Had to find right balance for making 'Partition:1947':Gurinder

Indo-British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha said showing the Partition story in her upcoming movie was a difficult task as she had to find the right balance.
"It is an emotional issue for a lot of people. I had to be very careful. But I did my research thoroughly and consulted a lot of people, met many historians and people who have studied this subject (of Partition)," she told PTI.
The filmmaker said she has made a 'personal film' from her perspective and understanding of the Partition.
"In the end, I took everything on board and made a very personal film from my perspective and from what I believe happened in those six months leading upto the Partition in 1947," she said.

The "Bend It Like Beckham" director said "Partition: 1947" is based on British documents discussed in Narendra Singh Sarila's book "The Shadow of the Great Game", which was recommended to her by Prince Charles.
"I met Narendra ji and spent 18 months with him, discussing the subject. We had several meetings and I asked him a lot of things."

As the film's story features key political personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Lord Mountbatten and others, Gurinder said she had to be very careful about showing them on celluloid.
"I had to be careful about how I would treat Jinnah, Nehru and Gandhi and also (Winston) Churchill. It was quite a big task."

The director said she wanted to look at the subject of Partition, which had an impact on so many lives, including her own family.
"I wanted to know why my grandmother, my uncle and aunt had to suffer. My mother, who grew up in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan), says everyone lived very happily, everybody distributed sweets when it was Eid or Diwali and celebrated festivals together. There was respect for all. But overnight something happened and things changed."
When asked if cinema can help mend the relationship between India and Pakistan, Gurinder said, "I think it is a much bigger issue. And I have made a small step in making the film. It is about how I feel about Partition...

"I think what we hear most of the time is the enmity but there are also many stories of people getting along well."
The film stars Huma Qureshi, Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal and is set to hit cinema houses on August 18.