Freedom at Midnight

Creative liberty has been taken, and necessary modifications made to narrate the story in an effective manner.

Of course, it's not as expansive but Freedom at Midnight comes the closest to becoming what The Crown is to the UK. It gives us an insider's account of what transpired behind closed doors at the Viceroy's House and the Indian National Congress' head office – shining a light on all the complications, compromises, small victories, and ideological conflicts. It feels like both an epic and an authentic retelling because of not only its scale, but also its diversity. We've either seen films on this subject swear by shuddh Hindi or their essence get squandered by English dialogues and treatment (case in point: Richard Attenborough's Gandhi). Freedom At Midnight captures India in all its rich diverse glory – where people speak in Punjabi, Gujarati, Hindi, and English – not just the Britishers, but also the highly-educated Indian freedom fighters.

The show is more successful with Nehru and Patel. An entertaining buddy cop-style dynamic builds between the ambivalent Nehru and the hard-nosed Patel, best seen in the sequence when they lose their way in the Viceroy’s maze of a house.