Jinnah

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

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.

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.

well, when the movie was in process, even the general public in Pakistan was having certain reservations about it. however, it looks a fine product once it comes out. 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. it shows that with statesmanship and with logic of your opinion, you need not to be violent to prove your point and thats what exactly done by Mr Jinnah. he never called for civil dis obedience or violent aggression against the rulers, he never called for bloodshed or violence and still managed to create a country on the map of the world. a good learning for all the current dispute holders in the world.

lee was superb, his gestures, his moves and his style shows his research on Jinnah. he shows his skill and his grip on the characters. other actors were OK but the screen play can be more strong. 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.

I tried to do as much research on the man, Mr. Ali jinnah, before i wrote this review. 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. i still, do not, know the reason why jinnah was hated by so many, because frankly no one seems to be able to prove a valid point, its all just bickering and bitterness.

However, i have gained respect for the man, in his unflinchingness, and "man of steel" attitude, a man who would bow to no one, and would never stoop below his standards and principles, if that made him cold and calculated, fine, at least he had fiber. 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... thats not a very hard case to sell, no wonder people liked it, it appealed to their sensibilities. Jinnah, may have been a man of steel, cold, unflinching, calculated, but how much do we really know of the man? we have on one hand reports by British journalists like Mr. Payne, whose "eyewitness" was just a bunch of idle thoughts and gut feelings with no real substance, but tainted by the inherent fear of the man (Jinnah), and on the other hand by embittered Indian writers who saw this man break up their country for an ideology they could never even hope to understand.

Jinnah was much deeper, i believe, a man who refused treatment for chronic tuberculosis, cause he believed that the Moslem's would never get their homeland, if he was viewed as weak, therefore he kept on going, steadfast, strong, like a locomotive, and in the end he died for it. 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. He was, passionate, unflinching, upright, in short... a Great Man.

Matthew Davison New Jersey.