Is there a novel way to revisit the chapter of India’s independence and the partition? Nikkhil Advani had the answer when he got his hands on Freedom at Midnight, written by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. “I don’t think it’s a great book,” begins the creator-director. “But it appeals to me because it doesn’t take itself seriously. It speaks about the perspective of the authors, and [presents] Lord Mountbatten’s perspective.”

Starring Sidhant Gupta, Chirag Vohra and Rajendra Chawla, the SonyLIV series chronicles the last one year before India got its independence in 1947. While Lapierre and Collins’ book served as the blueprint, Advani says the team had to be cautious while adapting it. “When we sat down to decide how to make this show, we had discussions about the possible controversies and how different sections may react. So, we thought we’ll follow the events as they are indisputable. The role that somebody played in those events is disputable. It is indisputable that everyone thought the partition would lead to the end of violence. Only Mahatma Gandhi said it would become worse,” says the creator-director.