Movie review of "Midnight's Children"

Movie review about the Midnight’s Children and The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

The Midnight’s Children is the movie adapted from the novel of  the same title by   Salman Rushdie. The novel is so long so it looks difficult to compile into a movie version. The technique used in this movie is of Magic Realism. Directed by Deepa  Mehta, the movie tries to compile story of three generation which looks too long. The movie has rather allegorical  political meaning.  The narrator of this movie is Saleem Sinai. And he starts telling story from his grandfather, then father and  his life’s journey, so it becomes difficult to remember and also looks unnecessary in the movie. Movie could have been much better if it only tries to cover life of Saleem Sinai. Or just little information through flashback technique would be fine. Even the representation of Indian slum area, streets, fighting, riots during independence movement, blood shed and mass killing looks like pre- conceived notion about India or say stereotypical image of India. Rushdie himself lives in Europe since many years, so we can say that he is also looking at India like Western people looks.

The movie has a very traditional beginning like I was born in Bombay  'Once upon a Time....'
#  scene of Miah Sahib killed in the beginning of the movie by telling that you Kafir can't prevent partition is appropriate to show the ugly face of partition.

# When the world will sleep, India will awake- is very significant.
Nurse's changing of child plays vital role in the plot of the movie.

There is also a scene in which lift were pulled by ropes, which presents appropriate picture of contemporary India.

# Messenger technique:  Rather than showing blood shed and mass killing Film maker brilliantly makes use of old technique ( messenger   comes on the stage and informs that this happens outside)
that Mary's husband comes and tells that outside people are killing eachother.Hindu killing Muslim and Muslim killing Hindu.

#Magic Realism presented very well in the movie. A scene where Saleem calls other Midnight's  Children and introduces  their  gifts that is wonderful.
Shiva always fights and Saleem always tries to make them realise the reason why they are there....
# birth of children symbolically means birth of Nation. For example Shiva and Saleem - India and Pakistan. And later on birth of Adam Sinai ( son of Parvati) also symbolically attached with birth of Bangladesh.

#'India is the Prime Minister, Prime Minister is India'- a statement in the novel/movie is very controversial.
Decision to destroy slum by Indira, Emergency as a black spot in the history of democracy,... is a serious attack on the politics of India.

#After the end of the 1971 war, camera captures the scene of corpses lying here and there and there is even no one to buried them, shows the dehumanization and terrific effect of war. India and Pakistan makes treaty with each other. Then what is the use of war? What about those who have lost their lives for the sake of war? Govt. has nothing to do with either soldiers or common people. So it tries to give voice to them.

# there is also a scene in the movie in which crow was sitting on the grave, which symbolically means ....there is no one to remember who pass away.

Traditional way of looking towards India:- In the movie at the time of 1971 war, there is scene when an old man called Picture-ji has so many snakes with and around him. Which proves image of India as a land of snake charmers.

# it is Parvati-the witch who saves Saleem Sinai during war and brings him back to India through his magic tricks - Abaraka dabra. And the same word speaks Adam sinai at the end of the movie.

#at the  near end of the movie Emergency is over and

 camera captures scene of sunrise which  suggests new beginning, new hope and birth of country.

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