Film Review: Postcolonial Films

 Thinking Activity

Postcolonial Studies: Film Screening: Midnight's Children and The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Hello Readers! 

    We have had online film screening of the two films, " Midnight's children " directed by Deepa Mehta, base on novel written by Salman Rushdie and another is " The Reluctant Fundamentalist " directed by Mira Nair, base on a novel written by Muslim Hamid. So here our task is to give a film review with a perspective of the postcolonial studies, so let's see... 

# Midnight's Children :

From one of the most acclaimed novel Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, emerges this drama Midnight's Children 2013 film highlighting the lives of two individuals born at the stroke of midnight when India achieved its independence from the British. The legendary yet dramatic Midnight's Children movie features a great story that marks it as an epic saga of the decade. This movie takes us through all the ages beginning from the grandparents to the grandchildren. Switched at the time of birth by a nurse at a Bombay hospital, the lives of the two individuals are mysteriously intertwined. As fate would have it, one (Saleem) is a son of a beggar woman whereas the other child (Shiva) becomes the destined son of a wealthy couple. Over a period of time, their fate makes them face each other on the field of rivalry, politics, romance and class.

#  Midnight's Children as a ' Fragmented' allegory :

  Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children (1981), remains a central text in postcolonial literature. Rushdie's ambitious novel rejects the British colonial versions of India and constructs a 'new' world and a new depiction of Indian citizens and history in an attempt to provide greater truth to Indian images and history. 

   Midnight's Children follows Saleem Sinai, the novel's narrator, as he self-consciously explains his family history to the reader and to his listeners, Padma. While describing his grandfather and grandmother's personal history, Saleem intertwined Indian history within his narrative. This combination of his own familial history and Indian history culminates in the moment of his birth. Born at precisely midnight, August 15,1947, Saleem echoes the birth of an independent India, which gained it's independence from Great Britain at the same exact moment as Saleem's birth. In this moment, Saleem gains the ability to communicate with the other "midnight's children", those also born on the same day as Indian independence. The novel aligns Saleem's narrative to the narrative of a newly independent India, creating an allegorical reading of his character. 

# Reluctant fundamentalist:

    A young Pakistani man is chasing corporate success on Wall Street where he finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis, and the enduring call of his family s homeland.  It is a 2012 political thriller drama film based on the 2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist byMohsin Hamid, directed by Mira Nair, starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson in lead.^[4] The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a post-9/11film, a movie about the impact on one man of the Al Qaida attacks and the American reaction to them. (Wikipedia)

# Reluctant fundamentalist can be viewed as a new American Empire and the effect of 9/11 on the Globalized world order :

          

  

# The Black Prince :

The last King of Punjab, Maharajah Duleep Singh's kingdom was one of the most powerful and prosperous kingdoms of the 19th century before it was annexed by Britain. Placed on the throne at the age of five, he was robbed of his legacy by treason at the hands of trusted courtiers. He was then torn away from his mother and taken to England by the British at the age of fifteen. While in England, he was introduced to Queen Victoria, who took an immediate liking to him, calling him The Black Prince. Meeting his mother again after thirteen years, the Maharajah is awakened to the realities of his former life in Punjab. He then begins the arduous journey to regain all that was lost, and re-embrace the faith of his birth, Sikhism. As the character of Maharajah Duleep Singh evolves, is torn between two contrasting cultures - his royal ancestry from the Kingdom of Punjab as its last King, set against his upbringing in the UK as he embarks in a new journey of exile, away from his mother. Duleep Singh's lifelong journey to regain his identity, dignity, and Kingdom took him across the world but his struggle was not met with success. He never won the chance to set foot again in his own land of Punjab.