Midnight’s Children (2012)

I am a fan of Salman Rushdie’s writing and I am fond of Tinkerbells. Hence, when she asked me to do a review of the movie ‘Midnight’s Children’, I thought that I could use a diversion.

I remember finishing the book while on a train journey from Mumbai to Chennai - in 2002 and not 1999 as I originally told Tinkerbells. After three false starts, I read the book just before I joined b-school, and have vague recollections of the writing. I was travelling on my own, and my fellow passengers commented as to how I spent more time reading and less time talking.

Things haven't changed.

In February 2013, I watched the movie on my own and in a largely empty theatre. The few occupants were mostly foreigners or Indians who had lived / were living abroad. I got an aisle seat and was happy with the positive discrimination. I later noticed that there were atleast 3 more ladies who had come to watch the movie on their own.

The movie is faithful to the main story. What helps while watching this movie? For starters, reading the book will help. An understanding of India’s history is helpful. An appreciation for what happens when a person is forced to move sides because the country that once belonged to him doesn’t belong to him anymore, and what happens when you are not your parents’ child is useful. A liking for depictions of irony will help. If you dislike the idea of magic (and stories like Harry Potter), watching all the Midnight’s Children talking to each other might be bit much.

I remembered the description of Saleem Sinai’s grandfather, and found the casting of Rajat Kapoor as Aadam Aziz good. When his character ages, Shabhana Azmi plays his wife Naseem and I didn’t like her performance as much. Dal Lake looks real - I can't find any ready links as to whether film shooting was done on site.

Ronit Roy who plays Ahmed Sinai and Shahana Goswami (of ‘Rock On!!’ fame) who plays Amina Sinai were both well-cast. The break-up of Amina's first marriage is shown well. Amina’s sister Emerald (played by Anita Majumdar) was good, and her husband Zulfikar (played by Rahul Bose) was reduced to a caricature. I don’t know if this was deliberate – my memory of his character from the book eludes me.

Satya Bhabha who plays the protagonist Saleem Sinai has been panned by critics. His casting and acting worked for me because of the way he brought to life Saleem’s unsure body language, his Anglo-Indian parentage, his bewilderment at what happens to him and his love affair with Parvati. Also, his lack of height seemed to elevate his performance.

Parvati played by Shriya Saran was easily the best of the lot. The way she moved about in the dirty bylanes of Delhi with ease, and her comfort with her body was nice to watch. She played a magician, and she did well.

Soha Ali Khan plays Jamila Sinai, Saleem’s sister. She was aptly cast, and so was Seema Biswas as Mary the nurse who swaps the lives of two children – Saleem and Shiva. I remembered the descriptions of green chutney from the book, and was glad to find the chutney find its way into the movie.

This brings me to Shiva, played by Siddharth of ‘Rang De Basanti’ fame. He surprised me with his depiction of violence just via his body language, and was immensely watchable.

I didn’t like the portrayal of the Lady, played by Sarita Choudhury. There seemed too much effort with the movement of her jaw, and it came across as unnatural. What I liked was that there were no cuts introduced regarding this character. It serves as a reminder for me to read up a little more on Indira Gandhi.