“I am too filmy for my art house friends and too art house for my filmy friends,” says writer-filmmaker Abhinandan Gupta, describing himself as he talks about enjoying movies with elaborate songs. We meet to discuss Freedom At Midnight (FAM), his latest offering. Two distinct worlds, right? Majorly trained on Sanjay Leela Bhansali sets, Gupta, Nikkhil Advani, and SonyLIV gave the country one of the best streaming shows of all time with FAM, based on the story of India’s partition. Streaming on SonyLIV, the show caught a lot of eyeballs and was worth investing time in, as it has been renewed for a second season. In an exclusive conversation with us, Abhinandan talks about his inspiration, what motivates him, his dream project, and of course, Freedom At Midnight Season 2 (very cryptically though!).
As we sat down in a busy coffee shop in Mumbai, I had to open the conversation by talking about the brilliant opening scene of Freedom At Midnight, which brings almost all the major players of the show, including Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and others, into an elevator. We see them taking digs at each other like normal humans, far beyond the portraits or idolized versions of them that we have been conditioned to see. A scene that instantly makes this show about humans beyond their positions and high chairs. Gupta, credited for adapting the story, said, “Our research sort of told us that these people had been colleagues for many years. Like Mohammad Ali Jinnah had joined the Congress from 1913 to 1928. And in the early ’20s, Gandhiji came into the Congress. So they had been colleagues for almost 30-40 years.”
“By this time, in 1946, when the series begins, what I wanted to show was a little bit of familiarity—that they are familiar with each other, their old colleagues. And a lot of the scenes were, you know, in the boardroom or, like you said, on the chair during very formal meetings, Congress committee meetings, or Muslim League meetings, where everybody is very formal and official. So we thought if we create a situation where they bump into each other in an elevator and they are caught off guard because they’re going into a meeting where they have to bargain really hard, but in that one moment, they let their guards down and engage in casual interaction, we get to know the underlying dynamics through that. So I thought that was it.”
Abhinandan Gupta further spoke about how the book by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, by the same name that Freedom At Midnight is based on, is actually a non-fiction book. Events are written in chronological order. “So we just thought of a situation—what if they bump into each other in an elevator? And neither of them is expecting it. The awkwardness of waiting for an elevator, which I think is something we’ve all faced at some point in time, being stuck in an elevator with people we don’t want to or with whom we have nothing to say.”
Still From Freedom At Midnight Season 1
But then came the big question: how do you shape a story so politically and save yourself from taking a side?
Abhinandan Gupta: “Um, see, I think we were very clear about seeing the partition as a tragedy, and I think that comes across, you know. So we are picking a side where we feel that it is a tragedy that is political, but having said that, our endeavor was not to point fingers or to say that this person was more responsible or less responsible, or he’s the villain and he’s the hero. When the British were quitting India after 200 years, in that power vacuum, there was a struggle for who would inherit the power. In that Game of Thrones, so to speak, there were winners and losers. People suffered the consequences of decisions taken by these leaders. But these were extraordinary circumstances. These were extraordinary men. So while the side that we’re taking is that partition was a tragedy, at the same time, we are using empathy to try and understand why these people took the decisions they took rather than being judgmental about them.”
But what about the similarities that Freedom At Midnight shares with The Crown? Was the Peter Morgan-created show ever an inspiration?
Abhinandan Gupta: “The Crown is a biographical drama. It’s one person’s story from her perspective—Queen Elizabeth’s coming of age, getting married, and, you know, sort of becoming the longest-serving monarch of Britain. But this was more of an ensemble drama. And also, this (Freedom At Midnight) is finite. Season 2 will be out shortly. These events span from the arrival of Mountbatten in India in early 1946 to the assassination of Gandhi in January 1948. So it is a finite time period, two eventful years in the history of India. Unlike The Crown, which spans, I think, 60 or 70 years. So that’s another difference. But what I think would be common is that both are historical. But if you want to know what was the inspiration behind writing the show, I would say Aaron Sorkin’s work—be it The West Wing or The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
“A lot of the drama happens as legal quibbling or in courtrooms or in the White House. But still, it is so engaging, and it’s essentially people talking. Yet the conversation is dramatic. So how do we take that, which seemingly is not very visual or action-packed, and make it dramatic, engaging, and entertaining? Aaron Sorkin was definitely a reference point, you know, that kind of fast-paced, frenetic, breathless dialogue.”
While he calls the dialogue-heavy scenes between two people almost like a ping-pong match, my next question had to be: how does a boy from the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shaad Ali, and Abhishek Kapoor find himself writing Freedom At Midnight? (Abhinandan has worked on Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Kill Dill, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.)
Abhinandan Gupta: “Mr. Bhansali is really a mentor and guru. I think what I’ve learned from him is how to create drama. What is drama? And I think the genre is immaterial—whether it’s romance, political drama, or science fiction. What people are really interested in are characters and their interpersonal dynamics, human frailty, and experiences. So I don’t think the genre is that important. You’d be surprised; all these filmmakers you named are avid film watchers, and the kind of films they watch are not always the ones they make. Yes, the tone of Freedom At Midnight is probably different from the films I have worked on. But that was just part of me finding my voice. And that is perfectly fine for work in progress. It’s the starting point.”
Abhinandan Gupta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali On The Sets (Image Credits – Abhinandan_Instagram)
But while Freedom At Midnight does deal with the violence that broke out during that time, I had to ask Abhinandan how he looks at violence in the current generation of cinema.
Abhinandan Gupta: “I mean, I don’t have any moral problem with showing violence on screen. I think violence can really be a headache. And violence can be really dramatic, and violence can be really visceral. I’m saying the physical act of violence, when photographed and filmed, can be very operatic, poetic, and aesthetic—like, say, how Quentin Tarantino deals with violence. You know, it’s almost like choreography.
There, the color red is almost some kind of visual aesthetic. So that could be one way of depicting violence, and the other way, like you mentioned, is that sometimes when it is left to someone’s imagination, it’s much scarier. It’s much more horrific than showing it. If you leave something to people’s imagination, what they imagine happening to someone is sometimes more effective. These are all various tools that are present in a filmmaker’s arsenal. It’s really about the situation, the show, and the kind of film that you’re trying to make.
You can have really graphic violence or choose not to show violence at all and leave it to the audience’s imagination. These are all choices that a filmmaker makes, and one can’t say that one is more valid than the other. It really depends on the kind of film, the grammar of the film, and what the filmmaker has in mind at that point in time. So I don’t have any fixed ideas on violence. I think there are many possibilities, and the more, the merrier. People interpret things in their own way, and no two people will interpret it the same. I don’t have a stance on violence.”
How do you land your next gig? And is it the same as it was maybe a decade ago?
Abhinandan Gupta: “It depends a lot on the kind of network you build while you’re working on a project. Usually, the same people that you work with call you back because everybody likes to work with a team they are comfortably familiar with. It’s always a challenge to land the next gig, and that is true for everybody. Let’s say there are six bonafide superstars. Who really gets the money? Every actor worries about the next gig, and the same goes for every writer, cinematographer, and production designer. It’s a never-ending hustle. You get by.
I think the time now is much better than it was, for example, when we talk to our seniors. They say that today you have television, streaming, YouTube, social media, films, theatrical films, and independent films. In the 80s and early 90s, they had no other avenues. So things are much better now. There’s a lot of work happening. You just keep your head down and work, and you will find your gang—your people who see things the way you do.And, of course, if something comes out and is well received, then you do get called based on that.”
Still From Freedom At Midnight Season 1
What is the most constructive criticism you have received for Freedom At Midnight so far?
Abhinandan Gupta: “The best review that I read was that it is unbiased and objective, and it is not propaganda—which was the reaction we needed. So we were very glad that communication was received. And the other thing that really gratifies me is how you started this conversation—when you said that we managed to humanize these larger-than-life historical figures. That was a little bit of what we wanted to do, and our job as writers is done if people feel that they’re seeing a side of very famous history textbook personalities that they hadn’t seen before, or they’re discovering a new facet of them. That is also really gratifying.”
But what about many people finding Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrayal caricaturish?
Abhinandan Gupta:“He’s pretty much the Avengers of our freedom struggle. He’s very much part of every poster. He’s prominently there on equal footing with all the other major key players of this drama. So even in Season 1 and Season 2, he’ll have as much screen time as anybody else. But having said that, I’m aware that a lot of people felt that we caricatured him. To that, I’d say I beg to differ because I think we have shown him in his human elements as well—whether it is his relationship with his sister, his health, or even at times when he is second-guessing his choices and decisions. We also showed him in moments of vulnerability.
I’d probably say that’s not the most fair criticism. But at the same time, he is the chief antagonist. So yes, he’s the antagonist. And I think the difference is that we disagree with his politics. We feel that his politics was shallow, self-serving, and communal, and it has poisoned the atmosphere for a long time to come. We can disagree with his politics but, at the same time, still have empathy and compassion for the human being he was. That is the thin line that we’ve tried to tread. And we are very clear that we are against his politics, but as a human being, we have the same amount of empathy for him.”
Freedom At Midnight Season 1 ends with the line “Gandhi will have to pay.” How do you now approach that?
Abhinandan Gupta: “You’ll have to wait for that! I think we approach Season 2 with the same sense of responsibility, objectivity, impartiality, empathy, and compassion as we did with Season 1. That’s all I can tell you. It is about what happens on the streets right after what the bureaucrats have done indoors. Season 1 and Season 2 are structured as follows: Season 1 covers the politics that led up to the partition of the country, and Season 2 will cover the consequences of that decision. That is how these two seasons are thematically structured. It is a finite timeline, with two seasons covering a great story.”
What would it look like if you had a chance to shape your own film?
Abhinandan Gupta: “Can I be like, you know, wishing in front of Santa Claus? I would love to work with Ranveer Singh. I have done three films with him (Bajirao Mastani, Kill Dill, and Padmaavat). He is a phenomenal actor. Deepika (Padukone)—when she is in the frame, you don’t look at anything else. She just commands attention. I think Vicky Kaushal is really an exciting actor to watch. He’s got great comic timing. He can do anything. And, of course, Ranbir Kapoor. This is a wishlist!”
You can watch Freedom At Midnight Season 1 on SonyLIV with your OTTplay Premium subscription. There is no release date announced for Season 2 yet. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.
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