Friday Release 'Midnight's Children': Will Deepa Mehta's sensibilities be appreciated?

New Delhi: Deepa Mehta was very careful since the beginning of the shooting of 'Midnight's Children', so the proceedings were kept secret as she feared protests from fundamentalist groups, something that happened during the filming of 'Water' also.

Mehta has consulted Salman Rushdie, the original writer of 'Midnight's Children', for the screenplay, and together they have come up with a film which can make many eyebrows frown. Interestingly, the current scenario is already in chaos due to the 'Vishwaroopam' row, so a fresh controversy is looming over Mehta's film as well.

In an interview given to IANS, Deepa Mehta talked about the growing intolerance towards films like 'Midnight's Children' and 'Water', "The point is, despite the protests, 'Water' did get made. And despite all the protests Rushdie will be welcomed and celebrated in the land of his birth by folks who appreciate the written word and are not small-minded bigots. As the ad for freedom of expression goes, they can burn books. They cannot silence his voice."

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  Deepa Mehta's 'Midnight's Children' based on Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel will hit the screens this Friday.

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  The film is set around the partition of India and has a long list of actors in the star cast, which includes, Shriya Saran, Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Siddharth Narayan, Shahana Goswami, Rahul Bose, Seema Biswas and others.

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  At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, as India proclaims independence from Great Britain, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay (now Mumbai) hospital.

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  Salman Rushdie has not just written the screenplay of the film but the author has also turned singer for 'Midnight's Children'.

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  This Friday will see Deepa Mehta's 'Midnight's Children' compete with Sylvester Stallone's 'Bullet to The Head' and Jeremy Renner's 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters'.

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  Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a horror-action-fantasy film.

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  The story revolves around bounty hunters Hansel and Gretel who track and kill witches.

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  Directed by Tommy Wirkola, the film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton.

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  Giving a new spin to the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel will not only have to encounter witches but also their past.

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  Tommy Wirkola has given his own twist to the film by setting it in 21st century.

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  Sylvester Stallone is back to the silver screen in another action flick 'Bullet To The Head'.

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  Directed by Walter Hill, the film is based on a French graphic novel 'Du Plomb Dans La Tete'.

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  Sylvester Stallone was last seen in 'The Expendables 2'.

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  In 'Bullet To The Head', a hitman and Washington DC detective come together to fight their common enemy.

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  Apart from Sylvester Stallone, the film will also see Sung Kang in a pivotal role.

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Some political groups objected to the film when it was showcased at the International Film Festival of Kerala.

The film stars Satya Bhabha, Shriya Saran, Siddharth Narayan, Anupam Kher, Shabana Azmi, Seema Biswas, Samrat Chakrabarti, Anita Majumdar and Rahul Bose in pivotal roles. A group of Congress party workers raised their objection towards the film when it was showcased at the International Film Festival of Kerala. Mehta reacted to that in an interview given to PTI, "The film is not just about Mrs Gandhi but it is an aspect of what happened. I don't think she is portrayed in any other way except in a very accurate way."

She further said, "Emergency is a reality and the facts are accurate otherwise censor board wouldn't have been so generous with me. There is nothing which is not historically accurate in it."

However, the problems for the film don't end here, some religious organisations always had issues with the novel's content. The book is a narration by Saleem Sinai which throws a new light on India of post independence period. It took the style of magical realism to a new height in Indian sub-continent. The book is called 'Midnight's Children' because Saleem Sinai, the protagonist of the book, is born at the midnight on August 15, 1947. Sinai has an amazing sense of smell and is hyper sensitive towards certain things.

Satya Bhabha is playing the role of Saleem Sinai in the film while Shriya Saran will be seen as Parvathy. Some of the clips of the film have been released and thus the audience is likely to see Shriya Saran in a role which is almost true to the actual character of Parvathy in the book. This can emerge as another bone of contention for a few religious factions.

'Midnight's Children' is an important book, not because of the controversies but because of the documentation it does of Indian middle class and their religious sentiments.

Rushdie understands the scenario and thus he says, "This is a different kind of emergency, it's a cultural emergency in India. Culture is the new target and artists do not have gangs to defend themselves. Culture and art is not hard to attack."

Now, when the debate of freedom of expression is out in the public domain due to the 'Vishwaroopam' row, will the common audience be able to appreciate the aesthetic sensibilities of Deepa Mehta's 'Midnight's Children'? (With inputs from IANS, PTI and CNN-IBN)

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