Earth (1998 film)

Infobox Film
name = Earth


caption = Cover to New Yorker Video release
director = Deepa Mehta
producer = Anne Masson
Deepa Mehta
writer = Deepa Mehta (screenplay)
Bapsi Sidhwa (novel)
starring = Aamir Khan
Maia Sethna
Nandita Das
Shabana Azmi
music = A. R. Rahman
cinematography = Giles Nuttgens
editing = Barry Farrell
distributor = New Yorker Video
released = 16 September 1998 (Toronto Film Festival)
runtime = 101 min.
language = Hindi
English
budget =
preceded_by = "Fire" (1996)
followed_by = "Water" (2005)
imdb_id = 0150433
amg_id =1:173718

"Earth" (Lang-hi|अर्थ) is a 1998 film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, "Cracking India", (1991, U.S.; 1992, India; originally published as "Ice Candy Man," 1988, England). "Earth" is the second part of a linked trilogy by Mehta; it was preceded by "Fire" (1996) and followed by "Water" (2005).

Plot

England, having colonized India at its leisure, granted it independence with unseemly haste. Even its most outspoken nationalists were taken aback when Lord Mountbatten, the British viceroy, unexpectedly announced that the date for independence was a few months, not a few years, in the future. The British decision to pull out by Aug. 15, 1947, left a country with no orderly way to deal with the rivalries between Hindus and Muslims, and the partition of India and Pakistan along religious lines led to bloodshed, massacres and, as this film calls it, "the largest and most terrible exchange of population in history". "Earth" is a film that sees that tragedy through the eyes of a group of friends in Lahore, then a part of India, now in Pakistan. There are Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsees, even a Christian or two. They have lived side-by-side since time immemorial, and the more idealistic think that situation can continue.

The movie is about a young, brace legged, eight year old Parsee girl named Lenny (Maia Sethna), whose beautiful nanny, Shanta (Nandita Das) is admired by all the men in a circle of friends. She slowly comes to love Hasan (Rahul Khanna), a masseur, who is Muslim. She likes, but does not love, Dil (Aamir Khan), known as "Ice Candy Man". Her life is pleasant in a wealthy Parsi household ruled by Lenny's kind mother and officious father. When a train of Muslims arrives at the local depot and all the passengers are found murdered, the various sects turn against each other, and the city is soon aflame. For Lenny, the trouble first appears in her Lahore home when a quarrel erupts between Mr. Singh, a Sikh neighbor and Mr. Rogers, a British Inspector General of Police, who have come to dine with her parents. Bitter words metamorphose into slogan shouting mobs and arson. Angry Hindus storm through Lahore one day, and angry Muslims the next. Still, it is all far enough away from Lenny's uneasy but untouched home where her mother, Bunty, teaches her to waltz and Ayah's crew of admirers continue to meet in the park as before. The once charming Ice Candy Man turns into a near madman, one of the many roaming the streets of Lahore with vengeance and murder on their minds. The Muslim Masseur, Hasan, the only voice of reason amongst Shanta's admirers, implores the group of friends to "stand by each other". A love affair between him and Shanta, blossoms amidst the carnage and Lenny is privy to this fragile relationship between a Muslim and a Hindu. A film which gracefully establishes the beauty of peace and crudely depicts the tragic loss of it, Earth concludes that the most painful kind of betrayal is that which occurs within the family.cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150433/plotsummary|title=Plot summary of 1947:Earth]

Cast and crew

*Aamir Khan - Dil Navaz, the Ice Candy Man
*Nandita Das - Shanta, the Ayah
*Rahul Khanna - Hassan, the Masseur
*Maia Sethna - Lenny Sethna
*Shabana Azmi - voice of older Lenny
*Kitu Gidwani - Bunty Sethna
*Arif Zakaria - Rustom Sethna
*Kulbhushan Kharbanda - Imam Din
*Rajendra Kumar - Refugee Police
*Pavan Malhotra - Butcher

oundtrack

Infobox Album
Name = 1947: Earth
Type = Album
Artist = A. R. Rahman


Released = 1998 (India)
Recorded =
Genre = Film soundtrack
Length =
Label = T-Series
Producer =
Reviews =
Last album = "Dil Se" 1998
This album = "1947: Earth" 1998
Next album = "Doli Saja Ke Rakhna" 1998|

Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

Regarded as one his best compositions, the soundtrack featured 9 beautiful songs composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar

Release

Critical reception

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and states that "Earth", "is effective because it doesn't require much history from its viewers, explains what needs to be known, and has a universal message." [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991015/REVIEWS/910150301/1023] "The New York Times" described it as "a powerful and disturbing reminder of how a civilization can suddenly crack under certain pressures." [http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/091099earth-film-review.html] "The New Yorker" argues that, "Deepa Mehta handles her material convincingly, and the cast is so likable that they wear the larger themes like beautiful garments." [http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/earth] Rediff.com notes that, "Aamir Khan has probably given the best performance of his life. It is hard to imagine another actor bringing alive the nuances of the ice-candy man the way he does." [http://www.rediff.com/entertai/1999/sep/10earth.htm] "Planet Bollywood" gave the film a 9.5 out of 10 and stated that, "Earth" is strongly recommended to those who want to see a different type of Hindi film and who are tired of the usual boy meets girl stories and revenge dramas." [http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/earth.html]

Awards and nominations

*Filmfare Best Male Debut Award - Rahul Khanna
*"Earth" was the Indian nominee for the 2000 72nd Academy Award for Best Foreign film, but was not included among the final five nominees selected by the AMPAS.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.arrahman.net/1947-earth-1998 1947 Earth Lyrics & Translation]