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The Akbar Ahmed Chat

'Both Gandhi and Jinnah were great leaders. I believe the demonising of these extraordinary founding fathers must stop. We need to recognize their universal calibre.'

Professor Akbar S Ahmed was eloquent and lucid discussing his controversial film on Mohammad Ali Jinnah with a worldwide audience that included in the Rediff On The NeT office, Alyque Padamsee who played Jinnah in Richard Attenborough's film, Gandhi.

vikas (Wed Sep 11 19:49:41 1996 IST):

Has the chat begun yet?

Hi Vikas!

I see our guest has arrived!

Hi Vikas!

Confirming I'm in Cambridge. Hello all!

Good evening, Professor Ahmed,welcome to the Chat. We do hope you enjoy the experience. We have in our office Mr Alyque Padamsee who playyed Mr Jinnah in Richard Attenborough's film, Gandhi.

Nikhil are you there? Can you read me?

Good evening Mr Ahmad

Hello Mr Padamsee. This is from a fan but not a fan of your role as Mr Jinnah in Gandhi.

Professor Akbar Ahmed is logging in from Selwyn College, Cambridge. Many thanks to Kate Wilson, Computer Manager, Selwyn College, for all her kind help and interest in making this Chat HAPPEN!

Professor Ahmed: What did you think of the characteer of Jinnah in Attenborough's film Gandhi?

Mr Ahmad I find your remark very fanny

What did you not like about Mr Padamsee's role as Jinnah and how different will your interpretation of the Pakistani leader be?

Mr Ahmed, I'm most curious. How on earth did you come to the conclusion that Lord Mountbatten favoured India? Isn't the very basis of your argument haywire? I mean, a man who is cuckolded would not, obviously, favour his wife's parmour.

Attenborough got it seriously wrong. Jinnah was shown as scowling and negative all the time. He seemed to be motivated by only one thing: his hatred of Gandhiji. This was a historically incorrect portrayal although I appreciate that a popular film takes such liberties. However. I enjoyed the film as a whole and found it moving.

How did you conceive the Jinnah project? Was it 30 years in the making as Attenborough's project was?

Professor Ahmed.. hello.. why do you think Jinnah's character in the film Gandhi potrayed as such? And why are you so angry? After all the film was based on Gandhi....

In response to Tushar: This is an interesting question and makes sense in a South Asian context. But recent historical evidence explains why Mountbatten took the affair in his stride. It is explained in the recent Channel 4 documentary called "Secret Lives". It featured Mountbatten's daughters and some well known British historians.

Professor Ahmed, Can you justify the division of Bengal during partition period? Is there any possibilty of the unification of two Bengal in future?

I'm sure Mr Ahmad that you'll understand that it is the directors interpretation of the character that the actor tries to portray, however I tried to show the pain and hurt of Jinnah especially towards the end when Gandhi in the light of Nehru's comment Mr Jinnah a muslim would never be accepted as the first prime minister of India. Mr Jinnah I hope in my portrayal did not scowl all the time . There are moments he shows that he has a sense of humour and when Gaandhiji refuses to ride in the car send for him and appears up the drive way to Mr Jinnah's house walking. I felt that Mr Jinnah was a passionate man in everything he did including the scene he reads out headlines from the papers and he is upset with Mr Gandhi for putting the Independence in jeopardy.

Will you be shooting any part of the film in India - specifically in Jinnah House in Bombay and his residence in Delhi?

Answer to Nikhil: It wasn't 30 years but it seems like 30 years! I have been working on this since the last 5-6 years. What prompted me was the constant incorrect portrayal of Mr Jinnah. To most academics the film Gandhi was the last straw. We have now excellent studies from India to support what I am saying. Read your own Bombay author the late Mr Seervai. He reversed the traditional roles of 1947: Jinnah to him emerges as a clear and noble character and Moutbatten he blames for many of the bunglings and much of the blood-shed. Nirad Chaudhury in Oxford also takes exactly the same line in his last big book "Thy hand great anarch!". So I hope this will not be dragged into the usual India versus Paksitan perception of the world and accepted as a serious attempt to re-assess one of the great figures of the 20th century. Besides I felt as a Pakistani that a tribute to the father of the national was long over-due. Getting to work on Mr Jinnah has brought me face to face with the greatness of the man and the grandeur of his vision.

Whom would you consider a greater leader, Gandhi or Jinnah, and why?

Answer to Mr Padamsee: I appreciate your point but the 'impression' conveyed of your portrayal was a very negative one and I appreciate it was the director's interpretation but it nonetheless upset all those who knew history and felt for the truth.

Mr Ahmed: Do you think Pakistanis were cheated by Indians as they did not get the other two muslim majority states Junagadh and Hyderabad in 1947?

The portrayal of Jinnah in the film 'Gandhi' was very offensive. It is not any criticism of the actor who played him but of the script-writers that wrote such a part. It was demonic showing Jinnah to be as what one American film critic called 'the Devil Incarnate.' This is exactly why I think the same actor who had portrayed Jinnah in Gandhi should not play that part in the new film about Jinnah. The association between the two films will not be appropriate.

Good evening, Professorsaab. Your thesis that Mountabtten favoured India over Pakistan because of Edwina's relationship with Nehru is flawed. Do you think that a cuckolded Dickie would ever have accepted that relationship and actually gone Nehru's way.

Do you think that if Jinnah was made the prime minister of India, there would have been no Pakistan?

Mr Junaid, a slight correction of your facts: Junagadh and Hyderabad were not Muslim majority but Hindu majority states, ruled by Muslims.

Mr Ahmed: How can you praise Jinnah. Though he was a muslim he used to eat pork and drink wine?

Answer to Gandhy: I very much hope so. Bombay was very much Jinnah's city and he loved it. You will be interested to know that he left part of his estate in his will to the Bombay college he was associated with. However I hope Nikhil will help be get permission to enter Bombay. I understand the Pakistan cricket team had problems in entry!

When I watch Pakistan television, I feel I am watching my own people. Yet, we are destined to be enemies. Can we ever be friends? Do you think the fundamentalists in both our contries can ever allow us to be friends? Why not you initiate a person to person dialogue?

Mr Ahmad:I am sorry that you felt my interpretation brought out only the negative side of Jinnah . In the last 14 years that I have travelled around the world hundreds of people have told me that my portrayal of Mr Jinnah was that of a vibrant , passionate man who though ambititous was essentially a patriot . How they came to this conclsion amazes me because Mr Jinnah on the screen for not more than 10 mins screen time in a movie that lasts three hours and ten minutes!

SAARC: Both Gandhi and Jinnah were great leaders and as South Asians we can be proud of their integrity and moral stature. I believe the demonising of these extraordinary founding fathers must stop. We need to recognize their universal calibre.

Thank you, Mr Ahmed. I am not against your interpretation of Mr Jinnah. I am sure a tremendous amount of research has gone into your project. But what I am againt is your attempt to paint Jinnah white by painting the characters of Nehru and Gandhi blacker than they deserve to be. None of the three men were saints. Don't you think that, for once, an attempt should be made to portray them as human beings?

Dr Ahmed, your film allegedly reduces Mahatma Gandhi to a cameo appearance? Given the Mahatma's awesome role in those years, will not your film be limited in scope and depth?

Could you point out specific instances of Mountbatten's villainy? Do you have specific historic evidence to back your thesis? Or is it Paki demonising of Mountbatten?

Dr Ahmed, regarding the role of Mountbatten. Indians consider Jinnah the arch villian, are you not falling into the same trap vis-a-vis Mountbatten. After all, it would have been very difficult for Mountbatten to give anything extra to Pakistan without creating a rumpus in India? So why blame him alone?

Mr Padamsee, what are your objections to the Jinnah project?

Junaid: I always expect the same old question on Mr Jinnah's eating and drinking habits. I am not in the least bothered about his diet. Firstly that is his private matter. Secondly I cannot judge who is a good Muslim and who is not. Thirdly, I am paying tribute to the scale of his achievement.Fourthly, and for your information this is also part of a regular dis-information campaign started by Mr Chaqla who was Mr Jinnah's assistant in Bombay and sacked by him. He later rose to eminence after Independence in India. Naturally, he went about trying to hurt Mr Jinnah's reputation. I am sure no one asked the makers of the Gandhi film what Gandhiji ate or drank or what his other habits were.

I thought Alyque Padamsee's peformance summed up the essence of Jinnah. He should have got Best Supporting Actor at least!

At what stage is your project now? Who will play Mr Jinnah? And Mountbatten? Will you get an Indian actor like Channel 4 has got Bhutto?

SAARC: I have absolutely no objections to the Jinnah project. The character of Mr Jinnah is an endlessly fascinating one. He was one of the most brilliant barristers the country has produced and even before he founded Pakistan... he was a living legend at the Bar. Infact I am most interested in Professor Ahmed's film project , I am sure with his enormous study of the man and his times he will do more justice to Mr Jinnah in a full lenght film than I could do in a 10 minute screen role!

Mr Padamsee....

Mahan: We must be fair to Mountbatten. He had an almost impossible task before him but because he was so deeply involved -- with Edwina -- in his friendship with Nehru he tended to side with the Congress. As an example we have Christopher Beaumont's statements on Channel 4 about Mountbatten's role in the removing of Ferozpur district from Pakistan to India after his boss Sir Cyril had allocated it to Pakistan. This you will agree is hardly 'demonising' Mountbatten. This is merely historical evidence now available to the whole world. Please stop seeing this through the India-Pakistan skewed perspective.

Mr Padamsee, will you play Jinnah if Professor Ahmed asked you to?

Mr. Padamsee's acting may have been good, but his portrayal was that of a villain and not of Jinnah.

Mr Ahmed: When will you complete your film?

A friend was telling me that Jinnah was 'killed'. The two ambulances that were supposed to have ferried him to hospital if he took ill were not available in Muree for eight hours when he fell sick. Apparently, the mullahs were behind this because they did not want someone like Jinnah at the helm of affairs in Pakistan. How credible is this story?

Mera Bharat Mahan: Thank you MBM for your compliment. As luck would have it quite a few of us were considered for best supporting actor nominations . Besides myself as Jinnah there was Roshan Seth as Nehru and Rohini Hattangdy as Kasturba and also Saeed Jaffery as Vallabbhai Patel. But I don't think any of us woyld have got it because the film Gandhi already won 9 or 10 academy awards that year.

AKS: We are aiming to have it ready by August 1997. I hope the 50th year anniversary will give everyone in South Asia an oppertunity to reflect on the past and to think about the future for our region. I strongly believe that no understanding of Pakistan is possible without an understaning of Mr Jinnah. It will be a good oppertunity for everyone to be able to put things in perspective.

Mountbatten's administration made a similar bungle-up in Gurdaspur; allocating it first to Pakistan and then to India a few weeks later. If Mountbatten was not a villain, he was at least incompetent.

One isolated incident does not mean that Mountbatten was biased towards India. Perhaps London wanted him to go along with the more powerful of the two countries for geopolitical reasons. And I resent your insinuation that I am seeing things from a skewed Indian perspective. If you like I can log in as Mera Pakistan Mahaan.

Mr Ahmed: How far you will agree to the BJP that 90% of muslim in Indian subcontinent are converted from Hinduism?

SAARC: Please tell your 'friend' not to spread rumours. It seems rumours pass for history in our part of the world. When the ambulance broke down Mr Jinnah was already dying. He only had a few hours to live. He was by them over 70 years old and very sick. But I do agree that the ambulance breaking down is a disgraceful situation. At that stage Pakistan had very few facilities. When Mountbatten visited Karachi his car after the funciton caught fire. Of course your 'friend' would say that too was a 'conspiracy'.

Mr Ahmed, you seem to be ignoring my question. I am not against your interpretation of Mr Jinnah. I am sure a tremendous amount of research has gone into your project. But what I am againt is your attempt to paint Jinnah white by painting the characters of Nehru and Gandhi blacker than they deserve to be. None of the three men were saints. Don't you think that, for once, an attempt should be made to portray them as human beings?

Sorry, Profesor, if I offended you, I just wanted to clarify a story I heard.

Mera Bharat Mahan: I would be thunderstruck and overjoyed if Mr Ahmed offered me the role of Jinnah. It would give me a chance to show the other sides of this multi faceted character other than as an opponent to Mr Gandhi. Mr Seervai the emminent Indian lawyer, told me that young lawyers would fight for the chance to even carry Mr Jinah's briefcase . Very often the Britsih judge presiding over any trial where Jinnah was the barrister would often ask Mr Jinnah for his advice on one historic accasion when a poor man was being sued by a money lender for repayment of the loan , Mr Jinnah told the judge: " My Lord, since you have asked for my advice , I would reccomend you give the judgement of portia (from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice).

Mahan: Please keep your cool! We are supposed to be having a serious discussion. There was not one 'isolated incidence'. I can quote you several. Read Andrew Roberts' "Eminent Churchillians". He has a full chapter on Mountbatten. As for your logging in as Mera Pakistan Mahaan it does have a ring to it.

did jinahs dream of pakistan come alive

Mr Ahmed, don't you think a little bit of national bias has coloured your perspective? You seem to be portraying Jinnah as holier than though, as larger than life. So where is Jinnah, the human being, who fought for the independence of India as it was then? Who then got disillusioned with the Congress? Who was also so filled with a sense of his own grandeur that nothing would do but a separate nation of which he would be the Quaid?

Padamsee: I am delighted to know of Mr Padamsee's enthusiasm. I would certainly like to meet him and talk to him when I visit Bombay. I think we both share a high regard for Mr Jinnah.

Tushar: In all the films made so far, Nehru, Gandhi, and Mountbatten had been painted white at the expense of Jinnah. All Professor Ahmed is trying to do is set the record straight.

Mr Ahmed: Will your film portray the importance of 'Allama Iqbal'?

Mr Ahmed: Regarding your Jinnah project, how many Jeremy Irons do you have in the fire at the moment??

Tariq: A ear for a ear, a limb for a limb, a life for a life...

Professorsaab, I thought this was supposed to be a rational discussion. You seem to be losing your cool. Is it not true that Benazir Bhutto has sponsored the film. It is Pakistani propaganda, interpreting history through Islambad's perspective.

Mr Ahmed: Will your film portray the importance of 'Allama Iqbal'?

Rahul: Yes and no. Mr Jinnah got Pakistan independence and established a free state. But he also had very high hopes in his nation. His first two speeches to the Constituent Assembly are worth reading. He emphasized the tolerant nature of his state with Hindus being allowed to visit their temples freely and Muslims their Mosques. He also had every intention of having cordial relations with India. Indeed he offered a joint defence pact just before his death so that South Asia could find its own place in the sun in the post cold-war world that was forming. I think if Mr Jinnah, Gandhiji and Nehru came back on the 50th year anniversary they would be pleased with many things in their lands but also disappointed in others.

Prf Ahmed, PLEASE! Two questions and no answers, yet!

Professor, you have not answered my question on whether Indians and Pakistanis can ever be friends? If we cannot, like the arabs and the Jews, let us abandon this pretence and get on with our lives.

Firdaus: Allama Iqbal does not feature in the film because the story is focused in 1947. However the story of Jinnah and Pakistan cannot be told without reference to Iqbal and his poetic vision.

I am logging out. I don't think 'Professor' Ahmed can defend his thesis.

Tushar: I only think fairness demands that the other side of the story, need I say 'truth' be shown, even if it might offend some people.

Tushar: I think you are missing the point of the project: The aim is not to paint Gandhi or Mountbatten or Nehru black. It is to tell who Jinnah actually was and to relate the researched truth.

Dr Ahmed, it was nice of Jinnah to want to create a tolerant state, but as we have seen, intolerance and particularism have a snowballing effect. And if Pakistan was to be tolerant like India, then what was the need for a Pakistan?

SAARC: I firmly believe they can and they must. This is the great message from the lives of the great founding fathers like Mr Jinnah and Mr Gandhi.

Prof Ahmed: Just out of curiousity, How are Hindus in Pakistan treated? I'm sure they must not be treated well compared to muslims in India.

Good evening, Professor. I an Akbar too. Domiciled in the West Indian state of St Kitts. I am not interested in Jinnah as much as your work on Islam. Do you agree with Western analysts that Islamic fundamentalism poses the biggest challenge of the next decade?

Mr Ahmed,the father of the Indian nation-Gandhi already has a couple of films made on him. Films that have won international acclaim. Why was there nearly half a century's wait for a film on the founder of Pakistan?

Amberish: Pakistan was needed to appease muslims. You know peculiar Congress culture appeasing minority.

Mr Ahmed: Regarding your Jinnah project, how many Jeremy Irons do you have in the fire at the moment??

AS: Precisely my point. I would love to see an unbaised film on the leaders of these two nations.

ikb: Are the Muslims really treated well in India? Are the untouchables and other minoroities having such a whale of a time there?

Tushar: Sorry for the delay. No Mr Jinnah did not create Pakistan for his grandeur. Please remember both Gandhiji and Mountbatten had offered him the Prime Ministership of an independent India. He did not respond to such incentives throughout his live. He was offered a knighthood and refused etc. The reasons cannot be simplified to Mr Jinnah alone. There are so many cultural and political factors that explain the Pakistan movement. Indeed Iqbal talks of a Muslim state in 1930. Sir Sayyed talked of the two nation theory after the 1857 uprisings. Jinnah came to symbolize the movement in the 1940s but did not invent it.

Tushar: Are you from India?

LKB: How would you know? And if you don't, what gives you the right to make a statement like that?

Thank you, Prof Ahmed. Just in case you think I'm anti-Jinnah, there is this little incident I would like to bring to your notice. I know there there was one jobless young man who Jinnah took on as his personal assistant even though he did not really need one. And though Jinnah was always reserved and cool, the compassionate side of the Qaid's nature was not lost on this man!

Vikas: Yes, I am from India. Why do you ask?

Let me assure you AS that the so called backward classes are a major power base in Bihar and UP, and Muslims are not as badly treated in India as Hindus are treated in Pakistan.

Dr Ahmed, was not Jinnah responsible for sowing the seeds of Bangladesh. In his maiden speech in the then East Pakistan, right after independence, he had declared Urdu as the sole national language, which did not go down too well with the Bengali-speaking majority? Why could not Bengali have been a national language also (like in Canada today)?

Someone asked a little while before: Why is Gandhi playing just a cameo part?

AS: I'm sure you are a Pakistani, can you give me your e-mail adress. I'm from India.

Padamsee: Apart from the Jinnahs other actors will be Indians and Pakistanis. We very much hope your friend Roshan Seth will be in the film. I hope you know that our Producer/Director is Mr Jamil Dehlavi who made the film "The blood of Hussain" and won many awards. Channel 4 will pre-purchase the film and Mr F. Dhondy is one of the film's patrons. We also have some very distinguished Indians on board like Prof Biku Parekh, the authority on Gandhi, and Dr Ashis Nandy to provide us a balanced perspective. To call this film propaganda is to reflect a prejudiced mind.

SAARC: How many thousands of Muslims and Sikhs have been killed in India in the last decade? How can you say that minorities are treated well in India?

SAARC: Mainly because focused on the summer of 1947 by which time the Congress high command had moved Gandhiji away from the action.

did jinahs dream of an ideal pakistan come alive?

Mr Ahmed: Sorry if you missed the point of my Jeremy Irons pun. But is Mr Irons playing Mr Jinnah and will he have to black up or brown up for the role?

Let me jump in say that Nehru and Ghandi were both portrayed by British actors in 'Gandhi.' (Before someone gets up an attacks me I acknwoledge that Gandhi was played by an Anglo-Indian. There were other films as well where both the roles were played by British actors. So I really don't know what the fuss is about if Jeremy Irons is selected to play Jinnah.

Vikas: Yes, I am a Pakistani (no mystery about that) but sorry.... no email address!

..

Greetings, Dr Ahmed. I am intrigued by your assertion that the film will be based in the cricuble of 1947? Why? Will we miss the formative years of Jinnah? His metamorphosis?

Dr Ahmed, you have said that Gandhi had little to do by 1947. In politics, perhaps. But it was only because he accepted partition that Pakistan was born (on June 4, 1947, when he agreed to the plan at his prayer meeting). Yet it was thanks to Mahatma that the eastern side saw no violence, that his presence in Delhi saved thousands of Muslim lives, and that his assassination shocked the two countries into stopping their murders? Will all these be shown in you movie?

Dr Ahmed, you have said that Gandhi had little to do by 1947. In politics, perhaps. But it was only because he accepted partition that Pakistan was born (on June 4, 1947, when he agreed to the plan at his prayer meeting). Yet it was thanks to Mahatma that the eastern side saw no violence, that his presence in Delhi saved thousands of Muslim lives, and that his assassination shocked the two countries into stopping their murders? Will all these be shown in you movie?

Hello Akbar: I am sure you are as great as all the Akbars! I believe understanding Islam will be a major concern in the next few years. This is for several reasons which are contained in my book "Living Islam" published by Penguin in paperback last year. If Islam and its neighbours do not reach an understanding we will see continued turbulence. Fundamentalism today has affected all world religions while respecting religion we must also respect the rights of others.

You are not interested in answering my question on Islam, so farewell!

Thank you, for your kind response, but I must leave for work.

Padamsee: No I did not miss the irony. The same joke is cracked everytime my friends refere to the film! Mr Irons has the script. If he or any other well-known star plays Mr Jinnah they will not need to 'blackup'. Mr Jinnah I am told by those who saw him had a light complection.

Did not Jinnah break off with his daughter after her marriage, how do you intend to use her interview if your idea in doing the film is to revise his image positively?

Amberish: I agree I think Gandhiji's greatest hour came when he fasted to stop the killings of the Muslims. I sometimes wonder why a land that produced Gandhi cannot produce more Gandhis for our day and age.

What were Jinnah's feelings towards Gandhi at the end of his life? Do Pakistanis see Gandhi as a more treacherous figure than Nehru? Why? After all, the man paid with his life for his support to Muslims!

Mr Tariq Chowdhary if you will permit the scream Mr Jinnah the actors who played Gandhi and Nehru in Attenbourgh's film : Ben Kingsley has an Indian father and an English mother and Mr Roshan Seth who played Nehru is extermely Indian. However my question to Mr Ahmed still hangs in the air like the sword of Damocles ......IS JEREMY IRONS GOING TO PLAY THE ASIAN MR JINNAH?

Does you intention to "take on the film Gandhi" mean the projection of the Indian leaders negatively, since your complaint with the Attenborough film is that it showed Jinnah as a sulky, morose leader?

hello

Dr Ahmed, please answer my question. Also, it is supported financially by the state of Pakistan?

Shameem: You are right Mr Jinnah broke off relations with his daughter after her marriage. But we now have her letters recently published which establish that there were warm relations between the two towards the end. But this fact has only recently been unearth. I refer you to the "Jinnah Papers" Volume 2, published by OUP in 1994.

did jinahs dream of an ideal pakistan come alive?

Mr Ahmed: When you get a chance could you please let us know when did you first start thinking about doing this movie?

Kandy: No it is not. American, British, Pakistanis and Arabs have privately invested in the film. However I am assured we will have assistance when filming in Pakistan from the state. We also hope that we will also have assistance from friends in India.

What is the basic objection to Jeremy Irons or another 'white' actor playing Jinnah??

What are the hisporical sources you have drawn on to make this film? Have you met Dina Wadia?

Mr Ahmed: When you get a chance could you please let us know when did you first start thinking about doing this movie?

Mr Ahmed: For a European or Caucasian actor to play an Asian however fair the Asian is , he will need the Asian eyes of a Ben Kingsley .....particularly the almond shape of the eyes. But knowing Jeremy Irons to be a superb thespian , I have no doubt that he will give a marvellous performance as Mr Jinnah. I'm sure your script will be as emotionallly motivating as John Briley's was for Sir Richard Attenbourough.

Clion: I answered that question earlier in response to Nikhil's question.

Prof. Akbar Hello! How can you explain that Jinnah never went to prison during the freedom movement ? Why he was not considered a threat by Britishers ? Please answer.

Mr Ahmed: When you get a chance could you please let us know when did you first start thinking about doing this movie?

Prof. Akbar Hello! How can you explain that Jinnah never went to prison during the freedom movement ? Why he was not considered a threat by Britishers ? Please answer.

Professor Ahmed: I wish you the very best of Bristish luck and also Indian and Pakistani luck in your venture . Looking forward to continuing our dialogue in person rather than in keyboard! This is a naqli Mr Jinnah of ten minute fame signing off.

Paswan: Unfortunately as Mr Jinnah is misunderstood in India so Mr Gandhi in Pakistan. Indians and Pakistanis would be interested to know that the two although political opponents had mutual respect for each other. When Gandhiji was killed Mr Jinnah is on record expressing his great sorrow and stating that the Muslims of India had lost their closest friend.

Mr. Padamsee: my apologies for the mistake about Roshan Seth. However, you will agree with me that often that non-Asian actors have convincingly played Asian roles. I have great regard for you personally and for your considerable acting abilities. However, nobody has a monopoly over the role of Jinnah. If the producers of this film decide that an able actor like Jeremy Irons plays Jinnah, I think it is alright. I assure that I will defend your right to play a non-Indian role with even greater enthusiasm if that were so.

One of the purposes of your film is to improve the international image of Islam. How does the projection of one person serve the Islamic cause when representative groups continue to make isolationist statements that make the community look foolish internationally?

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pol: Mr Jinnah never went to jail because all his life he believed in fighting within the Constitution and law. This was one of the reasons he broke from the Congress in the 1920s. The British certainly considered him a threat as we saw from the behaviour of Lord Mountbatten. Every attempt was made to put pressure on him to give up his idea of Pakistan.

Movies don't always have actors who are blind playing the roles of characters who are blind? and so on and so forth...... What is the big fuss about a caucasian playing an Asian? Actors are known for their acting and not the colour of their skin or hair.

Prof. Akbar Hello! How can you explain that Jinnah never went to prison during the freedom movement ? Why he was not considered a threat by Britishers ? Please answer. One more thing, if you say that Jinnah was having respect for Gandhi - that is wrong! Jinnah made a point of ego that gandhi had to visit his house in Bombay for their talks. Moreover, After Independence when Gandhi wanted to come to pakistan to request peace, Jinnah was very much against of it. Please answer these two questions. Britishers never considered "Jinnah" a threat. That's why he was not kept in the Prison when all National leadrs were behind the bars.

Shameem: I believe if we can project a Muslim leader who believs in human rights, minority rights, women's rights and the rule of law it will help understanding. Muslims too have to appreciate the character of Mr Jinnah. Unfortunately there is little knowledge of Mr Jinnah and even among the Muslims.

Dr Ahmed: IS JEREMY IRONS GOING TO PLAY JINNAH? and if NO, then WHO?

Concluding: I very much enjoyed the chat and I hope it conveys the spirit of dialogue and understanding in which my colleagues and I have embarked on this project. With the millennium round the corner South Asia needs to get its house in order to compete as a region with the rest of the world. Let us stop scoring points and move ahead. In this exercise the understanding of one of the key players of the independence drama is crucial. With warm thanks to Nikhil for organizing the chat. This is Akbar Ahmed signing off.

Professor Ahmed, in which way can Indian and Pakistanis be brough together?

Prof. Akbar! As per laws and british constitution of India that time, it was very difficult to get freedom for INDIA. So, Jinnah's theory of fighting within constitution and law seems to be wrong ? That way India and Pakistan could not have achieved freedom . All the congress movements like no-coperation, civil dis obidience, quit INDIA were main factors to force britishers to leave India. Even Ali brothers were the heros of Khilafat Movement. Jinnah never took any harsh action against britishers. He was also not bothered about the future of other Muslims in INDIA who were left in INDIA ? Please comment.

Hello! Mr. Ahmed, appreciate your presence and look forward to your film. Could you tell us if you personally believe that countries should be formed or divided based on religion ? Ought that not to be a personal matter? Thanks Robin

Professor Ahmed, Many thanks for appearing on our Chat. I do hope you will appear on the Chat again to discuss the film when it is ready. Many thanks to Ms Wilson too for her kind assistance. It was a pleasure and I do hope this Chat goes some distance in bringing the peoples of India and Pakistan together.

Professor Ahmed, Many thanks for appearing on our Chat. I do hope you will appear on the Chat again to discuss the film when it is ready. Many thanks to Ms Wilson too for her kind assistance. It was a pleasure and I do hope this Chat goes some distance in bringing the peoples of India and Pakistan together.

Photographs:Jewella C Miranda