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Resurfaced footage of the 1994 King Charles assassination attempt displays similarities with President Donald Trump’s response to the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.

When shots were fired at Trump’s republican rally on July 13th last year, the then-former president hit the ground, and his Secret Service agents swarmed over to the stage to protect him.

Thomas Matthew Crooks Tried To Kill President Trump

With the help of his entourage, he stood up and triumphantly pumped his fist in the air. He had been shot in the ear by twenty-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

He fired at Trump from the roof of a nearby building. While he missed the mark he aimed for, he managed to kill an audience member. He also seriously injured two other people. The Secret Service agents killed the gunman.

King Charles knows how Trump must have felt. However, when the former Prince of Wales was shot at,...

The team behind SonyLIV drama Freedom at Midnight are moving the Indian Independence story on for its second season following a strong response to Season 1.

The story, directed and showrun by Nikkhil Advani, is set to go from the tense negotiations around of the Indian Partition of 1947 to the refugee crisis that followed the borders being redrawn, with Season 1 ending on a cliffhanger after launching this month and setting the scene for the second.

“The basic objective for now to ensure that this show travels as much as it can,” said Danish Khan, Executive VP and Business Head at SonyLIV and its in-house production arm, StudioNext. “Obviously, that brings larger subscriptions and bigger business. If we can do that, Season 2 will even become bigger.”

Season 2 will comprise eight episodes and likely roll out next year. Khan said anticipation for the second run was building, but that “as a first step,...

Sony Liv has a sure-shot winner in Freedom at Midnight. Adapted from a book written by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, the Indian series depicts the struggle of the Indian freedom movement and how the founders laid the foundation of one of the largest democracies in the world. The seven-episode long Nikhil Advani-created miniseries faithfully adapts the book. Let us look at the cast and characters of Freedom at Midnight in this article.

Sidhant Gupta as Jawaharlal Nehru

Actor Sidhant Gupta, who made a huge splash last year in the Prime Video series Jubilee, helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane, has got the meaty part of Jawaharlal Nehru here. For Gupta, who’s only thirty-five years old, it was a particularly challenging part as the show is set mostly during 1946–47, when Pandit Nehru is almost sixty. But given Gupta had already shown his skill as an actor, there was no reason...

Nikhil Advani’s stunningly created Partition drama Freedom at Midnight goes really hard at fleshing out Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Muhammad Jinnah while telling a story that is known to everyone—at least in broad strokes. From beginning to end, the series manages to hold its audience. It is, of course, adapted from the very controversial book of the same name, by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Some of you might find Freedom at Midnight‘s ending a bit abrupt. In this article, we’re going to look into that and also discuss a bit about the possibility of this show getting another season.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens in the Series?

The amount of urgency Freedom at Midnight shows is admirable. Without wasting a second, it places us in the middle of the conflict. In a rain-soaked Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi promises his followers that India is going to stay united,...

The British arthouse cinema chain has changed hands. Its new American owners would be wise to ignore industry gloom and invest in discerning movie audiences

Who wants to buy an arthouse cinema chain? That question may seem unexpected now that being depressed about post-pandemic filmgoing appears to be the industry’s default position. But the sale of the Curzon cinema group to New York investment company Fortress – part of a foreclosure auction of assets belonging to current American owner Cohen Realty Enterprises – has been met with a lack of surprise, still less alarm, in the industry and within the Curzon group itself, who reportedly regard the new owner as more likely to invest and to nurture long-term growth than the current proprietor. Fortress bid $5m [£3.9m] for Curzon, and insiders are calling it a “bargain”.

This is one of the UK’s prestige cinema companies with a history going back to 1934, now with 350 employees,...

King Charles is the current reigning monarch. Queen Elizabeth was the reigning monarch for over 70 years. Her Majesty wore the crown for longer than any other British ruler.

The Way The Order Of Succession Works

Some may be surprised at how the line of succession works. Succession drops to the firstborn child of the successor and their children. This “chain” is trailed by the next oldest sibling of the inheritor and their children.

This progression is why, for example, Prince William’s children are in the line of succession ahead of Prince Harry and why Harry’s children are ahead of Prince Andrew.

If William and Kate Middleton had another child, that girl or boy would bring Harry down further in the line of succession.

In the simplest terms possible, the line of succession is the order in which royal family members fall in line if the reigning King or Queen passed on.

The upcoming streaming series ‘Freedom at Midnight’, based on the eponymous book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, stars an array of international talents.

The makers of the show revealed the international lineup on Tuesday, which includes Luke McGibney, Andrew Cullum, Richard Teverson, Alistair Finlay, and Cordelia Bugeja.

McGibney and Bugeja will play the last Viceroy and Vicereine of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lady Edwina Mountbatten, respectively.

Sharing his thoughts on portraying Lord Louis Mountbatten, Luke McGibney stated, “As Mountbatten, I step into the shoes of a pivotal figure in India’s history. Mountbatten’s role during the transfer of power and partition was both profound and controversial. It’s a fascinating challenge to tap into the complexities of a character who wielded immense influence during a critical period. From his tenure as the last Viceroy of India to the tumultuous aftermath of partition, ‘Freedom at Midnight’ allows us...

Exclusive: SonyLIV’s ambitious Indian independence drama Freedom at Midnight has added British cast.

Cordelia Bugeja, Richard Teverson, Luke McGibney, Andrew Cullum and Alistair Findlay have joined the series, which charts India’s struggle for independence and subsequent partition.

McGibney and Bugeja will play the last Viceroy and Vicereine of India, Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lady Edwina Mountbatten, respectively. Finlay is Archibald Wavell, the Commander-in-Chief and Viceroy of India preceding Mountbatten. Cullum brings to life Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, while Teverson portrays Cyril Radcliffe, the chairman of the Boundary Commission for the Partition of India.

They join Sidhant Gupta (Jubilee), who stars as Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, Chirag Vohra (Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story) as...

Mumbai, May 2 (Ians) The upcoming streaming show ‘Freedom at Midnight’, based on the eponymous book, is set to delve into India’s fight for Independence, showcasing critical moments from the partition era.

It details the events behind the last year of British Raj from 1947 to 1948 and how it gave away India, which was a part of its empire.

The events begin with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last viceroy of British India and conclude with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

The first look of the show was unveiled on Instagram on Thursday by showrunner and director Nikkhil Advani, who captioned Gandhi’s quote, “Jawahar and Sardar will be like two oxen yoked to the government cart. One will need the other, and both will pull together.”

The show stars Sidhant Gupta, once again showcasing his acting prowess against the backdrop of partition after ‘Jubilee’.

It also...

There is a German saying which translates as, “All bad things come in threes.” It is one Prince Andrew may well be uttering under his breath this weekend, with reports that the disgraced British royal is to the be the subject of yet another feature-length profile piece.

Andrew is already the central subject of two rival dramas, both inspired by his disastrous interview with the BBC’s Newsnight team in 2019, in which he attempted to restore his reputation but succeeded in only making things worse as he reflected without apology on his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. “I was too honourable,” was just one misguided comment that inspired his mother, the now late Queen Elizabeth II, to announce speedily that his royal highness title would no longer be used, and he would no longer be seen on public royal duty.

Netflix’s version of the debacle, Scoop, finished filming last year,...

Lord Mountbatten's death had a significant impact on the royal family and changed the course of royal history. Mountbatten played a crucial role in the relationships of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Charles. Mountbatten's assassination by the Ira shocked the world and continues to have a lasting legacy within the royal family.

Of all the major real-life events that have been portrayed in the historical drama television series The Crown, which covers approximately sixty years in the life of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the most consequential events was the death of Lord Louis Mountbatten, better known as Uncle Dickie, who was killed by a terrorist bombing in 1979.

While Mountbatten’s death had, as seen on the show, a severe emotional impact on the royal family, the death of Mountbatten, who was played by Greg Wise in the show’s first two seasons and Charles Dance in the following two seasons,...

“The Crown” series finale premiere in London on Tuesday evening brought out the cast and creatives behind the hit Netflix show as well as a smattering of other familiar faces keen to catch a sneak peek of the last-ever episode.

Imelda Staunton, who plays the last iteration of Queen Elizabeth II in the fifth and sixth seasons of the series, led the red carpet. Despite the chaos around her — from reporters clamoring to ask questions to photographers shouting her name — the star told Variety her focus had always been on the character.

“I don’t look at maelstrom,” she said. “It doesn’t interest me. I just look at the script, look at the part, go to work.”

Newcomer Meg Bellamy, who joined the series as a college-age Kate Middleton for Season 6, was more emotional about getting the part, which also happened to be her first ever professional acting job.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Crown season 6, part 1!

The Crown season 6, part 1 focuses on Princess Diana's death, but omits significant events like the 1997 nationalist riots in Northern Ireland and Scotland & Wales' votes to decentralize power. The lack of focus on Tony Blair's early premiership in The Crown season 6, part 1 is a glaring omission. Blair's political and societal shift with the New Labour movement could have provided an interesting contrast to the Queen's struggles with modernity. The Mad Cow Disease outbreak and the Treaty of Amsterdam, both significant events in 1997, were also left out of The Crown season 6's first four episodes.

The Crown season 6, part 1 covered some of the most anticipated events of the show’s run, but in the process, some significant events were left out of the true story. Netflix’s hit series The Crown follows the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, starting...

Questions have swirled about what events The Crown season 6 could cover ever since it was announced, and Netflix’s recent tease has brought audiences closer to the answer. A dramatized retelling of historical events, The Crown chronicles the momentous reign of the British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. Since the show's debut in 2016, there has been no clarity as to how far into Elizabeth's life The Crown will go. However, a recent tease by Netflix’s social media provides a clear indicator of what the final season could cover.

Netflix tweeted a behind-the-scenes image from The Crown season 6 revealing that the show will cover the 2005 marriage of Charles III and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. While the show’s creator had stated that The Crown wouldn’t go past the 2000s, this is the clearest evidence of The Crown’s full timeline there has been. This photo from Netflix’s The Crown...

The Crown will end with season 6, and while Princess Diana’s death has been highly anticipated since her character was introduced in season 4, two more stories will make the final season of The Crown its deadliest yet. The Crown season 6 is currently in the filming stage of production and will likely cover 1997, the year Diana tragically died, to the mid-2000s. The Crown has featured notable deaths in past seasons, from King George VI to Lord Mountbatten and the Duke of Windsor, but season 6 is sure to be the deadliest of them all with three major deaths that occurred in its projected timeline.

The Crown is about the entire royal family but has always centered around Queen Elizabeth II, starting with her marriage and following her throughout her long reign as sovereign. However, since Princess Diana’s introduction in season 4, her storylines have somewhat overshadowed the Queen’s, as well as everyone else’s,...

The Crown and Game of Thrones are two of the most well-loved series in recent memory, with both making a resurgence in recent months. The prequel series House of the Dragon has reinvigorated the world of Westeros while the fifth season of The Crown has added new depths to the British royal family and the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

While the two shows are in decidedly different genres, both The Crown and Game of Thrones deal with similar topics, as the struggle for power is evident in each. Appropriately, several actors have been fortunate enough to appear in both of these series at some point in their careers, bridging the gap between the two beloved shows.

Matt Smith

Matt Smith is the original actor to portray Prince Philip in The Crown, playing the Duke of Edinburgh for the show's first two seasons. During that time, Smith portrayed an angst-riddled,...

Season 5 of The Crown introduced multiple new characters, including young Leonora Knatchbull, the great-granddaughter of Lord Mountbatten, who died of kidney cancer at the age of 5 in 1991. Leonora's passing, funeral, and the immediate aftermath were included as a key plot point of season 5, episode 2. Like her life, her story on The Crown was short-lived and heartbreaking but had a great impact on the royal family and viewers alike.

Leonora Knatchbull was the third child born to Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Norton was the firstborn grandson of Lord Mountbatten, whose assassination was depicted in The Crown season 4. Lord Mountbatten was Prince Philip's beloved uncle, so naturally, he was named Norton's godfather. As Prince Charles' second cousin, born just a year apart, Norton and Charles became close friends, as depicted in season 5, episode 1 when their families go on vacation together. Through Charles,...

"The Devil's Brigade", directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, is the 1968 war feature, based on the 1966 book, recounting the formation, training and first mission of the '1st Special Service Force' joint American-Canadian commando unit:

"...in the summer of 1942, 'American Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Frederick', a 'War Department' staff officer is summoned to Britain where he is selected by 'Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten' to raise a commando force composed of both American and Canadian personnel for operations in German-occupied Norway. 

"Back in the US., Frederick arrives at 'Fort William Henry Harrison' in Montana where he receives his American troops. When the hand-picked elite Canadian contingent arrives there is immediate friction with the Americans and chaos ensues.

"But Frederick manages to overcome the national differences and mold the 'First Special Service Force' as they are sent overseas for combat..."

Click the images to enlarge... ...

Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki, the next and final person to portray Princess Diana in the Netflix series The Crown, has commented on her feelings about wearing Diana’s iconic Revenge Dress. The black outfit, originally designed by Christina Stambolian, was worn by the late Princess to the Serpentine Gallery dinner in 1994, on the same night the public witnessed a televised admission of adultery by Prince (now King) Charles, who declared that before his and Diana’s separation two years prior, he had been unfaithful. Rumors had previously circulated about the Prince’s romantic association with Camilla Parker-Bowles, whom he later married after his divorce from Diana in 1996 followed by her tragic death in 1997.

The Crown Season 4, starring Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, focuses intently on the beginning of Charles's (played by Josh O’Connor) and Diana (Emma Corrin)’s relationship, with Camilla an ever-present background character to their marriage from the start.

Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington bring laughs to a exhaustingly wacky riff on a real-life fascist conspiracy in 1930s New York

There’s usually a no more heart-sinking way of starting a movie than with the larky, slippery announcement: “Based on a true story – mostly!” or “What follows is all accurate – kinda!” It usually means the film will fall between the two stools marked “creatively interesting” and “factually informative”. However, David O Russell begins his elaborate screwball mystery Amsterdam by declaring: “A lot of this actually happened.” He means the film is a wacky riff on the little-known 1933 “White House putsch” in which a cabal of wealthy American businessmen conspired to overthrow President Franklin D Roosevelt, hoping to dupe a retired major general called Smedley Butler into leading their fascist veterans’ organisation. (Maybe the nearest British equivalent was Lord Mountbatten being approached in 1968 by a group of...

Silence has fallen over the city of London, save for the mournful sound of bagpipes. For the first time since 1965, the capital is playing host to a State funeral procession, as the nation farewells Queen Elizabeth II.

The new King Charles III led the procession walking behind his late mother’s coffin this morning, as it was brought from Westminster Hall to the nearby Abbey for her funeral service.

Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral – A Photo Gallery

Members of the Royal Family walk behind the Queen's coffin as a procession sets off from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.

Follow the latest: https://t.co/8AFWhoW82a...

The Crown has won 21 Emmys and five Baftas in its four seasons on Netflix, with a total of three actors so far portraying King Charles III in his years as a prince. But how accurate have the storylines been around Britain’s new monarch?

Read about some of the former prince’s key storylines in the show below, how accurately they present reality, and how the King himself and those in the know have reacted to the show...

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (formerly Shand)

Before Prince Charles began dating Princess Diana, he fell in love with Camilla Shand in around 1971 – but the royal family did not approve.

In The Crown’s third season, Lord Mountbatten (a sort of father figure to Prince Charles) is shown arranging for the royal to be sent on a Navy mission to separate him from Shand. It’s unclear whether, in real life,...

The Crown has won 21 Emmys and five Baftas in its four seasons on Netflix, with a total of three actors so far portraying King Charles III in his years as a prince. But how accurate have the storylines been around Britain’s new monarch?

Read about some of the former prince’s key storylines in the show below, how accurately they present reality, and how the King himself and those in the know have reacted to the show...

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (formerly Shand)

Before Prince Charles began dating Princess Diana, he fell in love with Camilla Shand in around 1971 – but the royal family did not approve.

In The Crown’s third season, Lord Mountbatten (a sort of father figure to Prince Charles) is shown arranging for the royal to be sent on a Navy mission to separate him from Shand. It’s unclear whether, in real life,...

Exclusive: Channel 4 is to give the Get Back treatment to the 1947 partition of India with a colorized documentary telling the story of the bitter personal rivalry between Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Britain’s Lord Mountbatten.

India 1947: Partition in Colour from All3Media-backed Optomen is the latest to embrace the historical colorization approach, which Peter Jackson oversaw for acclaimed Disney+ Beatles doc Get Back and BBC Two World War One feature They Shall Not Grow Old, and Channel 4 embraced for Auschwitz Untold: In Colour.

The two-parter follows the extraordinary events that unfolded from 1946 in the context of a rumored affair between Nehru and Mountbatten’s wife Edwina Mountbatten, along with the growing enmity between Mountbatten and Muslim League Leader Jinnah while the partition negotiations were taking place.

Cyril Radcliffe was then given the task of creating a border between India and Pakistan and the doc has access to his private unpublished memoir,...

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sure are sneaky. The couple popped up in Belfast Friday for an official—but unannounced—visit. According to reporters on the ground, Harry and Meghan's trip had been kept a secret for "security reasons." (Prince William and Kate Middleton visited Northern Ireland prior to their 2011 wedding, too.) Harry and Meghan had every reason to be cautious. For several decades, the area suffered numerous bombings and shootings as the Irish Republican Army sought to end the British rule. In 1979, Prince Charles' uncle, Louis Mountbatten, was assassinated when an Ira bomb blew up on his boat; Louis' twin grandsons and Doreen, Lady Brabourne, were also killed in the...

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are celebrating their 70th milestone wedding anniversary with the release of stunning new portraits, but it was on their 60th anniversary that they shared an even more touching photo.

The longtime royal couple recreated a photo they took on their honeymoon in November 1947 down to the very last detail. But what made the 2007 photo all the more sweet was the fact that it was entirely their idea!

When photographer Tim Graham met the royal couple underneath a large tree within the grounds of Broadlands in Hampshire, he found them studying the original photograph and positioning themselves in the same stances,...

Nearly two years after Downton Abbey went off the air, most of the beloved ensemble cast is back in action on screen and stage, with Michelle Dockery, Dan Stevens and Joanne Froggatt leading several high-profile projects coming out this fall.

2017 Fall Preview: Et's Complete Coverage

Even though the period drama ended in 2015, this year can definitely be dubbed “2017: Life After Abbey.” And to think, all we care about is a Downton Abbey movie!

Check out what’s coming up (and highlights of a few things you may have missed):

Michelle Dockery

Good Behavior (TNT)

Premieres 10/15

Godless (Netflix)

Premieres 11/22

Photo: PBS / Getty Images / TNT / Netflix

Dockery, aka Lady Mary, was one of the first cast members out of the gates with a decidedly un-Downton-like character, playing con artist and recovering drug addict Letty Raines on TNT’s Good Behavior. “I was very fortunate when it came along,” Dockery told Et. “I wasn’t...

This Friday saw the arrival of Gurinder Chadha’s Partition: 1947 that chronicles the series of events that led to the partition of India and Pakistan. The film narrates the tale from the point of view of Mountbattens who were in India to execute the plan. It is a known fact that while Lord Mountbatten wasRead More

The post “Lady Mountbatten went from a life of frivolousness, endless holidays and affairs to one of completely committed service” – Gillian Anderson on Partition: 1947 appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.

All this week, IndieWire will be rolling out our annual Fall Preview, including the very best indie cinema has to offer, all the awards contenders you need to know about, and even blockbuster fare that seems poised to please the most discerning tastes, all with an eye towards introducing you to all the new movies you need to get through a jam-packed fall movie-going season. Check back every day for a new look at the best the season has to offer, and clear your schedule, because we’re going to fill it right up.

Finally: 10 new features from female filmmakers. From first-time directors to bonafide superstars, personal stories to historical epics, this season has something for everyone, and all from women.

“Viceroy’s House” (September 1)

After investigating her own heritage during the filming of an episode of BBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?,” “Bend It Like Beckham” filmmaker...

Award-winning director Gurinder Chadha explores the end of colonial rule in India with her latest motion picture Viceroy’S House which releases in the U.S. on Friday, September 1, playing in select theaters and also on-demand nationwide. Huma Qureshi, Manish Dayal, Om Puri, Gillian Anderson, and Hugh Bonneville head up the all-star cast and Oscar winner A.R. Rahman provides the music. The new Us poster and trailer have premiered for this acclaimed motion picture event.

Watch the new Viceroy’S House trailer here:

New nations are rarely born in peace… India, 1947: Lord Mountbatten (Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville) is dispatched, along with his wife Edwina (Gillian Anderson), to New Delhi to oversee the country’s transition from British rule to independence. Taking his place in the resplendent mansion known as the Viceroy’s House, Mountbatten arrives hopeful for a peaceful transference of power. But ending centuries of colonial rule...

Just weeks ahead of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's tragic death, a number of documentaries and television specials have aired in remembrance of the beloved royal -- but only one is in the voice of the Princess of Wales herself.

In 1991, Princess Diana participated in a series of secret interviews at Kensington Palace that were ultimately used for a book about her life that was written by journalist Andrew Morton and published the following year.

For the first time, those recordings can be heard in National Geographic's new documentary, Diana: In Her Own Words, which airs Monday in the U.S. at 9 p.m. Et on Nat Geo. The special weaves archival footage and photography of Diana in with her talking about how she came to meet Prince Charles and ultimately become his wife. Her extreme candor does not paint a pretty portrait of life in the palace, as she admits...

"You think India is ready to rule itself?" IFC FIlms has debuted an official trailer for the drama Viceroy's House, telling the story of Lord Mountbatten's trip to New Delhi in 1947 to help transition India from British rule to independence. This is a story that has been told before in many other films previously, but we have another new take on it this year. Viceroy's House features Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Huma Qureshi, Michael Gambon, Lily Travers, Simon Callow, Manish Dayal, and Om Puri. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, and also played at the Belgrade Film Festival. It's goal is to focus on the division of India, and the creation of Pakistan, more than anything and how this destroyed the lives of so many different people. It's a good film, just not very memorable, but that's my take. Here's the first official trailer...

After investigating her own heritage during the filming of an episode of BBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?,” filmmaker Gurinder Chadha was inspired to delve more deeply into her own family’s history, and its thorny relationship with India’s independence.

That personal story helped inspire her latest film, “Viceroy’s House,” which stars Hugh Bonneville as Lord Mountbatten, the final Viceroy of India, and traces his — and his family, including Gillian Anderson as his wife, Lady Edwina Mountbatten — final months in the country, set mostly in 1947 during the Partition of India.

Read MoreThe 25 Best Films Directed By Women of the 21st Century, From ‘Lost in Translation’ to ‘Persepolis’

The film delves into the “upstairs/downstairs” real-life history of Lord Mountbatten and his family in post-war 1947 India from the perspectives of both the Mountbatten family and the people of India. Mountbatten was tasked with overseeing the transition of British India to independence,...

Author: Competitions

Based on the true story of the final months of British rule in India, Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’S House will release in the UK on Digital Download 24 July 2017 and on Blu-ray™ and DVD on 7 August 2017. To celebrate, we’re giving away 2 Blu-ray copies!

The release coincides with the 70th Anniversary of the Independence of India and the founding of Pakistan. After 300 years of British rulers, the last Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, was charged with handing India back to its people. It is a story that is deeply personal to Gurinder, whose own family was caught up in the tragic events that unfolded as the Raj came to an end.

The film’s story unfolds within the great House. Upstairs lived Mountbatten, his wife, Lady Mountbatten and daughter; downstairs lived their 500 Hindu, Muslim, Sikh servants. As the political elite – Nehru, Jinnah and Gandhi – converged on the House to wrangle...

Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy House will release as ‘Partition:1947’ in India on 18th August, 2017. The film stars Huma Qureshi, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Michael Gambon.

Talking about the film Chadha has said, “We were always taught that Partition was because of infighting. But my research shows that it was a calculated political move… I had access to top secret documents in the British library. Their agenda behind the Partition was to eliminate India as a formidable rival to their global supremacy. I am sad that India only thought of itself rather than imagined itself as a global superpower.”

Partition: 1947 tells us the untold story behind Partition.

After 300 years, the rule was coming to an end. The rule of the British!! For six months in 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumed the post of the last Viceroy, with a responsibility of handing India back to its people. Viceroy’s...

On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and Prince Charles attended the funeral of Countess Mountbatten of Burma, who survived the Ira bomb that killed her father, Earl Mountbatten, and her teenage son in 1979.

Patricia Mountbatten died peacefully on June 13 at her home in Mersham, Kent. She was surrounded by her children, her family said in a statement. She was 93.

The great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and cousin to Prince Philip was left devastated in August 1979 when the Irish Republican Army (Ira) blew up the family’s boat in Co Sligo, Ireland. Her father, Earl Mountbatten, Charles’s great-uncle and mentor, died instantly.

Ahead of the release of a new biography about Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, new details have emerged of threatening phone calls Princess Diana allegedly made to her while still married to Prince Charles.

In a new excerpt from the book, The Duchess: The Untold Story, posted on the Daily Mail, biographer Penny Junor writes that Camilla received several “threatening and unnerving” phone calls from Diana in the middle of the night.

Diana would say things like, “‘I’ve sent someone to kill you. They’re outside in the garden. Look out the window; can you see them?'” according to Junor and her sources,...

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is making her side of the story heard.

In the upcoming biography The Duchess: The Untold Story, written by royal biographer Penny Junor with input from many of Camilla’s closest friends, new revelations have emerged about her longtime love affair with Prince Charles.

In an adapted excerpt published Friday by the Daily Mail, Junor details Prince Charles’s sadness when Camilla decided to marry Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Although she and Charles had met two years prior and fallen in love, she was not deemed “sufficiently aristocratic” to be the future king’s wife. What’s more,...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– Netflix has acquired the worldwide Svod rights to Drake Doremus’ “Newness,” Deadline reports. The film stars Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as a couple in contemporary Los Angeles navigating the world of online dating and social media–driven hookup culture. The film was a last-minute addition to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler, Courtney Eaton, Danny Huston and Courtney Eaton. Netflix acquired the rights in a reported seven-figure deal.

– Gravitas Ventures has acquired writer-director Angus MacLachlan’s second feature film, “Abundant Acreage Available.” The film premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award in the U.S. Narrative Competition. The film focuses on siblings Tracy (Amy Ryan) and Jesse...

IFC Films has acquired the U.S. rights to “Viceroy’s House,” a film about India’s transition to independence in 1947 directed by “Bend it Like Beckham’s” Gurinder Chadha. The movie is set for an early September release. “Viceroy’s House” stars Hugh Bonneville as British Lord Mountbatten and Gillian Anderson as his wife, Edwina, who were sent to New Delhi to oversee India’s move from British rule to independence. The film also features Manish Dayal, Michael Gambon, Huma Qureshi, Simon Callow and Om Puri. Chadha wrote the script along with Paul Mayeda Berges and Moria Buffini. The film was produced by Chadha,...

Pathe International represents international sales on Hugh Bonneville starrer.

IFC Films has acquired Us rights to Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House.

Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson star alongside Manish Dayal, Michael Gambon, Huma Qureshi, Simon Callow and Om Puri.

Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges and Moria Buffini co-wrote Viceroy’s House, which takes place at the birth of modern India in 1947 as Lord Mountbatten is dispatched with his wife to New Delhi to oversee the country’s transition from British rule to independence.

Taking his place in the resplendent titular mansion, Mountbatten arrives hopeful for a peaceful transition. But ending centuries of colonial rule in a country divided by religion and culture proves challenging, setting off a struggle that threatens to tear India apart.

Chadha, Berges and Deepak Nayak served as producers and Cameron McCracken, Shibasish Sarkar, Christine Langan, Natascha Wharton and Tim O’Shea served as executive producers.

IFC Films plans a September release.

“Viceroy’s House...

Image Source: Getty / Anwar Hussein Or should we say infamous? All-consuming passion, illicit liaisons, bitter breakups, heartbreak, and true love - over the centuries, royal history has had it all. And because of the nature of monarchy, everything has been acted out on a much larger scale. Love letters were burned or placed in a museum and jewels handed out like gas station flowers while countless people were affected. Whether they have gone down in history for the scale of their love or the size of their scandal, we take a look at the top 10 royal couples who have captured our imaginations throughout the ages. RelatedScandals That Will Change the Way You Think About the Royals Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles The relationship between Charles and Camilla got off to a flying start when the pair were both age 23 and met at a polo match. They started a relationship, but...

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2015. Image Source: Getty / Max Mumby Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary this year, which is a pretty amazing feat regardless of the fact that they're royalty. Whether you think you know a lot about the couple or are hankering for more details about their decades-long marriage, we've got a handful of facts about the royal couple that might surprise you. Related12 Things You Might Not Know About Queen Elizabeth II For starters, they're related. That's right: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are actually second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark, and third cousins through their great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Interestingly enough, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. They met when Elizabeth was just a little girl. The future couple were...

Princess Diana and Prince Charles‘ marriage breakdown has been making headlines for decades, but a new book claims that the two were at odds long before they publicly announced their separation — with Charles seeking help with their relationship as early as their honeymoon.

Royal writer Sally Bedell Smith claims in her new biography on the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, that a mixture of both the couple’s gaping age difference and Diana’s emotional and mental state put a strain on their romance. She also writes that Diana’s reluctance...

In July 1981, the night before his glamorous wedding to Princess Diana, Prince Charles reportedly wept as he was still torn about his feelings for his former girlfriend (and then-mistress) Camilla Parker-Bowles.

According to Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, a new biography of the Prince of Wales by royal writer Sally Bedell Smith, Charles felt pressured into his marriage to Diana — and he was still torn abut his love for the then-married Camilla.

The story of Charles and Camilla is well-documented — the two dated after being introduced in 1971, beginning a love affair that would make headlines for decades.

Gurinder Chadha’s film is a glossy imperial version of India’s traumatic partition that scandalously misrepresents the historical reality

•Gurinder Chadha’s response: My film has been wilfully misrepresented as anti-Muslim

Gurinder Chadha’s Raj film Viceroy’s House begins with an ominous warning: “History is written by the victors.” It sure is. The empire and its descendants have their fingerprints all over this story.

Viceroy’s House, the story of the Mountbattens’ arrival in India and the subcontinent’s subsequent breakup, opens to the sight of bowing, preening and scraping Indians at work on the lawns, carpets and marble floors that are to greet the last viceroy of colonised India, Lord Louis Mountbatten – or Dickie, as he was known – played by the rosy Hugh Bonneville. In one of his first scenes, Mountbatten instructs his Indian valets that he never wants to spend more than two minutes getting dressed...

Author: Stefan Pape

Though a film set 70 years ago, there’s a profound sense of relevance to Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House, and when we sat down with Gillian Anderson – who plays Edwina Mountbatten – she discussed the pertinency of the project at hand.

“Things haven’t changed,” she said. “But can we learn from our mistakes? And what is our moral responsibility to things like immigrants or refugees? It’s a big contemporary topic”.

Anderson also discusses the flaws of her character, and how in spite of her good intentions she remains a part of the problem – which led to the partition. She discusses how this may change the perception of the Mountbattens in India, and whether or not she spoke to relatives of the married couple, and whether it has helped, and informed her performance. Finally she discusses Official Secrets – a picture she was said to be in...

Prince William and Princess Kate were transported back to the colorful sights and exquisite smells of Indian cuisine when they joined Queen Elizabeth at a Buckingham Palace party to celebrate cultural ties on Monday.

The royal couple, who visited the country for a memorable tour last April, helped host the bash marking the launch of U.K.-India Year of Culture 2017.

Also at the reception, which celebrates the cultural ties during the year of the 70th anniversary of India’s independence, was Prince Philip, Prince Edward and Princess Eugenie.

Kate — in a dress by Erdem and earrings by Indian designer Anita Dongre,...

Author: Jon Lyus

We present our interviews from the red carpet of the UK Premiere of Viceroy’s House, held yesterday evening at the at Curzon Mayfair in London.

The film stars Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Lily Travers, Manish Dayal and Huma Qureshi, and is directed by Gurinder Chadha. It tells the story of the final Viceroy in India before its independence. Chadha’s take on the division of the Indian Empire is told through the relationship between the titular Viceroy and his wife, and the emergent love between one of their servants and his bride.

The film has a fine cast and looks, from the trailers, to be a visually sumptuous enterprise. Scott Davis and Colin Hart were on the red carpet this evening.

Director Gurinder Chadha spoke eloquently on the timing of the film, and the importance of learning from history.

“When we were making the film the...

Viceroy’s House, directed by Gurinder Chadha is releasing nationwide on 3rd March 2017 and stars Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Huma Qureshi and Manish Dayal. The film tells the true story of the final months of British rule in India and its release will coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the Independence of India and the founding of Pakistan.

The film is accompanied by a beautiful and moving score, composed by Oscar and Grammy winning maestro A.R. Rahman. Speaking in a recent interview, Rahman references Viceroy’s House:

“Gurinder’s expectation was to have something very classic, very rooted and at the same time universal. I’ve used the sarangi, a strings and brass orchestra, a lot of flute — mainly classical instruments.”

The official soundtrack for Viceroy’s House coincides its release with the film and will be available to buy on all digital outlets on Friday 3rd March. The album...