Freedom At Midnight: But India’s Partition

Published by B Sameer on January 10, 2026January 10, 2026

Freedom At Midnight (Seasons 2, India, 2026, Hindi) is a must-watch period drama. It revisits the history, when India became an Independent nation on August 15, 1947, after two centuries of British Colonialism.

Series Review [Not A Spoiler-Free]: Freedom At Midnight (S2, India, 2026, Hindi)

In FOCUS: India Became Independent From British Colonialism After 2 Centuries, But…

Based On

“Freedom At Midnight” book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. This Non-Fiction History Book was originally published in October, 1975, and it is based on the non-fiction book written by the French author Dominique Lapierre and the American author Larry Collins. Specifically, both the foreign authors have written this historical account from the colonial and Mountbatten’s perspective.

Storyline

At the stroke of midnight on August 14, 1947, the Union Jack (of the United Kingdom) initiated its final descent from the flagpole of Viceroy’s House in New Delhi, India. A fifth of humanity in undivided India claimed their independence from the most powerful British empire in history, but the cost of freedom was immense, as the newly born independent nation was thrown into riots and bloodshed, partition and conflict. In other words, this “Freedom at Midnight” series depicts the history of the events that unfolded during Indian independence, beginning with the appointment of Lord Mountbatten of Burma as the last Viceroy of British India, and concluding with the assassination and funeral of Mahatma Gandhi.

Notably, the Hindi series dramatises the events leading to India’s partition and its socio-political upheaval. Therefore, now, let us meet some of the most important historical figures of this Indian period drama. Besides, one of the positive aspects of this Indian history drama is the realistic depiction of the most important and revered freedom fighters of India by an amazing bunch of actors.

What’s Good?

✅️ Nikhil Advani, the show creator, has adapted this well-known non-fictional book admirably. Furthermore, his direction and production value of this historical drama are commendable.

✅️ Chirag Vohra portrays Mahatma Gandhi in the show, and he is quite impressive. His series character displayed the utopian traits, and we really felt sad when a fanatic shot and killed Gandhi Ji.

✅️ Sidhant Gupta plays Jawaharlal Nehru, and we really got the westernised accent and mannerism right. In the show, Nehru is closer to Gandhian idealism, and sometimes, they created problems for India.

✅️ Rajendra Chawla depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and he really got the ‘desi’ Indian attitude right. Unlike Gandhi Ji & Nehru Ji, his character is much more realistic, pragmatic, and realpolitik.

✅️ Arif Zakaria role-played Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he, too, is impactful in his role. In the show, he very strongly believes in the idea of Pakistan, and in the end, he fulfils his ambition.

✅ We also liked the wonderful performances of Ira Dubey (Fatima Jinnah), Luke McGibney (Lord Louis Mountbatten), Cordelia Bugeja (Lady Edwina Mountbatten), K.C. Shankar (V.P. Menon), Rajesh Kumar (Liaquat Ali Khan), and the entire ensemble cast. All of these creators and performers painstakingly recreated the tumultuous historical period leading to India’s independence.

Poster

Gandhi, Nehru, & Patel

📍The Father of the Nation (India), Mahatma Gandhi, is depicted as a visionary and idealistic leader. The tallest leader who could foresee how the seeds of religious divide (Hindu & Muslim) were going to affect both the nations. Both then, now and in the future too. He tried his best to oppose the partition of British India, but he failed. And the British successfully divided the large nation into two.

I will not bow to violence. Even if I am alone. I will stand for peace until my last breath.”

Mahatma Gandhi

📍Despite the negative propaganda against JL Nehru and Sardar Patel by the vested interests, the series showcases both the leaders as pragmatic and nationalists. For both of them, the interests of India and Indians came first and foremost. Although there were a few differences in their working style, both of them were cordial and respectful towards each other. They shared almost a brotherly bond.

Nehru and Patel are like two oxen yoked to the government cart. If one pulls one way and the other another, the cart cannot move forward. But together, they can take it anywhere.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Jinnah

📍The “Freedom at Midnight” series tries to portray MA Jinnah as the real villain in the whole partition of British India into two independent nations. However, we do not entirely agree with this version of history. As the series tries to give a clean chit to both the British Government and the last British Indian Viceroy, Mountbatten. We have explained our rationale in the following paragraphs.

We sincerely believe that the British rulers secretly favoured the partition of India. So, the successive British governments allowed Jinnah to emerge as the sole voice of the Muslim community. In hindsight, one could say that they used him as a pawn in a larger geopolitical game. And they very smartly planted the seeds of religious division in India, to be exploited by religious fanatics of all hues.

Certainly, the Britishers were thinking ahead of time, maybe at least a few centuries forward in 1947. How could they let a united and undivided India emerge as a superpower in future?

Mountbatten & Britishers?

In the “Freedom at Midnight” series (& book), they have depicted Mountbatten as a British statesman. As the last viceroy of India, he was the chief diplomatic negotiator for the independence of British India.

It seems that after World War II ended on September 2, 1945, it left Britain in a deep financial crisis and economic ruin. Notably, Britain incurred significant expenditures on the war effort and a considerable decline in national wealth. Furthermore, Britain encountered critical shortages and substantial debt, particularly owed to the US and Commonwealth nations, including India.

In fact, the British Colonial Government engaged Cyril Radcliffe for the same. Now, he is infamous for his role in chairing the boundary commissions that partitioned British India into India and Pakistan. So, Radcliffe was responsible for drawing the Radcliffe Line, a task he completed with limited prior knowledge of India in only 5 weeks, which resulted in widespread dispute, riots, and a humanitarian crisis.

And these two short reigns, in a way, proved that both the British Government and the Viceroy of India were in a real hurry to make India an independent nation, in a matter of a few months.

Indian Perspective

The role of the British Colonial Government (and Mountbatten) is questionable. It seems that both of them were given a kind of clean chit in the said book, hence also in this Indian series.

To rule the large and diverse India, the British Colonial rulers actively used the infamous “Divide and Rule” (Divide et Impera) policy quite effectively and efficiently, for almost two centuries from 1757 to 1947. Therefore, they actively propagated the “Hindu-Muslim” divide (caste, religion, region, and other divides too) as a British Colonial State policy during their colonial rule period. And they poisoned and exploited the fault lines in Indian society.

Tragically, the diabolical “Divide et Impera” policy of the British Colonial rulers reared its evil face and erupted like an active volcano during the hastily planned and executed partition of the vast nation, like British India, into two new independent dominion nations, India and Pakistan. The 1947 Partition of British India triggered significant human tragedy. An estimated 10 to 20 million people were displaced, with extreme violence resulting in deaths estimated between hundreds of thousands and two million (including mass killings, rapes, and abductions), driven by religious divisions and flawed boundary delineation that devastated communities and gave rise to unimaginable refugee crises.

Even now, as of January 2026, the citizens of these nations, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, are paying a very steep price because of the ongoing hostility between the nations.

Lastly, Mountbatten also advised and impressed Nehru Ji to take the matters of the Kashmir issue to the United Nations assembly. That was bad advice, and both nations are paying a steep price, even now.

Burma’s Separation

Until 1937, British Colonial Rulers administered Burma (now Myanmar) as an autonomous province of British India. In that year, they established Burma as a separate British colony, achieving independence in 1948. Years later, in 1989, it was designated as Myanmar. In other words, almost a decade ago, in 1937, the partition of British India was carried out by the British Rulers. The British administration separated Burma from India to reduce the strength of the nationalist movement and for other tactical reasons, thus forming it into a separate colony. And, sometimes, people wonder, was the partition of Burma a dry run?

Rating

Conclusion

Kudos to the entire team behind the Freedom At Midnight (Seasons 1 & 2) series for creating this high-quality series. And, we highly recommend this very well-made, informative and engrossing period drama. Especially if you are an Indian citizen or an Indophile, then the Freedom At Midnight (Seasons 1 & 2) series is a must-watch. More so, if one wishes to learn about the great nation-building leaders who united India (but lost its parts too) in those difficult times. Incredibly, they merged the 565 princely states into India. To conclude, hats off to all of the Indian freedom fighters for everything. we are grateful.

“Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It.”

Key Details

Trailer

[YouTube Video Link - Freedom At Midnight | First Episode Free (S1, E1) | Sony LIV Originals]

Bonus Info.

[Also, read the FM Review of The Family Man (S3/2025) Series in our Focus Magazine, as it briefly talks about the separation of the Myanmar (Burma) nation from India during the British Colonial rule.]

Poster & Featured Image: Freedom At Midnight series | Pictures Credit: SonyLiv.