Country of Origin: Canada/IndiaLong ago, in a country extremely different from the country we know today, we are taken back to the days of disaster and sorrow to when the British fallout began in India, resulting in a partition of the country into two; the dominantly Hindu/Sikh India and the Muslim majority Pakistan. During the partition people had to migrate to India or Pakistan depending on their religion, and it was during these migrations that there were mass murders of over half a million people. Hindus/Sikhs were killing Muslim men, women, and children in the hundreds; Muslims were killing Hindus and Sikhs with no signs of mercy as well. This film centers around a young Muslim girl named Naseem (Kristin Kreuk), and Sikh soldier-turned-farmer Gian (Jimi Mistry) as star crossed lovers, in this tale of forbidden love in a world torn apart by their differences. During one of the many migrations, Naseem’s group was attacked which leads her to Gian, and with time their love for each other surpass everything else.
What was absolutely amazing in this film was the fact that usually you are shown a bad guy and a good guy; conversely, in this movie you are shown the bad of both and the good of both sides (in this case the good and bad of the different religions). Sure there are the occasional antagonist characters, but those characters come from both sides of the fence. Director Vic Sarin portrays the partition, that occurred in the late 1940s, beautifully and without any bias. In fact, his main goal was to show his audience that even in a time of extreme division, there was always some hope of unity, some hope of diversity. That may have been one of his motivations in casting his lead characters. Both his main characters are of mixed decent; Kristin Kreuk comes from a half Dutch and half Chinese background, while Jimi Mistry is half Hindu and half Irish. Both actors did a splendid job at portraying the different cultural values and beliefs and their performances together were heart-warming to say the least. This film exposed the hidden talent of two actors who have not had much big screen time in the past. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.
What was absolutely amazing in this film was the fact that usually you are shown a bad guy and a good guy; conversely, in this movie you are shown the bad of both and the good of both sides (in this case the good and bad of the different religions). Sure there are the occasional antagonist characters, but those characters come from both sides of the fence. Director Vic Sarin portrays the partition, that occurred in the late 1940s, beautifully and without any bias. In fact, his main goal was to show his audience that even in a time of extreme division, there was always some hope of unity, some hope of diversity. That may have been one of his motivations in casting his lead characters. Both his main characters are of mixed decent; Kristin Kreuk comes from a half Dutch and half Chinese background, while Jimi Mistry is half Hindu and half Irish. Both actors did a splendid job at portraying the different cultural values and beliefs and their performances together were heart-warming to say the least. This film exposed the hidden talent of two actors who have not had much big screen time in the past. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.
1 comment:
This sounds like an interesting film; since you clearly appreciated the themes presented, I'd highly recommend "Water" -- the last in Canadian director's Deepa Mehta's Elemental trilogy, which concerns the various difficulties faced in Indian culture.
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