Actors: Christopher Lee
Director: Jamil Dehlavi, Producer: Akbar S. Ahmed

"Jinnah" Produced by Akbar S. Ahmed

Produced and directed by Jamil Dehlavi

Starring: Christopher Lee, Shireen Shah, Richard Lintern, Robert Ashby, Indira Varma.

Karachi 1947: A Dakota plane has landed on a dusty air strip just outside of Karachi. The first passenger to alight is Fatima Jinnah, who has acompanied her terminally ill brother, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Jinnah is taken from the aircraft in a stretcher, wan, weakened, barely conscious, and put in an ambulance. But the ambulance runs out of petrol during its desperate dash to the city, and, forced to wait for more gas, the doctor and Fatima Jinnah stand on the road, watching clouds race across the pink and russet evening sky, while the founder and first Governor General of Pakistan lies dying inside the ambulance.

This is the first scene of Akbar S. Ahmed and Jamil Dehlavi`s movie "Jinnah", which premiered in Pakistan on May 29, 1999, at the Sindh Governor`s House in Karachi. The gala evening was organized by the Jinnah Society under the leadership of Liaquat Merchant. The Society gave away Jinnah Society awards posthumously to Graham Layton and Hakim Saeed, as well as Jinnah Film awards to the men behind the movie. The highlight of the evening was not the awards ceremony nor the lengthy speeches ("You`ve made us wait two years, so you might as well wait another hour,"quipped Ahmed in his speech), but the screening of what is probably the most talked-about film for Pakistanis all over the world.

"Jinnah" is an artistic retelling of the events which shaped not only the foundation of Pakistan, but its creator`s life. It is neither an epic, nor historical documentary, and while there are no gaping historical inaccuracies, events have been creatively played with to give color and vibrancy to the facts. The result is a highly watchable, and indeed gripping portrayal of the time in which Mohammed Ali Jinnah (Christopher Lee), renowned barrister, rose to become the man that single-handedly changed the face of South Asia.

Putting to rest the rumors of angels, Shashi Kapoor makes his appearance right at the beginning of the film, as the Narrator, a gatekeeper of sorts, one who sorts out the records and makes recommendations as to where the about-to-die should make their eternal abode. However, just as Jinnah`s soul arrives in the library where the Narrator works, the computers have crashed and Jinnah`s file is missing. The alternative method, the Narrator informs Jinnah, is to actually revisit, by crossing time and space, the significant events of Jinnah`s personal and public life, to see whether Jinnah should be rewarded or punished for his actions during his lifetime.

This is of course a metaphor for the questions that history have long pointed towards the figure of Jinnah; whether the creation of Pakistan was a triumph or a travesty, whether the massive loss of life during Partition can be blamed on Jinnah or not, whether he sacrificed the happiness of his loved ones - sister Fatima (Shireen Shah), wife Ruttie (Indira Varma), daughter Dina (Vaneeza Ahmed) - for his singular ambitions; whether he was an honorable statesman or a manipulative politician.

Thus begins a dual odyssey: backwards through his life for Jinnah, but forwards for the audience through the heady early days of the Indian movement for independence from the British Raj, through Jinnah` marriage to Ruttie and her subsequent death, on towards the seeds of the idea of Pakistan and its eventual birth as a nation.

Dehlavi has chosen not to move chronologically, but in a series of flashbacks, jumping from one event to the next, and back again to the library as the base where the Narrator can direct his probing questions to Jinnah, who must defend himself by both his current answers and his past actions. This technique causes some confusion, giving the movie an erratic,disjointed feel at times. But you grow used to it as the film progresses, and eventually the sight of a youthful Jinnah (Richard Lintern) receiving advice from the elder Jinnah in the same frame is not as confusing as it might sound.

The important historical moments are all there: the Congress meetings, the passing of the Lahore Resolution, the arrival of Jinnah as Governor-General in the new Pakistan. The early scenes show Jinnah`s growing frustration with the condescension of both Gandhi (Sam Dastor) and Nehru (Robert Ashby) towards the Muslim minority, while the later scenes portray Jinnah`s evolution into his role as leader of a new, vulnerable nation.

Richard Lintern and Christopher Lee have masterfully played their roles. Both are Englishmen portraying a South Asian, but their acting talent allows you to forget that during the course of the movie. Lintern`s young Jinnah is highly intelligent, a skilled barrister, and a man who combines proprietry with passion. His speeches, whether he is arguing with the British to let Indians become commissioned officers, or whether he is trying to convince rabble-rousers that Gandhi`s stance is a dangerous path, are delivered with a forceful intensity that sends shivers down your spine. And yet some of the most touching scenes show his great love for the beautiful yet fragile Ruttie; her funeral, where Jinnah breaks down and weeps for his lost wife, is heart-rending.

Lee, as elder Jinnah, has a more complex role: he must not only portray the historical scenes that occurred while he was alive, but he must also take stock of events, defend his decisions, and revisit painful episodes at the end of his life with the Narrator. It requires Lee to call upon two levels of performance: one as dignified, firm, resourceful decision-maker; the other as introspective, almost brooding, yet filled with the strength that only integrity can give. Lee, who did extensive research for the role, has succeeded on both levels. His Jinnah is ambitious, headstrong, almost obsessive in his desire to create Pakistan, yet he displays a witty charm and a dry sense of humor that makes you realize what depths existed in his character.
Many moments in the movie highlight Jinnah`s impeccable manners and morals. At a dinner party in Bombay, the English hostess slyly insults Ruttie by suggesting she wear a shawl over her decollete dress, and Jinnah defends his wife staunchly, saying, "When Mrs. Jinnah feels the need for a wrap she will ask for one herself," and then storms out of the party. In another scene, when Liaquat Ali Khan suggests that Jinnah use stolen letters between Edwina Mountbatten and Jawarhlal Nehru to gain leverage in the Pakistan negotiations, Jinnah refuses point-blank, stating unequivocally that he will not use blackmail to gain political advantage. "I am sorry for the thought that has blackened your generous mind," he chastens Khan.

The two lines in the movie that drew spontaneous applause from the audience also had to do with Jinnah`s beliefs. A religious fanatic attempts to take Jinnah`s life because Jinnah supports the rights of women and minorities. In the only show of anger throughout the whole movie, Jinnah shouts, "You are an ignorant fool…I have fought for the rights of your mother, your sister, and your children`s children…Islam has no place for fanatics like you!" And in another scene: Jinnah informs Liaquat Ali Khan that he will be the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. "And as for your renumeration… my own salary is one rupee per month. We must be the first to set an example."

Yet "Jinnah" is never a preachy film. Things can and do go wrong for Jinnah, never better illustrated than in the scenes that show the slaughter of Muslim migrants. Jinnah holds to his belief that he was acting for the good of the millions of Muslims that did survive Partition, but he is deeply grieved by the loss of life and suffering inflicted upon his people. Still, the Narrator gives Jinnah a chance to make amends. When asked by the Narrator if there is one person that he would like to apologize to, Jinnah chooses to visit a girl who has lost her mother while crossing from Ferozpur to Pakistan. This scene is the climactic end of the film, one that is better seen than described on paper.

A standout performance in the movie is that of Shireen Shah, who plays Fatima Jinnah all the way from her youth to her old age. This involved a superb makeup job, and complimented by a series of wigs from London, Fatima`s transformation from young woman to old is fascinating to watch. Shah plays Jinnah with the right amount of tenderness and protectiveness, yet the saccharine sweetnes of a martyr is avoided in an interesting moment does emerge when Fatima says to Ruttie`s photograph that she could never see Jinnah through to his destiny the way she, Fatima, could. Though in the movie Fatima denies any jealousy, this points to a rivalry that might have subconsciously existed between the two main women in Jinnah`s life, and highlights some of the complexities of Fatima`s character.

Another subplot in the movie is the affair between Edwina Mountbatten (Maria Aitken) and Jawarhlal Nehru. Although the filmmakers promised there would be no outrageous sex scenes, the bedroom scenes leave no doubt as to the nature of their relationship, and the influence that Nehru has on both Edwina and her husband Lord Mountbatten (James Fox) is a running thread throughout the film.

Dehlavi as a director thoroughly entices the eye of the viewer with unconventional camera angles. One scene shows Jinnah and his doctor in conversation from the vantage point of the ceiling - you can see the two speaking between the slowly rotating blades of an old-fashioned fan. Another shot traces Jinnah`s movements as he is walking on the beach, following his hand reaching down to pick up a coin, and focuses on his beautiful shoes. The result is a feeling of power, of muscularity. And yet by staying in sync with the actors` movements, Dehlavi achieves fluidity and sensuousness as well. This is a director who treats every scene with love.

On the other hand, he creates a number of jarring images that stay in your mind long after the film is over. One of the most violent is that of a refugee woman being killed by a spear hit straight to her stomach. This most graphic scene stands out simply because Dehlavi does not indulge in any unneccessary violence - you can physically feel it in the pit of your own stomach. Another is a scene where Hindu troublemakers throw a dead pig over the walls of the mosque into the ranks of the Muslims standing in prayer. Dehlavi has struck a nerve, vulnerabilities in the Pakistani and Muslim psyche that he understands only too well.

"Jinnah" is not an easy film to watch. It does not veer towards sentimentality or overemotionality - traps that would have been all too easy to fall into, given the subject matter and the controversies that arose during the film`s production. Instead, Dehlavi lets the strength of the characters, the acting, and the compelling nature of the story speak for themselves. His deft touches are like the strokes of a painter, adding the right amount of light here and shadows there. This creates an effect that is subtle, understated, and in the end far more powerful than the trite tearjerker or overreaching epic.

In watching "Jinnah", you are forced to really exercise your mind to understand this movie, which is the richest experience any film can offer.