Coming to a theater near you!
Maybe, maybe not. Late last year
famed Indian film director Deepa Mehta released a movie adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s book Midnight’s Children, though you’d never
know it by looking at the cinema listings in Chicago, home to a huge Desi diaspora
(Indian and Pakistani) population. Part
of the reason the movie hasn’t opened here yet is because controversy seems to
follow Rushdie (author of The Satanic
Verses). But perhaps a bigger reason
it’s not playing in Chicago is the decline in the number of “art” theaters in
the city, a sad commentary. If this movie is even a fraction as
entertaining as the book, it will be packing movie houses, if they ever get it
distributed coherently.
Click here for: Movie Trailer
The book Midnight’s Children
is a historical epic masked as a fable; or perhaps a fable masked as a historical
epic. It tells the story of 1,000
children born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947 – the time and date of
India’s independence from British colonial rule. Their life stories parallel that of their
country’s modern history.
Each of the children grows up to discover they have some magical power,
though they don’t at first, realize why.
The main character in the fable is Saleem Sinai, whose magical power is
telepathy. He hears other peoples’
thoughts and has the ability to convene a teleconference of the other children
during their dreams.
Saleem is born to wealthy parents … well actually, no. Saleem is born at the same time as a rich
kid. The nurse at the hospital makes the
life altering decision to switch babies while no one is looking – destining
poor to be rich, and rich to be poor. The
two boys will meet again when Saleem accidently convenes the first Congress of
“midnight’s children” in his dreams one night.
They will hold vastly different perceptions on everything, mirroring the
rich/poor divide of India as a whole.
An excellent read, read it for the history, read it for the fable, and
hopefully see the movie.
I need to see this movie!
ReplyDeleteDoes the story revisit that nurse again? later in life, too?
The nurse remains an important character throughout.
ReplyDeleteI've just finished reading the book a few days ago. I must confess I liked it, but did love it! If you'd like, you can read my review on my blog: The Book Affair.
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