Nikkhil Advani’s wife asked him ‘Do you want us to get killed?’ after D Day, talks about accuracy of Freedom at Midnight

“Freedom at Midnight is one of my favourite books. No matter what, I can go back to it after ten years and I’ll still enjoy it, it is still a page-turner,” Advani enthuses. “Is it the best book on India’s independence? I don’t think so, but it is an engrossing, incredible book. It is written almost like a screenplay.”

Watch the interview here:

When tackling a historically charged project like Freedom at Midnight, accuracy and sensitivity are paramount. Nikkhil reveals his strategy for bringing this pivotal story to life. When asked “How did you navigate through to create a show like this?” Advani responds, “I basically make sure that we do as much research as we can. We have a great team of writers, a great team of researchers, but we also very clearly understand that we cannot make everybody happy.”

 

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Advani acknowledges his history of tackling contentious subjects, which has sometimes sparked controversy. “I made a film called Patiala House in 2010 and people still felt that there was a bit of controversy, I made D Day and had security for three years, so yes, I have the habit of poking the bed.” His wife’s reaction to the first poster of D Day succinctly captures the risks involved: “‘Do you want us to get killed? What is wrong with you? Why do you do this?’”

Further talking about Freedom at Midnight, Advani says that his passion for the project stems from its inherent potential for conflict, dilemma, and emotional depth. “There is conflict, dilemma, scale of emotions and visuals… Given that this book offers so much, if somebody else was making Freedom at Midnight, then I’d be very upset.”

In today’s landscape of altered historical narratives, Advani acknowledges the responsibility to adhere to facts. However, he maintains a nuanced stance. “I can’t do that. There is a book that tells me that these are the events that happened, so we have chosen to not say that this is right, this is wrong, or this should have been done, this shouldn’t have been done.”

Instead, Advani focuses on documenting the events leading up to India’s independence, without passing judgment. “Today you have the advantage of retrospect, the advantage of looking back 80 years and saying that they could change things around… Only if they had known that Jinnah was going to die, things would have been different.”

The filmmaker says that he is committed to telling challenging stories and this stems from his conviction that “incredible men made incredible decisions at an incredible time.” He cites William L. Shirer’s “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”, which warns, “those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.”

For Advani, Freedom at Midnight is a personal endeavor, driven by a desire to educate and inspire younger generations. “I am making this for my 18-year-old daughter… The rubbish that people are reading on social media today, we need to show them what really happened.”

With Freedom at Midnight, Advani hopes to replicate the impact of his previous show, Rocket Boys, which rekindled interest in science among young viewers. “After Freedom at Midnight, I want people to be interested in our history.”

Freedom at Midnight is streaming on Sony Liv.