British filmmaker of Sikh origin Gurinder Chadha finds a lot of similarities between current events like Brexit and the US President Donald Trump's election and the 1947 Partition of the Indian subcontinent. She says politics of "hate and division" is very much prevalent today also.
Chadha has dramatised the Indian Partition in her new film "Viceroy's House", which was premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival here on Sunday.
"This film is a timely reminder of what happens when you promote hate and division and start to criminalise a group of people. The end result is violence and death," Chadha said at a press conference here, hollywoodreporter.com reported.
Chadha said her film is debuting in Berlin when "the politics of hate and division are so prevalent and are defining not just the US at the moment, but here in Europe, in France, Germany and Britain, with the rise of populism and the rise of the right".
"When we were shooting the film, Syria was happening, and on a day we were shooting scenes with a thousand extras as refugees, that morning the little boy had been found washed up on the beach," she said, recalling Aylan Kurdi, who drowned as his Syrian family attempted to reach Greece.
"So, we were viewing these images on our phones and here we were with refugees 70 years later," Chadha said.
Talking about Britain's referendum vote to leave the European Union, she said: "Suddenly something we never imagined would happen, happened, and we were dealing with our own partition."
Indian actress Huma Qureshi, who has made her Hollywood debut with "Viceroy's House", said: "In this world, which is increasingly becoming right-wing and about pushing the other out as we become us and them, humanity and love can triumph in the end."
Anil Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment will release "Viceroy's House" in India and globally on March 3, 2017.
