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. Jinnah is given the title of Quaid-e-Azam of Pakistan. Jinnah is sworn in as the first Governor-General of Pakistan and announces Liaqat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan.Īfter independence and the end of British rule, Pakistan stands as a new nation and sanctuary for the Muslims of the subcontinent. However, the Independence of Pakistan was carried out, and the Guide and Jinnah saw the massacre of Muslims in migration done by Hindus and Sikhs. Jinnah replies that Islam doesn't need fanatics but people with vision who can build the country. While he was addressing a Muslim League conference in 1947, Muslims fanatics attacked the conference and argued that if Pakistan is to be a Muslim state it cannot give equal rights to women and non-Muslims. He then mentioned his daughter, who married a Parsi boy without his permission.
The Guide questions Jinnah as to who he loves the most apart from Ruttie and Fatima. Jinnah addresses thousands of Muslims and gives them the assurance of the birth of Pakistan. In 1940, the Muslim League annual conference is held from 22 to 24 March. He went back to British India in order to start a political journey of the two-nation theory.
The death of Rattanbai had a huge impact on Jinnah's life and his fight for Pakistan. Rattanbai died of cancer on 18 February 1929. She finally leaves him with their daughter in September 1922, and they eventually separate in 1927. That created tension between Rattanbai and Jinnah. 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. Religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims were increasing after the Second World War.įlashbacks resume when the Guide recounts the marital life of Jinnah, when he fell in love and married a Parsi named Rattanbai Petit, later known against the will of her parents, mainly on grounds of religion and the difference in their ages. After World War 2, the British Imperial Government intends to withdraw and grant independence to the subcontinent. The guide takes Jinnah to 1947 where, at the Cromwell conference with Lord Mountbatten, Jinnah demanded a homeland for Indian Muslims. Kapoor is simply a delightful impish invention asking the questions the audience wants to hear.The film opens with the words of Professor Stanley Wolpert: The support cast also gets into the spirit of bringing life to history, particularly Shah, Ashby and Maria Aitken as Lady Montbatten. His nemesis is Montbatten who, as limned by Fox, is vain and oblivious in a manner that is understandable and frightening. He is never less than credible, investing Jinnah with dignity, resolve and humor and making him accessible to an audience unfamiliar with his role in this violent chapter. Lee, a seemingly unusual choice for the title role, is afforded one of his meatiest screen roles. In an effort to break with dry, simplistic biopic constraints, some magic realism, in the form of a fanciful examination, is introduced and goes a long way to provide a fresh perspective, though little doubt is left about the heroes and villains of this page of history. The flashback also reveals his marriage to a young Parsee woman (Indira Varma) and the lifelong bond with his equally strong willed sister Fatima (Shireen Shah). The roots of this resolve are then made clear as the story continues in 1916, when the younger Jinnah (Richard Lintern) was a rising star on the one-India Congress Party. The offer will be turned down forcefully, and one senses Gandhi suspected such a compromise was untenable.
Gandhi suggests making Jinnah prime minister, to the chagrin of Nehru. Jinnah is advocating a separate nation for the Muslim minority, much to the dismay of viceroy Montbatten (James Fox), who hopes to enlist Gandhi (Sam Dastor) and Nehru (Robert Ashby) to dissuade their political adversary from splitting the soon-to-be former colony. The action rolls back to 1947, as Britain prepares to grant India its independence. His guide (Sashi Kapoor) queries him about his life and politics, and, in this way, the cogent details evolve. Unfortunately, his file is missing and the computers are malfunctioning. Presumably mortally ill, he succumbs and a moment later awakens in some celestial clearing house where a decision on his eternal soul will be made. In the opening frames, Jinnah (Christopher Lee) is being rushed to hospital. Though much of the filmmaking is classic biopic template, the story is given an unusual structure that lightens the tone, allows for debate and humanizes the larger than life characters and situations.