Jinnah (1998)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Jamil Dehlavi

Writers:

Akbar Ahmed (writer)
Jamil Dehlavi (writer)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

He fought for justice, and made Pakistan.

Plot:

The story of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

Plot Keywords:

Pakistan | Muslim | South Asian | One Word Title | India

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Christopher Lee	...	Mohammed Ali Jinnah
James Fox	...	Mountbatten
Maria Aitken	...	Edwina
Shashi Kapoor	...	Narrator
Richard Lintern	...	Jinnah (Younger)
Shireen Shah	...	Fatima Jinnah
Robert Ashby	...	Nehru
Indira Varma	...	Ruttie Jinnah
Sam Dastor	...	Gandhi
Shakeel	...	Liaquat Ali Khan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nafees Ahmed	...	Younger Dina
Vaneeza Ahmed	...	Dina (Older)
Roger Brierley	...	Judge
Rowena Cooper	...	Lady Willingdon
James Curran	...	Colonel Knowles
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Lord Willingdon
Michael Elwyn	...	Sir Cyril Radcliffe
Ian Gelder	...	The English police officer
Christopher Godwin	...	Recruitment officer
John Grillo	...	Sir Dinshaw Petit
Talat Hussain	...	Refugee
Stephen Mortlock	...	English Reporter
John Nettleton	...	General Gracie
David Quilter	...	Porrit
Khayyam Sarhadi	...	Nishtar
David Sterne	...	Birtwhistle
Marc Zuber	...	Muhammad Iqhal

Also Known As:

Mohammed Ali Jinnah (Pakistan: English title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK | Pakistan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Filming Locations:

Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Company:

Dehlavi Films

Trivia:

In a press conference at the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival 2002, Christopher Lee referred to his performance in this film as being "by far the best thing I've ever done".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dare to Dream (1998)

All the controversy was for naught...

This film has been in the news since the cast was finalized. 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). there were Pakistani directors, p***ed off that a banished director was preferred to their lot. yeah right, guys(i'm sorry u lost the chance to cast Babar Ali as Jinnah and Reema as Ruttie, and have them run around trees, singing in the rain), just give it up. artistic stuff of this calibre is WAAAAY out of your grasp. leave it to the experts.

Despite these and other difficulties the film got made, and despite numerous delays, the film was released. even though u can feel that some parts have been re-edited, it still leaves u with an intellegent and moving piece of cinema. kudos to the whole team and cast, especially Christopher Lee who positively SHINES in the role of Jinnah. Mr.Lee, i apologize on behalf of my countrymen. forgive them, for they r morons.

By no means a perfect film, this is FAR superior to the fodder that keeps coming out of Lollywood. before i go, just one last thing to say:

HURRAH !!!

rating: 8/10