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Earth (1998 film)

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1947 Earth
Directed byDeepa Mehta
Story byDeepa Mehta
Produced byAnne Masson
Deepa Mehta
StarringAamir Khan
Maia Sethna
Nandita Das
Narrated byShabana Azmi
CinematographyGiles Nuttgens
Edited byBarry Farrell
Music byA. R. Rahman
Release date
  • 10 September 1998 (1998-09-10)
Running time
101 minutes
CountriesCanada
India
LanguageHindi

Earth (released in India as 1947: Earth) is a 1998 Indian period drama film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based upon Bapsi Sidhwa's novel, Cracking India, (1991, U.S.; 1992, India; originally published as Ice Candy Man, 1988, England). Earth is the second installment of Mehta's Elements trilogy. It was preceded by Fire (1996) and followed by Water (2005). It was India's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Plot

The story is set in Lahore in the time period directly before and during the partition of India in 1947.

A young girl with polio, Lenny (Maia Sethna), narrates the story through the voice of her adult self (Shabana Azmi). She is from a wealthy Parsi family who hopes to remain neutral to the rising tensions between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims in the area. She is adored and protected by her parents, Bunty (Kitu Gidwani) and Rustom (Arif Zakaria) and is cared for by her Ayah, a beautiful Hindu woman, Shanta (Nandita Das). Both Dil Navaz, the Ice-Candy Man (Aamir Khan) and Hassan, the Masseur (Rahul Khanna) are Muslim and 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

Critical reception

Reviews

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and states that Earth, "is effective because it doesn't require much history from its viewers, explains what needs to be known, and has a universal message."[1] The New York Times described it as "a powerful and disturbing reminder of how a civilization can suddenly crack under certain pressures."[2] The New Yorker argues that, "Deepa Mehta handles her material convincingly, and the cast is so likable that they wear the larger themes like beautiful garments."[3] 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."[4] Planet Bollywood gave the film a 9.5 out of 10 and stated that, "Earth is 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."[5]

Awards and nominations

Soundtrack

Untitled

All lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar; all music is composed by A. R. Rahman

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Banno Rani"Sadhana Sargam4:09
2."Dheemi Dheemi"Hariharan5:16
3."Ishwar Allah"Anuradha Sriram, Sujatha Mohan5:15
4."Raat Ki Daldal Hain"Sukhwinder Singh4:05
5."Ruth Aa Gayee Re""Sukhwinder Singh5:31
6."Yeh Jo Zindagi Hain"Srinivas, Sujatha Trivedi4:51
7."Yeh Jo Zindagi Hain"Srinivas, Sukhwinder Singh4:07
8."Piano Theme" (Instrumental) 1:53
9."Theme Music" (Instrumental) 4:50

References

  1. ^ Ebert, Roger (15 October 1999). "Earth". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 9 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ Holden, Stephen (19 September 1999). "'Earth': India Torn Apart, as a Child Sees It". New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Gustavson, Jeff (27 September 1999). "Earth". The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Verma, Suparn (10 September 1999). "Breaking new ground". Rediff. Retrieved 9 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Joshi, Aniket Joshi. "Earth". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 9 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "Mehta's Earth wins acclaim at Asian festival". The Economic Times. cscsarchive.org. 11 March 1999. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
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