Filmmaker Deepa Mehta's 1947: Earth, featuring Aamir Khan, Nandita Das, and Rahul Khanna, celebrates its 25th anniversary today! In a special interview with Zoom, the director called it her most favourite film, reflected on the criticism the film faced, shared her experience working with the cast, and more.
Deepa, it is 25 years of my favourite film of yours, such a powerful testimony human endurance!
Thank God you liked 1947 Earth. You had called my Fire “despicable”, do you remember? But yes, 1947 is my own favourite too. Bapsi Sidhwa, on whose novel Earth , the film is based, famously said , “All wars are fought on women’s bodies”.
How blunt and yet how true!
Earth set in 1947 during the partition of India, sadly still remains , 84 years later , the fallout of sectarian war. Hatred and pillage are still practiced with seeming elan, sometimes with terrifying results , all over the world.
What or whom do you blame for a world so split wide open?
(Sarcastically) We have to thank the heritage of colonialism as well our innate sense of righteousness and the superiority of our own religion over that of the ‘ other’.
1947 Earth remains remarkably relevant?
There is so much I ponder over what the film Earth reflects. The dissolution of friends, the helplessness of children , the tragedy of lovers.
Nandita Das, Aamir Khan, Rahul Khanna… all three have never been better?
Nandita was superb and a dream to work with as ‘ayah’. Aamir and Rahul gave frightening and dreamlike performances, respectively. Although Aamir didn’t like his own performance I still believe he was splendid.
He was. And Rahman’s music, his career-best in Hindi?
In India, I was labelled ‘anti-Hindu’. It remains the favourite of all my films. Sadly, the relevance of its subject, sectarian war sees no sign of abating the world over.