The book by Bhisham Sahni is just excellent and the TV series by Govind Nihlani does complete justice to the book. The Indo-Pak partition is one of the cruelest episodes in human history but given the enmity between two countries (rather the two religion involved) there has been very few good stories (either movie, book or else) and even fewer honest one. Tamas is story of a Sikh couple (Om Puri and his pregnant wife Deepa Sahi) running away to avoid riots and seeking refuge some place. The parallel stories of how man can turn into the most vicious animal has been presented very nicely. I think this is perhaps the only Indian story which is not one dimensional, it takes into point of view of both Sikh/Hindu and Muslim sufferers.
4 Reviews
Outstanding! Stories that bring humanity to the "Partition" of India
Guy3313413 March 2006
This 1986 miniseries is now being shown as a very long (a few minutes shy of five hours) feature on 35mm film at Indian Film Festivals. It is now making the rounds in South America, and may be viewed with English or Spanish subtitles.
The nonstop five hour marathon is well worth the discomfort and inconvenience of sitting so long. The stories of the suffering refugees as a result of the 1947 Partition humanize this great human tragedy. The film is adapted from a book by a Punjabi who opted for India, and was displaced from West Punjab (now in Pakistan) to the east (today's India). It is therefore told from an "Indian" perspective, in spite of all the concessions made to the "Muslim" (Pakistani) side in the first half of the film.
The inviability of one soul Indian state with a Hindu majority is persuasively defended. However, the migration of Sikhs and other non-Muslim characters make it clear that India alone was to become a true plural society. The film, like the book, only addresses the division of the Punjab. But the Punjabi partition was, along with the Bengali partition, the most tumultuous.
This film features an early major performance by Om Puri, one of the sub continent's greatest actors of the last 30 years. His character and his wife make up the Punjabi Hindu family most featured in the film. The other major family highlighted is an elderly Sikh couple.
There are bad, but mostly good Pakistani Muslim characters who interact with the Hindus and Sikhs. The film (and book) go to great lengths to balance the suffering, guilt, and barbarity amongst all the religious groups. But, it has a definite pro-Indian slant.
This is probably not a bad thing, but rather a reality. Sixty years of history now have proved India to be, and to continue striving to be, the plural society it envisioned. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been unstable since its inception, having lost East Pakistan (now pro-India Bangladesh). No end is in sight for its eternal problems: political instability, religious intolerance and fanaticism, corruption, and under development.
This epic film is a must for anyone wanting to further understand and explore the sub-continent, and the complicated history and diverse peoples who inhabit it. It is in my opinion THE modern Indian epic, the DEFINITIVE "PARTITION" film. It is not to be missed.
The nonstop five hour marathon is well worth the discomfort and inconvenience of sitting so long. The stories of the suffering refugees as a result of the 1947 Partition humanize this great human tragedy. The film is adapted from a book by a Punjabi who opted for India, and was displaced from West Punjab (now in Pakistan) to the east (today's India). It is therefore told from an "Indian" perspective, in spite of all the concessions made to the "Muslim" (Pakistani) side in the first half of the film.
The inviability of one soul Indian state with a Hindu majority is persuasively defended. However, the migration of Sikhs and other non-Muslim characters make it clear that India alone was to become a true plural society. The film, like the book, only addresses the division of the Punjab. But the Punjabi partition was, along with the Bengali partition, the most tumultuous.
This film features an early major performance by Om Puri, one of the sub continent's greatest actors of the last 30 years. His character and his wife make up the Punjabi Hindu family most featured in the film. The other major family highlighted is an elderly Sikh couple.
There are bad, but mostly good Pakistani Muslim characters who interact with the Hindus and Sikhs. The film (and book) go to great lengths to balance the suffering, guilt, and barbarity amongst all the religious groups. But, it has a definite pro-Indian slant.
This is probably not a bad thing, but rather a reality. Sixty years of history now have proved India to be, and to continue striving to be, the plural society it envisioned. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been unstable since its inception, having lost East Pakistan (now pro-India Bangladesh). No end is in sight for its eternal problems: political instability, religious intolerance and fanaticism, corruption, and under development.
This epic film is a must for anyone wanting to further understand and explore the sub-continent, and the complicated history and diverse peoples who inhabit it. It is in my opinion THE modern Indian epic, the DEFINITIVE "PARTITION" film. It is not to be missed.
Indian art at its zenith
Ali_Asgar20 August 2013
Since the story of this 'movie' has already been discussed in detail I would only talk about the cinematic aspect. I give it perfect ten because it is a rare Indian movie with perfect script writing, acting, direction, cinematography and background score. The story involves you intensely right from the first scene. The most incredible part is that inspite of the slow pace you cannot get off the screen for a minute. This masterpiece also proves that a good and organic story can be cleverly shot on an ultra low budget and still can be an eye catcher like the big budget movies. Hats off to Govind Nihlani, Bhishm Sahni, Om Puri, Deepa Sahi and everyone involved. I will not even talk about the story content here since I would want everyone to watch this. Just a small note - this series gives the most realistic depiction of the origin of all political ideologies in India. PS: I watched it as a for part movie in one sitting and so have given the perspective of a movie.
An Indian classic!
WorldMovie9920 June 2020
It's a must see for those who want to know about Indian independence issues. The movie shows many events related to Indian national Congress,Muslim League, Socialist party of India, Hindu nationalism, Common people lives and many .
Though nearly 5 hours long it's a quality based movie. Another masterpiece of Sir Govind Nihalini. The technical sides are top class. Acting,Directing are at the maestro level. The world faced a dark times in 20th century. India is no exception to it. It shows the dark side of India in those times. Though negatively themed but gives positive message in many parts of the movie. A 94/100.
Though nearly 5 hours long it's a quality based movie. Another masterpiece of Sir Govind Nihalini. The technical sides are top class. Acting,Directing are at the maestro level. The world faced a dark times in 20th century. India is no exception to it. It shows the dark side of India in those times. Though negatively themed but gives positive message in many parts of the movie. A 94/100.
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