MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN - A Review

 Video Source : Tubi app. Also on Youtube.

 The book by that name has been made into a movie by the director Deepa Mehta, who resides in Canada. This movie is not a typical Bollywood movie. It certainly is not 'Slumdog Millionaire'. The title refers to children born on the day when India gained independence from Great Britain - midnight of August 15,1947.

 It is an impressive effort on the part of  Mr. Salman Rushdie (pronounced 'Rush' + 'thee') to write a story, that spans decades, about the history of the Indian sub-continent as it emerged from British colonial rule in 1947 to the declaration of emergency by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1970s. Enveloped within the story is the emergence of Pakistan as an independent country,  also in 1947, largely populated by  Muslims and the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country as it violently separated from Pakistan with the help of India in 1970s. The story is filmed in such a fashion that it is hard to separate fact from fiction because some characters start out 'small' but later turn into real leaders of countries, as recorded in history. Zulfikar is the name of a real politician in Pakistan's history! Shiva and Parvati are the names of two midnight's children in the movie; these are also the names of a Hindu God and a Goddess; a God couple in fact !!

The cinematography seems very impressive - some frames look like glossy prints from 'National Geographic'. The Dal (pronounced 'Dull') lake in Kashmir, where the story begins looks serene and other worldly; the old man with the cobras (Kul Bhushan Kharbanda) reminds me of the photographs I had seen of Rajasthani people in western glossy magazines. His name is Picture Singh. The houses seem to be made of bricks, marble and granite and are really big and palatial as compared to my tiny apartment. 

But all the historical stuff remains in the background in the movie; the real story is told from the point of view of a Muslim family residing in Kashmir, India. It is their sorrows and joys that remain in the forefront through out. [The background narrator's voice has strong resemblance to the author Rushdie's]. Veteran actors Anupam Kher, Kulbhushan K and Shabana Azmi have small but impressive roles while the newer group of actors led by Rajat Kapur make their roles very believable !!

The main character is Saleem, whose grandfather is Dr. Aziz who resides in Kashmir in 1917. Aziz is summoned by Mr. Ghani with dark spectacles (Anupam Kher) to treat his daughter and that his how we catch a humorous glimpse of the Muslim 'purdah' system - the doctor is only allowed to view the ailing part thru a hole in the purdah. But the doctor and the ailing daughter are soon married. From the beauty of Kashmir, the story moves to Agra where we catch a glimpse of  the Taj Mahal in the background as the doctor treats another patient on a house terrace. 

The date for India's freedom from the British is fast approaching and a faction of Muslims is against the country being split into two countries - India and Pakistan . This group is led by Mr. Abdullah and his young secretary Nadir. As the two are driving home after a party, Abdullah is shot thru the window of his car by militants who favor the creation of Pakistan. Nadir manages to escape but is so shaken up that he seeks shelter in Dr. Aziz's house in a hidden cellar. Aziz's daughter, Mumtaz , falls in love with Nadir and stays with him, hidden inside the room below the carpet.  The two are married in a private ceremony. But their happiness is short lived.

An army Major Zulfikar and his team come to arrest Nadir when Mumtaz's sister Emerald informs the Major of  Nadir's hideout inside their home. Mumtaz is heart broken and in tears as Nadir escapes after divorcing her by writing 'Talaaq' three times on a piece of paper. Major Zulfikar marries the bold Emerald and moves to Pakistan with her - after its creation in 1947 .

Nadir's Mumtaz and a businessman Mr. Sinai develop a friendship and Mumtaz agrees to marry him and move to Bombay. There the couple have two children, a boy and a girl. The father gradually develops a dislike for Saleem, his boy,  when he does not see any family resemblance in Saleem's features. His suspicion is confirmed when the doctor, who is treating Saleem for injury by a sadistic teacher, notices that his blood type does not match either of his parents. Saleem becomes schizophrenic - he sees and talks to a group of imaginary children his age when he is alone inside his room. These are the Midnight's children. The mother Mumtaz sends Saleem to her sister Emerald in Pakistan when she witnesses the father Sinai severely abusing Saleem.

There is a British gentleman, William Methwold, in the story who has to hand over his mansion in Bombay to the Sinais because of the imminent departure of the British from India. Methwold is sad that the British have to leave India in spite of them having established the Railways and the modern Postal system. It is here we are introduced to the poor Wee Willie Winkie and his young wife entertaining Methwold and Sinais with silly and humorous limericks  in the garden for small change.

To discover why Saleem does not have any similarity to his parents, we have to turn to Mumtaz's maid who has invented her own way of  removing disparity between the rich and poor [ 'making the rich, poor and the poor, rich'] ! The poor Wee Willie's wife gives birth to a son at the same time as Mumtaz's son. The maid had switched the two sons in the hospital. So Wee Willie has rich Mumtaz's son and Mumtaz has poor Wee Willie's son! Both are unaware of the switch.

In Pakistan, Zulfikar has become a General and is organizing a coup to take over the government at the time of child Saleem's arrival in West Pakistan. Saleem grow up in Pakistan. We are shown his Pakistani female cousin and Saleem, now a young man,  dancing a 'twist' to a popular Indian song !! It is time for East Pakistan to raise its voice and seek independence from West Pakistan. Saleem is sent to fight on behalf of West Pakistan. West Pakistan looses the conflict when India decides to help East Pakistan and we have the birth of a new country called Bangladesh. From amongst the corpses rises Saleem and joins the revelers as they celebrate their independence. Here he meets the girl Parvati, who is one of the Midnight's Children he saw in his 'hallucinations'. Parvati smuggles Saleem  into India, his country of birth, as she migrates to India!! They enjoy their new found freedom in a slum like setting for some time.

Next chapter shows the descent of  the popular Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she declares emergency in 1970s.[ The actress Sarita Chaudhary does a poor caricature of  Mrs. Gandhi who was quite intelligent and mature and not the 'paan' chewing type !! ]As the government tries to get rid of the slums of Delhi by force, Saleem and Parvati are once again tossed out of their homes. Shiva also has an ongoing affair with Parvati and makes her pregnant. It is this friend and foe Shiva, (the other half of the switch ) now an Indian army Major and the voice of the government in the slum ,who beats Saleem up and locks him in prison when Saleem tries to approach Parvati in the chaos. Saleem is released from prison when the Emergency ends and Mrs. Gandhi is removed from power. Saleem looses Parvati. Shiva also dies in an accident. Saleem willingly accepts Shiva's son Parvati had left with the old cobra man, Picture Singh !!

Thus ends the saga of the ever suffering Saleem as he is tossed from one home to another, from one country to another, from one political upheaval to another, from rich mansions to gullies and slums !! He is the 'I' of the background narrator (Rushdie) and his is the 'prize' - the democracy with all its ups and downs !!.

[Note: I am the 'Day After' child ! India was already a dozen years past the glorious midnight when I 'tumbled' into existence . My story begins sixty years before I was born. when my grandfather served the British with honor building roads and supervising construction...he tasted big peaches and super sized fruits in the hills of the North West, which now lie in Pakistan.

The only British I encountered were on Radio or TV playing cricket with India and Pakistan.

 I remember reading about the Emergency in local newspapers in Bombay in 1970s while I was a young student.

Ravi L.]