 "Partition: 1947 banned in Pakistan; Gurinder Chadha expresses disappointment on Twitter")
British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha’s recently released period drama, Partition: 1947, has been banned in Pakistan. The filmmaker confirmed the news on Sunday, 20 August, through an emotional tweet. She lamented how her film, that deals with a milestone chapter in the history of both India and Pakistan, will not release in the latter country despite it being as Chadha put, “the land of her ancestors.”
It is unfortunate my film has been banned in Pakistan.it will always be the land of my ancestors. #Partition1947 @humasqureshi @RelianceEnt
— Gurinder Chadha OBE 💙 (@GurinderC) August 20, 2017
It is assumed that Partition: 1947 has been banned in Pakistan owing to the country’s contentious take on the Partition and its causes. The film revolves around the last Governor General or Viceroy of British India - Lord Mountbatten and the conspiracy that the British government devised to divide India on communal lines. The film, however, has been panned for being a superficial version of Downton Abbey and a pointless exercise where Mountbatten has been glorified as a hero. Pakistan, after lifting a ban on screening Indian films earlier this year, has been very inconsistent with its stance. It did not clear Kabir Khan’s period drama _Tubelight_ or Rahul Dholakia’s crime drama _Raees_ for release in theatres there. Now Chadha’s film, Partition: 1947, has emerged as the latest victim of Pakistan’s ban on content that it finds ‘inappropriate’ rather arbitrarily.
