Earth(1998 film)
| Earth | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Deepa Mehta |
| Story by | Deepa Mehta |
| Based on | Cracking India byBapsi Sidhwa |
| Produced by | Anne Masson Deepa Mehta |
| Starring | Aamir Khan Rahul Khanna Nandita Das Maia Sethna |
| Narrated by | Shabana Azmi |
| Cinematography | Giles Nuttgens |
| Edited by | Barry Farrell |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Release dates | 11 September 1998 (Canada)
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Countries |
|
| Language | Hindi |
Earth(Hindi:पृथ्वी;released in India as1947: Earth) is a 1999 Indo-Canadianperiodromancedrama filmdirected byDeepa Mehta.It is based uponBapsi Sidhwa's novel,Cracking India(1991, US; 1992, India; originally published asIce Candy Man,1988, UK), set during the 1947partition of India.Earthis the second instalment of Mehta'sElements trilogy,preceded byFire(1996) and followed byWater(2005). It was India's entry for the 1999Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Plot
[edit]The story is set inLahore(now the capital ofPakistani Punjab) in the period directly before and during thepartition of Indiain 1947 at the time ofIndian independence.
A young girl withpolio,Lenny (Maia Sethna), narrates the story through the voice of her adult self (Shabana Azmi). She is from a wealthyParsifamily who hope to remain neutral to the rising tensions betweenHindus,Sikhs,andMuslimsin the area. She is adored and protected by her parents, Bunty (Kitu Gidwani) and Rustom (Arif Zakaria), and cared for by herAyah,named Shanta (Nandita Das). Both Dil Navaz, the Ice-Candy Man (Aamir Khan), and Hassan, the Masseur (Rahul Khanna) are in love with Shanta. Shanta, Dil, and Hassan are part of a small group of friends from different faiths (some of whom work for Lenny's family) who spend their days together in the park. With partition, however, this once unified group of friends becomes divided and tragedy ensues.
Cast
[edit]- Aamir Khan– Dil Nawaz
- Rahul Khanna– Hassan, the Masseur
- Nandita Das– Shanta, the maid
- Maia Sethna – Lenny Sethna
- Shabana Azmi– older Lenny, narrator
- Kitu Gidwani– Bunty Sethna
- Arif Zakaria– Rustom Sethna
- Kulbhushan Kharbanda– Imam Din
- Kumar Rajendra – Refugee Police
- Pavan Malhotra– Butcher
- Sardar - Gulshan Grover
Critical reception
[edit]Reviews
[edit]The film holds an 86% rating onRotten Tomatoesbased on 35 reviews.[2]Roger Ebertgave the film three out of four stars and states thatEarth"is effective because it doesn't require much history from its viewers, explains what needs to be known, and has a universal message".[3]The New York Timesdescribed it as "a powerful and disturbing reminder of how a civilization can suddenly crack under certain pressures".[4]The New Yorkerargues that "Deepa Mehta handles her material convincingly, and the cast is so likable that they wear the larger themes like beautiful garments".[5]Rediff.com notes that "Aamir Khan has probably given the best performance of his life. It is hard to imagine another actor bringing alive the nuances of the ice-candy man the way he does".[6]Planet Bollywoodgave the film a 9.5 out of 10 and wrote that "Earthis strongly recommended to those who want to see a different type of Hindi film and who are tired of the usual boy meets girl stories and revenge dramas ".[7]
Awards and nominations
[edit]- Asian Film Festival– Best Film Award[8]
- Filmfare Best Male Debut Award–Rahul Khanna
- Filmfare Best Female Debut Award–Nandita Das
- Earthwas India's official entry for the71st Academy Awardfor Best Foreign Language Film in 1999, but was not included among the final five nominees selected by theAMPAS.
Soundtrack
[edit]All lyrics are written byJaved Akhtar;all music is composed byA. R. Rahman
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ruth Aa Gayee Re" | Sukhwinder Singh | 5:31 |
| 2. | "Banno Rani" | Sadhana Sargam | 4:09 |
| 3. | "Ishwar Allah" | Anuradha Sriram,Sujatha Mohan | 5:15 |
| 4. | "Dheemi Dheemi" | Hariharan | 5:16 |
| 5. | "Raat Ki Daldal Hain" | Sukhwinder Singh | 4:05 |
| 6. | "Yeh Jo Zindagi Hain" | Srinivas,Sujata Trivedi | 4:51 |
| 7. | "Yeh Jo Zindagi Hain" | Srinivas,Sukhwinder Singh | 4:07 |
| 8. | "Piano Theme" (Instrumental) | 1:53 | |
| 9. | "Theme Music" (Instrumental) | 4:50 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"1947 Earth - Movie - Box Office India".Boxofficeindia.com.Retrieved16 November2021.
- ^"Earth".Rotten Tomatoes.Retrieved7 December2017.
- ^Ebert, Roger (15 October 1999)."Earth".Chicago Sun-Times.Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2012.Retrieved9 December2008.
- ^Holden, Stephen (19 September 1999)."'Earth': India Torn Apart, as a Child Sees It ".The New York Times.Retrieved9 December2008.
- ^Gustavson, Jeff (27 September 1999)."Earth".The New Yorker.Retrieved9 December2008.
- ^Verma, Suparn (10 September 1999)."Breaking new ground".Rediff.Retrieved9 December2008.
- ^Joshi, Aniket Joshi."Earth".Planet Bollywood. Archived fromthe originalon 22 January 2009.Retrieved9 December2008.
- ^"Mehta's Earth wins acclaim at Asian festival".The Economic Times.11 March 1999. Archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2011.Retrieved15 March2011.
External links
[edit]
- 1999 films
- 1999 romantic drama films
- Indian romantic drama films
- 1990s Hindi-language films
- 1990s Indian films
- English-language Indian films
- Films based on American novels
- Films directed by Deepa Mehta
- Films set in 1947
- Films set in Lahore
- Films about religious violence in India
- Films set in the partition of India
- Films set in the Indian independence movement
- Films scored by A. R. Rahman