Imtiaz Ali’s new film Main Vaapas Aaunga delves into the enduring trauma of Partition, continuing Bollywood’s complex cinematic journey of depicting one of history’s most violent and impactful events.
Key Points
- Films like Dharmputra and Garm Hava advocated Hindu-Muslim unity and depicted the struggles of those who chose to stay in India.
- Films like 1947 Earth and Hey Ram explored the psychological toll and human cost of communal violence.
Partition is a deep, festering scar that is never truly going to heal for the two countries it wounded.
Even though most of us belong to generations that never experienced it firsthand, the repercussions of one of the most violent chapters in history, the event that birthed India and Pakistan as two separate sovereign nations, continue to reverberate even after eight decades.
It is a wound that is still scratched, either to remind people never to repeat such a tragedy again, or to exploit an event that killed millions and displaced millions more in order to incite further hatred.
Cinema, too, has oscillated between these two intentions.
On one hand, there have been films that reflected the pain and anguish of those impacted by Partition, their struggle to assimilate into a new land among unfamiliar people, or the plight of those whose patriotism and loyalty came under suspicion because they chose to stay back instead of moving to a country defined by their religion.
On the other hand, cinema in recent times has increasingly used Partition as a tool to create further division and resentment in an already fragile atmosphere when it comes to Hindu-Muslim relations.
Imtiaz Ali, whose films have always celebrated love in one form or another, has taken the former approach with his new film, Main Vaapas Aaunga. The movie revolves around a grandson who discovers that his dying grandfather has mentally regressed to his youth, back to the days of Partition when he had not yet left his homeland and had not yet been separated from his first love.
Sreeju Sudhakaran looks back at Bollywood’s attempts to reflect the trauma of Partition and picks 10 films that stood out.
Dharmputra (1961)
Where to Watch: YouTube
‘Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega, Insaan Ki Aulaad Hai, Insaan Banega.’
It has been 65 years, yet Sahir Ludhianvi’s beautiful lyrics still need to be taught to the children of today.
Yash Chopra‘s first film as a director naturally drew upon his own feelings and experiences as someone who migrated to India from Pakistan after Partition. The film was remarkably bold for its time, arriving when the wounds were still fresh.
The character, played by Shashi Kapoor in his first leading role, reflects the anti-Muslim prejudice prevalent among Hindu fundamentalists then. Ironically, the character himself is born Muslim, a truth he discovers only later.
Dharmputra remains one of the finest films advocating Hindu-Muslim unity, with the performances of the young Shashi Kapoor and Mala Sinha continuing to hold strong even today.
Garm Hava (1973)
Where to Watch: YouTube
Adapted from Ismat Chughtai’s unpublished short story, with a screenplay by the great Kaifi Azmi and Shama Zaidi, Garm Hava is widely regarded as one of the pioneering films of India’s parallel cinema movement.
The legendary Balraj Sahni plays an ageing Muslim patriarch whose family is thrown into turmoil after deciding not to migrate from Agra to Pakistan following Partition.
As they face growing hostility from friends and neighbours and struggle with the economic hardships of a newly independent nation still recovering from colonial rule, M S Sathyu’s drama becomes a heartbreaking account of people who chose to stay because they loved their homeland more than anything else.
Garm Hava also marked the breakout of a young Farooq Shaikh, who played the protagonist’s younger son.
Tamas (1988)
Where to Watch: YouTube
Tamas, directed by Govind Nihalani and based on Bhisham Sahni’s novel of the same name, was first released as a television serial on Doordarshan before being reworked into a four-hour feature.
Focusing on the riots that accompanied Partition, Tamas shows how political and religious opportunists manipulated public sentiment and turned communities against one another while ordinary people became collateral damage.
In these times it feels strange that the then government allowed Tamas to be telecast in the hope of calming tensions during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Unfortunately, many of its lessons remain unlearnt.
Easily one of the finest works ever produced for Indian television, Tamas also boasted an extraordinary cast including Om Puri, Amrish Puri, Deepa Sahi, A K Hangal, Pankaj Kapur, Saeed Jaffrey and Surekha Sikri in a National Award-winning performance.
1947 Earth (1998)
Where to Watch: JioHotstar=
‘Darr logon se kuch bhi kara deta hai, Lenny baby,’ Shanta tells a young Lenny.
To this fear, add loss, heartbreak and grief, and you get the birth of a monster.
Aamir Khan delivers perhaps the finest performance of his career in Deepa Mehta’s second instalment of her Elements trilogy, which also includes Fire (1996) and Water (2005).
When we first meet Dil Navaz, he is a cheerful, likeable ice-candy man living in harmony with his Hindu and Sikh friends in Lahore while harbouring feelings for Shanta (Nandita Das), the Hindu caretaker of a young Parsi girl.
As tensions rise around him, Dil Navaz slowly transforms into a cold and ruthless man (possibly, a killer) when he loses his own family in the violence and finds the girl he loves is attracted to someone else.
Watching the corruption of this once-charming young man is reason enough to see this disturbing and powerful film, filled with haunting imagery and elevated by A R Rahman’s evocative score.
Train To Pakistan (1998)
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Based on Khushwant Singh’s acclaimed novel, Pamela Rooks’ movie adaptation is set in a fictional Punjabi village located on the newly-drawn border between India and Pakistan.
The simmering tensions within the village explode when a train arrives from Pakistan carrying the bodies of murdered Sikhs and Hindus.
Train To Pakistan follows multiple storylines, including forbidden romances and a district magistrate struggling to contain a rapidly deteriorating situation.
The tension escalates further when another train carrying Muslims reluctant to leave their homes is scheduled to depart for Pakistan, while vengeful Sikhs and Hindus plot to massacre its passengers.
Though the filmmaking occasionally shows its rough edges and the performances vary in quality, Train to Pakistan remains a hard-hitting watch with a powerful climax.
Hey Ram (2000)
Where to Watch: Prime Video and Eros Now
Kamal Haasan’s second directorial venture is an ambitious film that continues to divide audiences.
Built around an alternative historical narrative, Hey Ram is occasionally indulgent and could certainly have benefited from tighter editing. Yet, it has grown in stature over the years.
Like Dil Navaz in 1947 Earth, Saket Ram is a fundamentally decent man broken by the violence of Partition, which brutally claims his wife. His grief and anger are exploited by Hindu extremists who attempt to weaponise him in their plans to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi.
The film features a stellar ensemble cast led by Haasan, alongside Rani Mukerji, Atul Kulkarni (in a National Award-winning performance), and Naseeruddin Shah as Mahatma Gandhi.
There is Shah Rukh Khan in a memorable and heartbreaking extended cameo as Ram’s Pathan friend whose fate ultimately guides Ram back towards humanity.
Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001)
Where to Watch: Prime Video and Z5
Anil Sharma’s melodramatic, mass-friendly blockbuster certainly capitalised on lingering hostilities in the aftermath of the Kargil War, giving Sunny Deol’s protagonist ample opportunities to unleash fury across Pakistan.
But Gadar is much more than hand-pump action and chest-thumping patriotism.
At its heart lies a sincere and tender love story between Tara Singh, a truck driver, and Sakina (Ameesha Patel), a young Pakistani girl separated from her family during the violence of Partition.
While Gadar may not feature in many lists of the greatest films ever made, there is a genuine warmth to its central romance, and what’s more, it had a soul, something sadly absent from its louder, hollower and almost parodic sequel.
The film also impresses with its production design and in Uttam Singh’s chartbuster score.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Partition plays a crucial role in Farhan Akhtar’s career-best performance as legendary athlete Milkha Singh.
The biopic’s early portions explore how young Milkha arrives in India as a refugee after losing his parents to communal violence. His experiences in refugee camps alongside his sister and brother-in-law leave emotional scars that continue to haunt him throughout his life.
The trauma he carries affects key moments in his sporting career, including him losing a medal at the 1960 Olympics.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film ultimately becomes not just the story of a man striving to become a better athlete, but also of someone attempting to overcome the wounds of his childhood in a crowd-pleasing finale.
Jubilee (2023)
Where to Watch: Prime Video=
Vikramaditya Motwane’s brilliant series charts the rise and fall of the star-driven studio era in post-Independence India through the lives of individuals united by one passion: Cinema.
Since the story begins in 1947, Partition plays a crucial role in shaping the destinies of its characters.
Aparshakti Khurana’s Binod finds an unexpected opportunity to be an actor amid the violence. Sidhant Gupta’s Jay loses his home and lands in a refugee camp with his family while nurturing dreams of entering the film industry. Aditi Rao Hydari’s superstar actress Sumitra Kumari loses a second chance at love because of the same upheaval.
While the communal violence itself is largely confined to the opening episodes, its ripple effects continue to haunt these characters, with the consequences of their choices impacting their journeys of chasing success.
Freedom At Midnight (2024)
Where to Watch: Sony LIV
Sidhant Gupta headlines yet another incredible Partition-era drama, this time portraying India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Based on Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins’ book of the same name, Nikkhil Advani’s series takes a painstaking look at the political events that accompanied India’s birth as an independent nation.
The show explores Jinnah’s divisive politics, the growing differences between Nehru and Patel as they struggle to steer a fragile nation through turbulent times, and Gandhi’s increasingly desperate attempts to stop the violence engulfing the country, even as people begin questioning his ideals.
Packed with powerful scenes and excellent performances, Freedom At Midnight is essential viewing for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how this nation came into being.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
