1947 Earth - Rajat Gupta

Admittedly, it took me a while to recover after watching the violent scenes of India’s partition shown in 1947-Earth. However, once I did, I could appreciate the nuances that Deepa Mehta introduced in her characters and scenes that add tremendously to the power of her film.

While using an eight-year old as a narrator made the story undeniably poignant, I particularly admired the film for portraying the events from the perspective of a Parsi family. While much of the movie was set in a park, where Lenny would giggle at various suitors vying for Shanta’s affections, or in Lahore’s streets, where post-partition violence breaks out, the scenes set in the Sethna household added rich color to the story. It is in the household where we see guests at a dinner party come to blows about whether independent India would flourish; it is here where we see a wealthy family prepared to ‘throw their lot’ with the victor and be neutral like the Swiss. It was also in these scenes that I appreciated Nandita Das’ fine abilities as an actor—in the scenes where Shanta is being courted by Hassan or Dil Navaz, Nandita Das is so in control, that it always took me a minute to recalibrate her as the domestic help.

Another interesting aspect of the movie was Mehta’s choice to cast Aamir Khan in a negative role. Perhaps due to years of watching Aamir Khan play the protagonist, right till the end I expected him to be Shanta’s knight in shining armor. I really enjoyed how Dil Navaz’s character was developed through the movie—from a jocund poet, to a vengeful, jilted lover, all the while remaining Lenny’s beloved ice-candy man.

The ending of the movie, where a Muslim crowd arrives at the Sethna household, is a nerve-racking one. Mehta managed to make the audience squirm while watching the one loyal employee attempts to simultaneously reason with, and admonish the crowd. Even sitting in the classroom, the tension was palpable when Dil Navaz approached Lenny in a cheerful voice, cajoling her into disclosing where Shanta was really hiding. However, I felt this scene was a departure from reality—given the stories of widespread looting and arson during the partition, once the crowd got to the Sethna household, I found it impossible to believe they wouldn’t have entered the house if it weren’t for Lenny’s disclosure. I think the scene would have been even more powerful if it had been set inside the house, with the mob searching for Shanta, and almost ready to leave when Dil Navaz coaxes Shanta’s whereabouts out of Lenny.

Through this movie, Mehta managed to explore many themes related to human emotions—the efforts of a Parsi family to safeguard their interests as tensions escalate between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, friendships devolving as communities come to blows, and a young child realizing how fickle emotions can be. Ultimately, for me, the film was aptly characterized by a quote from Dil Navaz: “we’re all lions in a zoo, waiting for our cages to break open, so we can unleash our wild side.”