India-Pakistan partition: Films which depict the divide

Picture worth a thousand words: Movies that narrate tales of the post colonial divide.

The India-Pakistan partition is a topic that spin controversies even after 73 years have gone by. Crossing over lines is unhealthy and painful, in any relationship. And it is this troubled past that keeps both the countries poles apart even when next to one and other. Here are 10 movies that show us what went also happened on August 15, 1947:

1. Chhalia (1960):

Chhalia is a movie, where the partition becomes a page from the epic.

Directed by Manmohan Desai, who has also directed movies such as Bluffmaster (1963), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Naseeb (1981). The plot is based loosely on the novel - "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - is set in the context of the Indo-Pakistani Partition period, taking character references are seemingly taken from Ramayana, such the role of Shanthi (Nutan) is such as Sita, Kewal (Rehman) Ram.

Chhalia (Raj Kapoor), the protagonist, intervenes when Shanti is spat and rebuked by both her family and her husband. The story has many political undertones, such as the nomenclature of the female lead being ‘Shanthi’ indicates peace and reconciliation between the tormented countries.

The union of Kewal and Shanthi with the background of the burning of the formidable figure of Ravana amidst a celebrating crowd indicates the union of the two countries with the cheerful approval of the nations’ citizens.

2. Dharmputra (1961):

From riots against the British, to riots among themselves, the emotional imbalance of religious groups during partition is portrayed in the film.

Based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen, Yash Chopra directed this movie, this film boldly put forth the religious bigotry and communalism that was going on in both the countries.

The plot has a simple twist, wherein the mother of a Muslim child is pressured to leave her son to a Muslim family at the refugee camp during the split.

She returns, years later, only to find her son has become an ‘anti-Muslim’ and extremist. The movie’s climax furthers with the dilemma of parentage, destructive lifestyle choices and broken bonds.

The fact that this dogma is still relevant to the current scenario is what sets this movie apart.

3. Subarnarekha (1965):

The living and employment conditions of the refugees from East Pakistan was enunciated in the film.

Ritwik Ghatak, a name that has been immortalised in the history of Indian cinema as one of the main exponents of the theme of partition and refugee.

His trilogy on the partition: Meghe Dhaka Tara, Subarnarekha and Komol Gandhar deals with the agony of the common people after they were forced to leave their homes, and the aftermath influx of the migrants into the mainstream society.

Subarnarekha in particular deals with the life of a young man trying to come to terms with the changing post-partition society and his confrontation with the refugees. The story takes place around the time of Gandhi's assassination, the film draws attention to the complex relationships and intricate emotions between the East Pakistan refugees in Calcutta, especially towards the young ones.

4. 1947 Earth (1998):

The movie 1947 Earth deals with the difficulties faced especially by women and children. (Youtube video screengrabs)

A narrative so intricately woven - based in Lahore, a polio-affected wealthy young Parsi girl, her Hindu caretaker who is desired by two Muslim men of the neighbourhood - and all of these among the rising religious tensions between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Adding to this, the partition of India brings its lumpsum of problems to the characters.

The story is based on Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India (1992), and the movie is directed by Deepa Mehta. The characters, who were once goods friends, later losing edge with faith succumbing to the national tragedy. keeps the recital engaging.

5. Garm Hava (1973):

The two extremes that the Muslims who stayed in India were pulled towards was the epicentre of the plot.

MS Sathyu’s “Garm Hava” takes the unbeaten path, by depicting the predicaments faced by the Muslims who decided to shun Pakistan's 'one-nation-one-religion' theory, and stay back in their motherland. Social anxieties, insecurities, internal conflicts and the perpetual fear of the incumbent Muslim minorities, in a newly independent nation, where their credits have vanished overnight.

Garm Hava is a movie, which would never lose its relevance if the issues pointed in it is either neglected or worse, rejected.