Midnight’s Children will set you up at night

By Jenny Alvarez

Photos: Courtesy

A film by Oscar®-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the universally heralded novel by world-renowned author Salman Rushdie and adapted by Rushdie himself (who also serves as the film’s all-knowing narrator), MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN is a tale at once sweeping in scope and intimate in tone. Full of heartbreak, hope, comedy, tragedy and a considerable amount of magic, the film conjures characters and images as rich and unforgettable as the vast nation it celebrates.

At the stroke of midnight on August 15th, 1947, as India declares independence from Great Britain, two babies are switched at birth by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. And so it is that Saleem Sinai (portrayed as an adult by SatyaBhabha), the bastard child of a beggar woman, and Shiva, the only son of a wealthy couple, are fated to live the destinies meant for each other. Over the next three decades, Saleem and Shiva find themselves on opposite sides of many a conflict, whether it be because of class, politics, romantic rivalry, or the constantly shifting borders that are drawn every time neighbors become enemies and decide to split their newborn nation into two, and then three, warring countries. Through it all, the lives of Saleem and Shiva are mysteriously intertwined. They are also inextricably linked to the history of India itself, which takes them on a whirlwind journey full of trials, triumphs and disasters.