Earth (1998)

It's 1947 and the borderlines between India and Pakistan are being drawn. A young girl bears witnesses to tragedy as her ayah is caught between the love of two men and the rising tide of political and religious violence.

Director:

Deepa Mehta

Writers:

Deepa Mehta, Bapsi Sidhwa (novel)

Stars:

Aamir Khan, Babby Singh, Kitu Gidwani

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aamir Khan	...	Dil Navaz
Babby Singh	...	Yousaf
Kitu Gidwani	...	Bunty Sethna
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Hariya / Himmat Ali
Kabir Chowdhury	...	Cousin Adi
Arif Zakaria	...	Rustom Sethna
Eric Peterson	...	Mr. Rogers (IG)
Gulshan Grover	...	Mr. Singh
Lauren Walker	...	Mrs. Rogers
Cinia Jain	...	Mrs. Singh
Rahul Khanna	...	Hassan, the Masseur
Navtej Singh Johar	...	Sher Singh
Pavan Malhotra	...	Butcher
Sunil Mehra	...	Toto Ramji
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Imam Din

Storyline

The movie opens in Lahore of 1947 before India and Pakistan became independent. It is a cosmopolitan city, depicted by the coterie of working class friends who are from different religions. The rest of the movie chronicles the fate of this group and the maddening religious that sweeps even this city as the partition of the two countries is decided and Lahore is given to Pakistan.

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Plot Keywords:

india | hindu | muslim | friend | british | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

India Canada

Language:

Hindi English Gujarati Panjabi Urdu

Release Date:

7 July 1999 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

1947: Earth

Filming Locations:

New Delhi, Delhi, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$42,449 (USA) (10 September 1999)

Gross:

$528,972 (USA) (14 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cracking the Earth Films Inc., Jhamu Sughand Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was banned in Pakistan for political reasons. In India, the censor board made six cuts, including the sex scene.

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Connections

Follows Fire (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Raat Ki Dal Dal Hai"
Performed by Sukhwinder Singh
Composed by A.R. Rahman

User Reviews

How far have we come in 50 years?

This question resonated in my mind as the credits rolled. The release of this movie came at a high point in India's history - 50 years after independence from the British.

As an Indian-born American this film had an intense emotional impact on me, as it did with my best friends sitting to my right and left - a Muslim and a Sikh. It seems melodramatic but we sat in our seats, tears in our eyes, stunned.

One of the things I look forward to after every movie going experience is the inevitable discussion that follows. All three of us were silent for almost half an hour. It dawned on us that we could have been the group of friends who were so close at the beginning only to be divided by our demons in the name of religion at the end.

As an aspiring film-maker, I would like to congratulate Deepa Mehta for her courage and determination in presenting such amazing human stories. In an industry where Bollywood sachharine seems to prevail, it is reassuring to see a true artistic voice strike a lyrical chord with the world.

She makes me proud to be Indian first and foremost.