Freedom At Midnight Season 2 Review

Nikkhil Advani had a mammoth task at hand. Adapting Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre’s ‘Freedom At Midnight’, a book chronicling the events leading to India’s freedom and the partition of the country, would not have been an easy task. Nikkhil, however, rose to the occasion and created a show that was engaging and immersive in equal measure. The first season of ‘Freedom At Midnight’, which premiered in November 2024, spanned across seven episodes. The new season, which has started streaming on Sony LIV from today, has the same number of episodes.

It’s July 1947 and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is having a meeting with the members of the Indian National Congress. At the meeting, Dr. Ambedkar shows them the final design of the tricolour and talks about how the three colours in it represent courage, peace and prosperity. Cyril Radcliffe is entrusted with the task of drawing a lines through Punjab and Bengal by Mountbatten. Soon enough, Radcliffe starts realizing how complex the task is. Though Radcliffe asks for a little more time to finish it, he is told that it needs to be completed before August 15, 1947, the day India would become officially independent.

With the support of writers Abhinandan Gupta, Adwitiya Kareng Das, Gundeep Kaur, Divy Nidhi Sharma, Revanta Sarabhai and Ethan Taylor, creator and director Nikkhil Advani crafts a show that familiarizes you with the history of your nation and oozes a sense of authenticity that seems to have become very rare. When you analyze the writing or observe the production design, you realize a lot of effort has gone into ensuring that every detail is represented correctly.

The show is embellished with several memorable performances. Siddhant Gupta delivers a stupendous performance as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. From his body language to diction, everything remains consistent throughout the show. Rajendra Chawla portrays Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in a very dignified manner. He also gets to say some of the most lines in the show. Chirag Vora, as Mahatma Gandhi, is highly effective. Arif Zakaria is solid as Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Luke McGibney delivers a confident act as Lord Mountbatten.

The second season of ‘Freedom At Midnight’ is as effective as the first season. It serves as a fitting finale to this epic saga which is driven by solid writing, memorable performances and dexterous direction.