English title of a
1998 movie by
Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta. The movie is set in
1947 in
Lahore which is now in Pakistan, but then was part of the
British colony of
India. The story tells of a group of friends--some
Hindu, some
Muslim, some
Sikh--as they went through the creation of the
states of
India and
Pakistan. The movie does a good job of representing the
history of the time through the
relationships of the
young people in the
town and how
religion and
nationalism change what otherwise were wonderful
relationships.
It's a beautiful movie in cinematography as well as an important movie to see in these current troubled times--to understand the historical conflict between India and Pakistan, and also to undertand that Sikhs are not Muslims, even though they wear turbans. Also to show people that most Americans don't understand, and to show how some Western imperialism has contributed to the state of the world today.
The movie has English subtitles, with dialog in Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and other languages. Highly recommended.