Jinnah

Jinnah was more than a mere politician. He was the most important phenomenon in the history of the Muslims of India. He almost single handedly changed the course of history and created one of the greatest Muslim countries of the world; Pakistan. And he did that without shedding a drop of blood throughout the movement of freedom. He did that through his sheer will power and political genius. ‘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. Its narration is quite different from the usual biopics. Instead of telling a usual birth to death story ‘Jinnah the Movie' takes a different approach. It travels back and forth in time highlighting important events in Jinnah's life that helps the viewer understand Jinnah the person and Jinnah the leader. Although the deviation from the traditional technique of storytelling gives ‘Jinnah the Movie' an artistic touch but it becomes rather hard for a commoner to grasp the story line. In a country whose literacy rate isn't something to be proud of, the producers probably should have stuck to the usual methods but they took a brave risk by taking an alternative route. They preferred artistic values to the commercial success and they should be appreciated for that.

Editing and art direction are the highlights of ‘Jinnah'. Camera work is brilliant and some of the shots reflect the director's command in his field. Production quality is way above any sub continent film and almost equals the standard of any Hollywood production. The producers deserve a pat on the back for creating such high quality production with a shoe string budget. 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. Maria Aitken as Edwina and Shireen Shah as Fatima Jinnah play their roles perfectly. But Richard Lintern as young Jinnah was most impressive of the whole lot. His performance is really top class and his portrayal of Jinnah was as close to life as possible. 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. The film answers many questions related to Jinnah, Pakistan and its creation and one must admit that it does that without damaging the artistic quality of the film. Irrespective of its box office performance and the number of awards it garners ‘Jinnah the Movie' is the most important chapter in the history of Pakistani cinema.

Jinnah the movie has some artistic beauty in it, even the blowing of sand in desert at the end of the movie leaves a deep impact over the viewer.

Actors have acted superbly but Talat Hussain has been wasted. He could have unleased his talent in the small role he had, like Om puri did in Gandhi.

Its no match for Gandhi,the story telling is different the personalities are different and the camera work is different. There are no negative characters in the film. 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.

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

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). Since then, however, the film has never had a proper theatrical release and the ongoing potential for controversy could well be the reason.

At a special screening of Jinnah at the Barbican, Lee told Empire Online that he has been informed that distributors are afraid to show the film, fearing the possibility of terrorist repercussions from Muslim Fundamentalists. He was keen to point out, though, that this would be an unlikely reaction:

"[Jinnah] is the antithesis of that. It is the story of a remarkable man: a husband, a father and a brother who founded a nation. 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. It was wildly inaccurate." Despite his long career, which includes over 200 screen credits, Lee considers Jinnah to be his best work to date.

"I'm very proud of this picture, and it should be shown," he said. "It must be shown. But what can we do about people who, I'm told, are afraid to show it?"

Source : Empire Online UK

I thoroughly enjoyed Jinnah and it told the truth unlike Ghandi. The film never got the distribution it deserved in the USA nor surprisingly in England. Why is it that Christopher Lee, the most underrated actor of all time, was never nominated for an award for his superb portrayal of Jinnah? Why was it that this excellent film was passed over? I found it compulsive and once I got used to the strange beginning (angel debating whether Jinnah goes to Heaven or Hell)I was hooked. I would have given it 10 but for the silly scene (location in between Heaven and Hell) with Nehru and Ghandi looking at computer screens..... The trial of Mountbatten. however, was very interesting and clever. If you haven't seen this movie you need to and it is now available on DVD in UK and USA.