Sikhs no mention of the destruction of Lahore's tolerant society by the Muslim League.As Mountbatten said " If I had known Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis I would have delayed Independence for a further six months and left an undivided India".Jinnah was no Muslim separatist in fact the entire opposite, this is not brought out in this film.He comes across as a visionary leader of a new nation, not as an urban sophisticated lawyer from London who had no interest in religion.All in all a very disappointing film which was never on general release..
In this regards I think it depicts the history with a pretty neutral point of view, many Indians and indeed many westerners have presented history in such a manner that even a neutral account seems to take a lot of gloss away from Congress leaders like Nehru and hence such remarks appear anti Nehru and anti Mountbatten.As far as the artistic value of the movie, although its a nice effort, I believe its not perfect although for Christopher Lee it was a job well done.
The film is a recollection of those last years with World War II, the British leaving India, and the partition that created India and Pakistan.
But that's a whole other film.With Richard Lintern playing a younger Jinnah and showing incidents of Jinnah's personal life, Lee is the older Jinnah and the principal actors in the creation of Pakistan by way of the partition are James Fox as Lord Louis Mountbatten, Maria Aitken as Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Robert Ashby as Jawaralal Nehru.
But Lee and Lintern create a fine joint portrayal of Pakistan's founder and Jinnah is a fine film both entertaining and educational..
Best movie ever made based on truth mostly liked the end part when Jinnah asks for forgiveness but there is nothing to forgive only thank him.If he did not step up for Pakistan it will never come into existence and you all can see in India as today how they treat Muslims and also you can search for Kashmir which was a part of Pakistan as decided what are they doing in there.What he did was for all the Muslims of Pakistan whether today Pakistanis forget this.This movie was a great reminder of what he did for us even his own health was in bad shape he did not care for his life but cared for 180 million people of Pakistan.
This movie was superb...it showed Jinnah's transformation from a man who was the champion of Hindu-Muslim unity to when he decided to ask for Pakistan in Muslim-majority areas of British India.
This movie goes to the heart of the creation of Pakistan and explores the life and struggle of it's GREAT leader Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
this movie was awarded a SILVER REMI AWARD at the 1999 WORLDFEST in Texas,USA.lee clearly stands out from the crowd in his style of dialogue delivery and acting,James fox looks good as Mountbatten so does Shashi Kapoor as narrator,some scenes in this movie are worth watching especially the last one,Richard Lintern also does not let down with his performance as young Jinnah,the background score is OK,and so is the screenplay,the director has really and honestly depicted the life history of a forgotten leader,the movie is totally unbiased in its format and tries to look into the life of a great leader,all in all a must watch for anyone interested in historical biographies.one of the best biographical movies i have ever seen.
Then you come across a brilliant movie like "Jinnah" which weaves mindlessness, history, leadership and unpredictability into one seamless work of art.