25 years of 1947: Earth! Deepa Mehta's masterpiece on love and loss during partition ft. Aamir Khan, Nandita Das, Rahul Khanna

It's been 25 years since the classic and controversial film 1947: Earth saw its big screen release. It is a 1999 Indo-Canadian historical romance drama film that Deepa Mehta directed and is based on Bapsi Sidhwa's book Cracking India, a book about the 1947 partition of India. In Mehta's Elements trilogy, which began with Fire (1996) and ended with Water (2005), Earth is the second instalment. The film represented India at the 1999 Academy Awards, receiving a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

Setting and plot of the film

In the film, the events take place in Lahore, which is now Pakistan, in the years leading up to and including 1947, when India gained its independence. Lenny (Maia Sethna), a little girl with polio, recounts the story through her adult self, Shabana Azmi. The wealthy Parsi family from which she hails hopes to maintain their neutrality in the face of intensifying tensions in the region between Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus. Kitu Gidwani's Bunty and Arif Zakaria's Rustom, respectively, love and protect her, while Nandita Das portrays Shanta, her Ayah. Shanta is the object of affection for Aamir Khan's "Ice-Candy Man," Dil Navaz, and Rahul Khanna's Masseur Hassan. Some of Shanta, Dil, and Hassan's religiously diverse friends work for Lenny's family, and they all spend their days at the park hanging around. But when they split away, this once-strong band of friends becomes much weaker, and disaster strikes.

ALSO READ: #BoycottBollywood: Padmavat to Fanaa, these Bollywood films sparked controversy even before their release

At the Asian Film Festival, 1947: Earth received top honour. Though it did not make it into the 71st Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film's final five nominees in 1999, 1947: Earth was India's official entry.

Meanwhile, A. R. Rahman created the music, and Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics for 1947: Earth.

Director's reflections on the film

In an interview with Times Now, Mehta recalled that 1947: Earth represents so much that she thinks about, like friendships crumbling, youngsters powerless, and love stories tragic.

Mehta spoke about working with the lead cast, stating that working with Nandita, as 'ayah,' was a pleasure; she was excellent. Rahul made the audience feel as if they were in a surreal dream, while Aamir frightened them. Even though the superstar was critical of his own performance, she thought he did a fantastic job.

The filmmaker also discussed the controversies the film faced, revealing that she faced accusations of being "anti-Hindu" in India. However, the filmmaker still considers it her favourite film of all time. Unfortunately, the topic of sectarian war, which is still very relevant today, is not going away anytime soon.

You can stream 1947: Earth on JioCinema.

ALSO READ: From Gadar to Qissa: Bollywood films that captured the essence of India's partition