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PHOTOGRAPHS: © THE VAIN PHOTOGRAPHY/CARL SVKONIK, PICTORIAL PRESS LTD/ALAMY
NEW FILM
All shook up
Seventy years ago, British rule in
the Subcontinent came to an end. Establishing
India and Pakistan as two separate countries, the
partition was the largest migration in human
history, with over 14 million people displaced.
Out 3 March, Viceroy’s House tells the story of
events in 1947 through the eyes of Lord
Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville), who was the
last viceroy. Gurinder Chadha (inset), who also
directed Bend it Like Beckham, tells us all about
making her first film shot entirely in India.Q
WHAT WAS IT LIKE FILMING IN THE REAL
VICEROY’S HOUSE IN DELHI?
‘It’s now the president’s home, called Rashtrapati
Bhavan. The famous Mughal-style gardens – the lawns,
canals and fountains – are open to the public every
February. Filming in this amazing building was
inspiring, but also overpowering.
It was built [in 1929] as a massive monument to
colonial Britain. I don’t think they had any idea that 18
years later British rule in India would end.’Q
HOW WAS FILMING IN UMAID BHAWAN
PALACE, IN RAJASTHAN?
‘The former Maharaja of Jodhpur still lives in
one of the wings and the other parts are a hotel
[tajhotels.com]. Jodhpur reminded me of the India I
used to visit when I was a little girl. Now it’s all very
Western in the big cities, with shopping malls and
McDonald’s, but Jodhpur is still quite small town-y. All
the buildings we shot in were made of red earth. It’s a
very rich colour palette. You go from the sumptuous
royal surroundings to, as partition looms, the refugee
camp with the heat and dust. The film takes you on a
tour of all the different versions of India.’Q
HOW DOES YOUR FILM FIT INTO PAST
CINEMA ON EMPIRE?
‘Films like Attenborough’s Gandhi were absolutely
breathtaking. Hopefully, people see mine as part of
that genre, but an important departure: the first film
about the British Raj made by a British Indian. I grew up
in England, knowing British costume dramas, but at
the same time understanding what had happened to
my ancestors.’Q
ANY STANDOUT MEMORIES FROM
THE SET?
‘The actor who played Gandhi [Neeraj Kabi] looked
and walked just like him, it was bizarre. Even when we
weren’t filming, the whole crew revered him, like he
was Gandhi living among us.’The former home of the king of rock and roll, Graceland in Memphis,
Tennessee (above), this month opens its biggest-ever expansion. The new
wing will house an Elvis Presley Automobile Museum, showcasing 20 of his
cars, including a prized pink Cadillac (entry from US$;38.75 graceland.com).
,
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