Huma Qureshi-starrer ‘Viceroy’s House’ has been postponed. Here is why

Gurinder Chadha’s next ambitious venture, titled ‘Viceroy’s House‘, a movie based on Lord Mountbatten’s final months in India just before India’s division into two countries, has hit a roadblock.

The film, which stars Huma Qureshi along with a list of British and Indian actors including Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson as Lord and Lady Mountbatten, and Om Puri and Neeraj Kabi as a blind freedom fighter and Mahatma Gandhi respectively, was set to release on the March 3 in India and UK. But the release date of the film in India has been postponed to August now, as the month and year will mark 70 years of India’s independence too. (Also Read: Huma Qureshi dubs for ‘Viceroy’s House’)

However, according to some other reports, the reason is different. According to those, film’s Indian producers are scared. “There was just no buzz created around the film,thanks to the totally inept marketing by Reliance.There was also the Lion factor. Garth Davis’ film about an Australian-Indian boy’s search for his family, is the Indian film that has caught the world’s attention. In India, Lion releases on February 24. Releasing another diaspora film a week later in India made no sense, at least not to Reliance,” says a member of Gurinder’s cast.

However, in UK, the movie will release on its original date, i.e. March 3. The movie is also being premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 12.