Best Performance by Christopher Lee This is what Sir Christopher Lee said about his role as the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The film tells the story of Jinnah’s life in different periods – how he decided to divide one country into two parts so that Muslims and Hindus could live separately, as well as get rid of the rule of the British Empire and make Pakistan a fully independent state. Also in the film there are such historical figures as Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
The plot is not consistent in terms of chronology. The film begins with the death of Jinnah. After that, he finds himself in a certain heavenly office and there he is met by a certain guide. And together they look at different periods of Jinnah's life - and that's how the plot is built. Sometimes the spirit of the deceased Jinnah even appears to himself in his youth and gives advice.
Thus, the film mixes real historical events with the director’s fantasies about how Jinnah would act, looking at himself from the sidelines, talking about certain decisions he made. In this sense, it turned out to be a rather strange narrative. But given that the story begins with the death of Jinnah (and it is at the moment of his alleged death that he finds himself in the “office”), it is likely that the plot consists of his near-death thoughts, in which he tries to reconsider and rethink his life. In general, there is a place for author's imagination.
The film has a lot of political routine, and it lacks emotional saturation. But the film is perfectly shot, the camera work is excellent - there are many fascinating landscapes in the film. The actors are chosen just perfectly in terms of appearance in relation to their historical prototypes.
Christopher Lee, of course, played very well. It was his first role of this magnitude. Especially magnificent scenes when Jinnah performs in the stands - here Lee used his incredible charisma. There is even a scene in which Lee was so moved by the support of the Muslim people towards his hero that he cried right in the frame.
But shooting in general for Lee was not very rosy - given his previous roles in horror films, Lee repeatedly received death threats from the people of Pakistan, and he even had to hire bodyguards. And many Muslims were unhappy that this role was played by an actor who was not a Muslim.
In general, this is really one of Lee’s best roles, but the film itself evokes mixed emotions due to its uneven narrative and the introduction of scenes from the afterlife (there is even a scene of a heavenly court hearing).
But in any case, it is definitely worth watching.