This documentary on the principal character responsible for the creation of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was obviously made with an eye on the golden jubilee celebrations of the independence of Pakistan and India. Mr Jinnah: The Making of Pakistan directed by Christopher Mitchell begins by posing the all-important question: what made Jinnah a great personality?
The director proceeds to tell the story of Jinnah´s life and his struggles through the recollections of a number of people who came into contact with him and had opportunity to witness the course of history standing by his side. Mitchell is obviously not satisfied with a narration of events as they took place, though he does respect chronology.
The viewer is taken through the significant phases in the Quaid´s life – childhood in Karachi, student days in England, struggle as a lawyer in Bombay, marriage to Ruttie Petit, disillusionment with Indian politics and retirement to England, return home to head the Muslim League, conduct of negotiations with British missions, arrival in Karachi to become the head of the new state of Pakistan, and his last days in Ziarat.
Alongside, the film recalls the essential political developments in the Subcontinent over the first half of the century – the founding of the Muslim League, the failure of attempts at Hindu-Muslim unity, the arrival of Gandhi, the rise of Nehru and Vallabhai Patel, the pressures on the colonial power caused by World War II, and the final act of Partition in the midst of communal carnage. It must not have been easy to mix these two trails into a smooth narrative but the degree of success achieved by the filmmaker is considerable.