Earth [VHS] [1998]

I saw this film as someone who does not like Bollywood fare and was surprised to find that on every level: (Technical-lighting, music,Artistic style, Intelligent intent, Historical content and acting..... Any more? - You name them!)Some Indians are making movies that are better anything Hollywood turns out. It's basically about how the motions of vast religious (read political) machinations during partition bring about a degeneration in a group of friends of all religious background.

There is an especially telling little kernel at the heart of the story when Aamir Khan (excellent as ever) tells the girl he loves about how, if he does not marry someone from the opposed religion to temper his mind, he is afraid of the beast within himself that may be unleashed with the insane goings on around him.

Brave enough to show Nehru (hagiographed in all other things that I've seen) as a distant, Upper-class and very English radio voice, far removed from the little people that political egos crushed in the mayhem....The only short coming I found was not mentioning the culprits responsible for setting up the worst atrocity of the 20th century....And watch out for an especially haunting ending.

Warning: don't lend this video to any narrow minded bigots/fundamentals of any persuasion - they may damage the tape so it can't be seen again.

I saw some wonderful films - and particularly recommend Sanjit Ray's Apu trilogy - but this movie was the standout.
It's such a wonderful film, and tells a compelling story - of the biggest migration of people in history that marked Indian independence and partition, and of the resulting violence which exploded, between Hindu, Muslim and Sikh, a violence that also ripped apart communities and friendships.

The movie deals with fairly heavy topics, but much of the film is light in tone. It depicts the lives of a group of disparate friends, many of them wistful suitors of a beautiful Ayah who looks after a young Parsee girl, Lenny, the film's narrator. The love triangle between the Ayah, Ice Candy Man and the Masseur is engaging, often humorousm and extremely romantic. This means that when their friendships are rent apart by sectarian, senseless violence, the impact on the viewer is sudden and immense.

I actually brought a friend to the screening - as it was the last film of the course. She was reluctant and unsure if she'd enjoy it. Like me, she was enchanted by the story and characters, and horrified by the events that overtook them. The film's closing scenes are extremely powerful. When the screen turned to black and the credits started to roll, everyone in the cinema simply sat there stunned. I've rarely had that emotional a reaction to a film. I was as affected as if I had seen the events for myself first hand.

It's an astonishing film.