Midnight's Children
English, Hindi (A) ¬¬¬¬
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: Sathya Bhabha,
Shahana Goswami, Siddharth, Shriya Saran, Seema Biswas, Ronit Roy
One's response to Deepa Mehta's films thus far has been lukewarm. Frankly, while one has enjoyed her films in parts (a sequence here; a shot there) — on the whole, they have at best elicited 'okay-could-have-been-better' response.
Most certainly one has never been taken in by the accolades showered on her and have rarely identified with remarks like, she is the 'emerging new face of Indian cinema.' Really? Nah! You're kidding!'
So that's the back story, just so you get a perspective.
Midnight's Children, therefore, turns up a surprise. The work whose span takes into account five generations, a period lasting 60 years (1917-1977), during which time India and Indians went through countless upheavals and tumultuous times. A period which saw an uneasy quiet before every storm — think Independence, Partition, riots, wars of 1948, 1965, 1971, Emergency… the film could not have been an easy pick. There is good reason why it has been considered widely un-filmable. Yet, Mehta takes the plunge, and comes up tops.
She manages to contain yet implode the unrest, unhappiness and angst of the central characters who unknowingly mimic a nation going through similar times. The emotional upheaval of their lives draws parallels with the chaos that reigns in the countries they inhabit — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The characters are a metaphor of the circumstances they are caught in and yet creators of those circumstances.
For those unaware, the plot takes as its focal point Saleem Sinai (Sathya Bhabha) around whom are woven multiple narratives of his grandparents, parents (Ronit Roy and Shahana Goswami), sibling (Soha Ali Khan) and nanny (Seema Biswas). Also take into account a pal Parvati (Shriya Saran) and rival (Siddharth) who are voices in his head but who, owing to the magic realism technique (used extensively and convincingly by Rushdie in his works) become characters in his real world too.
The narrative may appear disjointed and seemingly without a plotline, moving as it does between stories and sub-stories tied together through national events, but the beauty of this vast canvas is that there is but one man whose story is participative in each of the smaller tales.
For those who enjoy structure, this one's not for you. For those looking for conventional fare, please avoid. Because in a film like this, it's inevitable that it slack sometimes; the actors appear to sleepwalk in places; the outdoors mis-en-scene appear limited — for it was shot in Sri Lanka and had to make do with candid, stock shots of India.
But Midnight's Children is a film which is over and beyond such details because sometimes you have to overlook the obvious in order to appreciate the sub-text. For that reason alone, it becomes a must watch. Mehta has outdone herself. In fact, it doesn't even feel like it's a film she has made. Just kidding!
English, Hindi (A) ¬¬¬¬
Director: Deepa Mehta
Cast: Sathya Bhabha,
Shahana Goswami, Siddharth, Shriya Saran, Seema Biswas, Ronit Roy
One's response to Deepa Mehta's films thus far has been lukewarm. Frankly, while one has enjoyed her films in parts (a sequence here; a shot there) — on the whole, they have at best elicited 'okay-could-have-been-better' response.
Most certainly one has never been taken in by the accolades showered on her and have rarely identified with remarks like, she is the 'emerging new face of Indian cinema.' Really? Nah! You're kidding!'
So that's the back story, just so you get a perspective.
Midnight's Children, therefore, turns up a surprise. The work whose span takes into account five generations, a period lasting 60 years (1917-1977), during which time India and Indians went through countless upheavals and tumultuous times. A period which saw an uneasy quiet before every storm — think Independence, Partition, riots, wars of 1948, 1965, 1971, Emergency… the film could not have been an easy pick. There is good reason why it has been considered widely un-filmable. Yet, Mehta takes the plunge, and comes up tops.
She manages to contain yet implode the unrest, unhappiness and angst of the central characters who unknowingly mimic a nation going through similar times. The emotional upheaval of their lives draws parallels with the chaos that reigns in the countries they inhabit — India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The characters are a metaphor of the circumstances they are caught in and yet creators of those circumstances.
For those unaware, the plot takes as its focal point Saleem Sinai (Sathya Bhabha) around whom are woven multiple narratives of his grandparents, parents (Ronit Roy and Shahana Goswami), sibling (Soha Ali Khan) and nanny (Seema Biswas). Also take into account a pal Parvati (Shriya Saran) and rival (Siddharth) who are voices in his head but who, owing to the magic realism technique (used extensively and convincingly by Rushdie in his works) become characters in his real world too.
The narrative may appear disjointed and seemingly without a plotline, moving as it does between stories and sub-stories tied together through national events, but the beauty of this vast canvas is that there is but one man whose story is participative in each of the smaller tales.
For those who enjoy structure, this one's not for you. For those looking for conventional fare, please avoid. Because in a film like this, it's inevitable that it slack sometimes; the actors appear to sleepwalk in places; the outdoors mis-en-scene appear limited — for it was shot in Sri Lanka and had to make do with candid, stock shots of India.
But Midnight's Children is a film which is over and beyond such details because sometimes you have to overlook the obvious in order to appreciate the sub-text. For that reason alone, it becomes a must watch. Mehta has outdone herself. In fact, it doesn't even feel like it's a film she has made. Just kidding!