freedom at midnight: These days the web series 'Freedom at Midnight' is streaming on the OTT platform Sony Liv. This series claims to tell the historical story from August 1947 to January 1948, in which, a few years before India's independence, how personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and former Governor General of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah were thinking about the future. An attempt has been made to show this in a series of seven episodes. Highlights of Urmila Kori's conversation with the show's writer, director and showrunner Nikhil Advani on the making of this series and the challenges related to it.
This is how the idea of making a series on 'Freedom at Midnight' came about.
Earlier, producer Nikhil Advani, associated with the historical period drama 'Rocket Boys', is also the producer, writer and director of Freedom at Midnight. He tells that Rocket Boys was over. After this, Danish and Sogato associated with Sony Channel came to meet me and asked what to do next. I said, haven't thought anything yet. He was the one who said to do something for Freedom at Midnight. In response I said, I also like that book very much, but I will not get its rights. He said that we have taken the rights. I was very happy. I told a budget at that time. (Laughing) Hearing this he said that we should go. I said, wait let's prepare a budget together. I would like to tell that after I left Dharma Productions, I did not get work for three years. After that it has happened with me that I do not say no to any work. Even if my assistants come to me with a film, I do not refuse them. Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway was made by my assistant.
It took one year for post production
Work on this series started from the year 2020. One year was spent only in the post production of this series. Usually the post production of a project takes three months, but being a historical show, it took a year. During this time, the writing of the show was also going on. Confirming this, director Nikhil Advani says that I would like to say that we have done the post production with great detail. That was an era in which everything was communicated through letters. No one could give us those historical documents, so we looked for people who could copy their writings exactly. Shooting the film also had its own challenges, since it was 1947, so we had to show bullock carts. Animal rights people came into it. Then he had to explain that brother, those were the times, so we would have to show the bullock carts. A lot of detail was taken care of. For the shooting of Rocket Boys, we chose only those foreign actors who were in other places of India including Goa at that time, but all the foreign actors of this series are from England.
86 sets were made in Dahisar, Mumbai for the series.
To present the story of this historical period drama on screen, 86 sets were built in a studio in Dahisar, Mumbai. It took 2 hours to tour the entire set. Apart from Lahore Street, Kolkata Street, Gandhiji's house, Sardar's house, Congress office, Motihari Court, All India Radio, Viceroy's House, everything was there. Along with giving this information, Nikhil says that there were only sets in Dahisar, hence no one could go there with a big vehicle. You could go to the shoot only by bike and small car. Nikhil further explains that we shot here for 60 days. After this, 60 days were also shot on real locations, which included real locations of places like UK, US, Patiala, Pataudi, Rewari, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur.
Along with the casting director, the prosthetic department was also involved in casting.
Nikhil Advani says that I have been in the industry for many decades, but this is the first time when a make-up man was also with me during the selection of artists. Jagdish Dada is the head of our hair makeup and prosthetic department. During the casting, I made him sit next to me and asked him every time whether this person could become Gandhi. Can he be made a Patel? At the time of casting of only one, he had clearly told me that I will do something for all the others, but I want the nose of Nehru ji in the character. I can enlarge my nose, I cannot shorten it. It took us time to find an actor with a similar nose. This is the reason why Siddhant's casting happened last. Well, you will get to see very unusual casting in this series. Rajendra Chawla is an amazing actor. He has been active in the industry for a long time. I am sure that when people see his work as Sardar Patel in Freedom at Midnight, they will not be surprised. Well, I have made the casting unusual because I did not want my actors to do any other project apart from this project for one and a half years. I had already told my casting director Kavish Sinha that I would not want my Gandhi, my Nehru or Sardar Patel to do any trivial work in any other film. He has to live these characters for one and a half years.
You can happily express displeasure and disagreement
Director Nikhil Advani says that after the release of this series, I know that many people will not like a lot. People will say that I have shown this wrong. Why did I not show this? I have ignored this aspect. I should have shown him that way. Taking cinematic liberties, I have presented the most dramatic chapter in our history with complete credibility. I don't want to improve the image of any leader. I am not justifying any of his decisions, but I have tried to show the circumstances under which they were taken. As far as dissent is concerned, it is the Constitution given by our same leaders that gives us the right, so you can happily express your displeasure or dissent.
