Thought-Provoking. Review on 1947 - Earth

I like to watch films with a bit more substance. I do not mean that some of the popcorn Bollywood films are the only culprits. Hollywood in USA has a tendency to make a film simply based on special effects and throw in a poorly written script in the middle, and all it a film. Russian cinema is the same. They make these ''artsy'' films with no story, and just think odd camera effects make up for this. Deepa Mehta makes films that cause one to stop afterwards and ponder her message. Earth was no exception.

Casting: Nandita Das, who was in Fire plays Shanta. She is the nanny for a little girl named Lenny(Maia Sethna) who has polio in one leg. AAmir Khan plays Dil(Ice Candy Man). Rahul Khanna plays Hasan, who is Shanta's love interest. The rest of the cast is made up of some superb Indian actors in supporting roles.

Plot: The story is set in 1947 Lahore just before the split of India and Pakistan into 2 separate countries. The wonderful British are leaving and drawing up the dividing line. The question is whether Lahore will be part of India or Pakistan. There is a group of working class friends who go to the park every day and sit and chat. The group is comprised of 3 Muslims, 2 Hindus(one being Shanta), a Sikh, and Lenny being a Parsi girl. They are all great friends for many years. However, the split of India causes tensions among them just like it does in the rest of India. Some of them want to leave Lahore because of the tensions. There is a love triangle between Hasan and Dil and Shanta. She loves Hasan, but Dil is so much in love with her it consumes him. It is interesting to see the change in Aamir's character from the beginning of the film. At first he is a moderate Muslim who mainly cares only for going to the park to see Shanta. Then, he waits for his sisters to come over from India on a train. The train arrives and all the passengers are dead. He suddenly becomes this angry person out for revenge, which I can understand. There are mobs of Sikhs going against the Hindus. Hindus are dragging Muslims in the streets and killing them. The scenes are disturbing, but I feel needed to convey what a terrible time this was for the Indians. I think Deepa placed a good message in the film. Aamir's character said something that I feel will always stay in my mind. It also reinforces to me that Deepa is trying to let the audience know it is not just about India, or to showcase a low part of its history. He said something like this goes deeper than Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh. We are like the caged lion at the zoo that Lenny baby is so afraid of. We lie there and wait for the cage to open. We are like animals. It goes beyond India. To me, I think he was reaffirming human nature. The British were like the cage I suppose.

Conclusion: I think Deepa did a good job in making this film. Rahul and Aamir really were able to show their talents. The message was about human nature and what people are capable of who have been caged for so many years and are being set free. Russia is another example of this. I mean, Russia is still struggling. People do not know how to behave now that no one is ruling them. Well-dine film. I wish WATER was out right now. I was curious to see how Deepa would handle another controversial subject. By the way, if I was Shanta, I would have married Aamir. Yes, he is short, but he is SO SEXY. Just don't tell my husband I said that.