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<\/a><\/p>\nIndian\/Canadian director Deepa Mehta\u2019s cinematic interpretation of Salmon Rushdie\u2019s 1981 Booker Prize-winning novel \u201cMidnight\u2019s Children\u201d is a vibrant epic that spans about 30 years and has a cast of thousands.<\/p>\n
It tells the story of two baby boys who were born precisely at midnight on Aug. 15, 1947, when India gained independence from Great Britain. The nurse, Mary Pereira (Seema Biswas), a Catholic, switched the boys soon after birth, meaning that the child of the poor father would grow up in a wealthy family and the child of privilege would grow up begging from that family.<\/p>\n
One night, a group of children also born at midnight on India\u2019s independence day appear to Saleem (Satya Bhabha). \u00a0These \u201cmidnight children\u201d support one another over the years, meeting at that midnight hour. Eventually Mary, who is a nanny is Saleem\u2019s home, reveals what she had done. The father, Mr. Sinai (Ronit Roy), is crushed and cruel. Mrs. Sinai sends Saleem to live with her sister in West Pakistan. In due course, Saleem and Shiva (Siddharth) are on opposing sides, the aggressive Shiva always wanting a birthright that is still being born.<\/p>\n
\u201cMidnight\u2019s Children\u201d is a richly textured story about India\u2019s post-colonial era as seen through the lives of two characters who compete in a struggle to some kind of normalcy. The mammoth influence of India\u2019s colonial past and how the characters deal with it looking to the future is presented through magical realism. This technique is \u2026 click here to continue reading<\/a> on my blog at the National Catholic Reporter<\/p>\n