Nikkhil Advani on Jinnah's depiction of Quaid-e-Azam in Freedom at Midnight: 'He became possibly one of the most powerful voices...'

Ahead of the release of season 2, the maker of the show, Nikkhil Advani, addressed these criticisms and stood by his portrayal of Jinnah on the show.

• Freedom at Midnight season 2 streams on SonyLiv from January 9, 2026
• Director Nikkhil Advani defends portrayal of Jinnah as elitist in the series
• Arif Zakaria plays Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father

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Nikkhil Advani’s directed web series Freedom at Midnight is set to return with its second and final season on SonyLiv later this month. The show has received appreciation from several viewers, including actor Arif Zakaria, who portrays Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s father of the nation.

However, some viewers criticised the depiction of Quaid-e-Azam, claiming he was shown as overly ‘snobbish and elitist’. Ahead of the release of season 2, the maker of the show, Nikkhil Advani, addressed these criticisms and stood by his portrayal of Jinnah on the show.

He said, “I find it a joke because he took to Islam and religion only because he wanted to become Quaid-e-Azam. I mean, he was a whiskey-drinking, sausage-eating, South Bombay elitist. Jinnah had become possibly one of the most powerful voices in the legal system in India in the 1920s, and he took great pride in being a resident of Malabar Hill.”

Talking about Jinnah’s portrayal in the series, Nikkhil added, “Arif Zakaria grew up in South Bombay. So it became very easy for me to say that he will get the small nuances that I wanted him to bring to the Mohammad Ali Jinnah character.”

Before relocating to Karachi shortly before the Partition in 1947, Jinnah was a well-known member of Bombay's upper society and lived there during his time as the Muslim League's leader. He was Pakistan's first Governor General following the independence of both India and Pakistan, and he is regarded as the country's greatest leader, or Quaid-e-Azam.

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Freedom at Midnight, an adaptation of Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins' book of the same name, tells the tale of Indian independence and Partition from the viewpoint of its founding fathers.

Freedom at Midnight is scheduled to stream on SonyLiv from January 9, 2026.