Nehru-Mountbatten affair cleared by the Government of India

Government of India has reportedly conditionally shown green light for the shooting of Hollywood movie 'Indian Summer' to go ahead.

Its production was reportedly temporarily put on hold because India Government officials wanted to see how the affair between Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, and Lady Edwina Mountbatten, wife of last British viceroy of India, would be played out.

Officials, after scrutinizing the script, reportedly wanted some incidents removed, like the Nehru-Edwina kiss, their being in the bed together, etc. The makers reportedly have also been told to state that the film is a fictional work and any changes in the script should seek pre-approval.

Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) will reportedly play Edwina in this upcoming movie, which will portray last days of British rule in India. Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral) will reportedly be Lord Mountbatten. Actor to play Nehru is yet to be selected.

Mountbatten’s daughter Pamela also wrote about Nehru’s relationship with her mother in her memoir “India Remembered”. Richard Hough's biography “Mountbatten: Hero of Our Times” also talks about this affair. When Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten died on February 21, 1960, India’s parliament passed a condolence resolution.

To be released in 2011, this Universal Pictures drama will be reportedly directed by BAFTA winner Joe Wright (Atonement) and written by Oscar nominated William Nicholson (Gladiator), and will show last British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten handing over the power during the summer of 1947 to Nehru. It is based on the book “Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire” by Alex von Tunzelmann. Film will reportedly follow the important events during India’s Independence. It will be shot in various parts of India and filming starts early next year. There are about sixteen movies already with the name of “Indian Summer”, first released in USA on June 21, 1912.

--SAMPURN