Indian movie star Sunny Deol is nearly 70 years old, but this Bollywood macho man can still kick the crap out of the bad guys. He certainly demonstrates this in his new film, Batwara 1947. However, Deol goes well beyond playing a conventional action hero in taking on the role of Indian Muslim Sikandar Mirza. The likeable father of two must flee with his family in the midst of frenzied violence during Partition, only to encounter more bloodlust after landing in Lahore, Pakistan.
At the start of the movie, Sikander is living comfortably in a big house in Meerut, a city 70 kilometres north of Delhi. On the eve of Indian independence, Sikander beams with pride as he listens to Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the radio delivering his famous “Tryst with Destiny” speech.
It’s August 14, 1947, and Sikander is thrilled as he contemplates the future for his homeland. He downplays sinister omens and warnings of what’s to come. That’s because he is all about harmony between people regardless of their religious faith.
Yet before the night ends, angry mobs torch his and other homes, merely because the occupants are Muslim. Sikander and his wife Hamida (Preity G. Zinta), son Javed (Karan Deol), and daughter Tanno (Khushi Hajare) realize they must escape or else they’ll be butchered by machete-wielding assailants. The family makes its way to a railway station, where more horrors ensue.
Director and co-writer Rajkumar Santoshi depicts the real-life communal carnage that killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs from August 1947 until early 1948. Marauding, homicidal mobs descend on the train carrying Muslim refugees, including members of the Mirza family, trying to travel across the border into Pakistan. This gruesome footage is realistic—minus Sikander’s heroic, single-handed, Bollywood-scale destruction of the attackers.
Batwara 1947 released on 79th anniversary of Nehru’s speech
Miraculously, Sikander, Hamida, and Tanno are reunited in a refugee camp in Lahore. However, they remain separated from Javed for a while. After local Pakistani officials give the trio a large home in the city, it looks like they’ll be able to start anew. But much to their surprise, an old Hindu lady (Shabana Azmi) has been secretly living there to avoid the fate of so many other Hindus living in Lahore. She insists that she is the owner waiting for her long-lost son and his family to return home.
This sets the stage for a passionate and heartfelt story of faith, sacrifice, and love between the elderly woman and the new Muslim occupants who become her chosen family. Azmi, a legendary Indian actor and social activist, delivers an emotionally stellar performance as the sometimes skeptical yet often trusting Mai (an honorific for “mother”). The mother-son bond that develops between Mai and Sikander propels the story forward as a villainous local demagogue, Yakub (Abhimanyu Singh), plots her demise. Yakub and his sideys are demonic, yet repeatedly show their ineptitude.
In an intriguing subplot, Sikander’s Partition-traumatized son, Javed, goes against his father and sympathizes with the extremists. Javed is played by Deol’s real-life son, and their on-screen conflict in Batwara 1947 feels authentic. That’s because the father is a master of conveying feelings through his eyes and his voice.
With acclaimed Indian actor Preity G. Zinta playing the mom and Bollywood hit maker A.R. Rahman providing the music, all the elements are in place. Kudos to the director, Santoshi, for making a fast-paced film with such a powerful and inspiring finale.
For those who are curious about the ill effects and trauma that comes from dividing a country, Batwara 1947 is well worth watching.
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