International Journal of English and Studies (IJOES)
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SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-4, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE FILMING THE LINE OF CONTROL: CINEMA IN THE WAKE OF PARTITION LITERATURE ___________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Nidhi Sharma, Associate Professor, Department of English, SKIT, Jaipur ____________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: cinematic presentation beautifully presents The stark issue of the partition of India the cultural conditions of the small village and Pakistan has ever been a lingering and named Mano Majra, stationed on the border lasting pain for the citizens of both the of India and Pakistan. On the same lines, countries. Talking on the rudimentary the movie Pinjar describes the pathetic grounds, only boundaries were divided but conditions of a girl Puro who becomes the factually speaking even the hearts were brutal victim of the aforesaid cultural divided eventually leading to the divide differences. Similarly, Tamas describes the between the two cultures. Alike literature, conditions of the two cultural communities Cinema is also considered the mirror of at the time of Partition. Indian society, aptly reflecting the socio- cultural and political conditions of the times in which it is set. It deftly describes the Keywords:Partition, Cultural Differences , pains and sufferings of the prevalent and Cinema, Partition Novels rampant cultural differences. During these unprecedented times, movies in both the countries, India and Pakistan have been made on this burning topic and many are “The Political partition of India caused one still in the pipeline. Many writers and of the greatest human conclusions of authors have also portrayed these cultural history.” differences beautifully in their literary -By works. The present paper critically analyses Urvashi Butalia in The Other Side of the three novelists along with the adapted Silence (1983:03) movies based on their works. Those writers and their works are Khushwant Singh’s Reminiscing the incidence of the ‘Train to Pakistan’, Amrita Pritam’s 4th of July 1947, when the British ‘Pinjar’ and Bhisham Sahni’s ‘Tamas’. The Parliament introduced the constitutional bill film makers have skilfully cast the stories of ‘The Independence of India’ of these novels on the Silver Screen with pragmatically formulated on the 18th of July, their original titles. Train to Pakistan as a 1947 resulted into the consequential spilt of ISSN: 2581-8333 Copyright © 2021 SP Publications Page 19 SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-4, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE the Indian peninsula into two self governing Generally speaking, literature of any genre regions: India and Pakistan. This unwanted is commonly considered as the mirror of the and imposed partition of the Indian Sub- predominant society since it reflects the continent consequence into one of the crude reality of society without a makeover. greatest tragedies of the world history. A Panning the historical ages, we have number of people were killed, kidnapped, cherished literature as a fundamental displaced and robbed. Women were platform that has always been the chief abducted and raped. This brutal trauma of resource of providing the raw material for the partition imprinted deep marks of agony cinema. Categorically speaking, cinema on the minds of people. This partition of also serves the same purpose as literature India and Pakistan gave a never lasting does but the only common difference is that agony for the citizens of both the countries. it is comparatively faster than literature. Speaking on the superficial lines, only Like literature cinema not only reflects boundaries were divided but in reality society but also acts as a reflector to the hearts were divided and with those two society in which it is set. In the cultures were also divided. Thu, even after contemporary times, we can see that cinema achieving the much awaited Independence has become a popular medium of after sweating out immense blood and toil, communication and entertainment. Cinema, the year 1947 proved to be the year of less as the theorists define is a creative joy and more tragedy. Gita Vishwanath and experiment of literature. Ages down the Salma Malik have rightly quoted Mushirul lane, cinema has reflected the pain and Hassan regarding the two parallel events suffering of the people caused by partition making a history of the sub-continent. in very effective ways. Even after many decades of partition movies are made on “No other country in the twentieth this ever burning topic in different century has seen two languages. Even today, in the such contrary movements taking technologically sound world where place at the same time. If numerous themes are available right at the one was popular nationalist click of a button, we can observe that the movement…, the other was the writers of cinema choose this ever burning counter movement of Partition, theme to depict their feelings through the marked by violence, powerful weapon of their pens and directors cruelty, blood-shed, displacement produce this suffering through the lens of and massacres.” camera. (2009: 61) ISSN: 2581-8333 Copyright © 2021 SP Publications Page 20 SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-4, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE Literature lovers, these days, have The present paper proposed to by their side umpteen novels, short stories discuss these movies sharing the common and prose writings on partition in different titles of the novels on which they are based languages: R. K. Narayan’s Waiting for the on: Train to Pakistan by Khuswant Singh, Mahatma (1955), Khushwant Singh’s Train Pinjar by Amrita Pritam, Tamas by Bhishm to Pakistan (1956), Attia Hossain’s Sahni Sunlight on a Broken Column (1961). Manohar Malgaonkar’s A Bend in the Train to Pakistan: A Cinematic Ganges (1964), Chaman Nahal’s Azadi Review: (1975), Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Khushwant Singh, one of the Children (1980), K. Abbas’s The World is Pakistani migrants, was born on 2nd my Village (1984), Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice- February 1915 in Hadali British India now Candy Man (1988), Amitav Ghosh’s The in Pakistan. He was a renowned novelist, Shadow Line (1988) 2,Shashi Tharoor’s lawyer, journalist, politician, historian and The Great Indian Novel (1989), Shiv K. critic. After the Independence he joined Kumar’s A River with Three Banks, Urvashi Indian Foreign Service in 1947. He was Butalia’s The Other Side of Silence. encouraged to pursue a literary career after We, as readers, are quite aware that the experience of journalism in All India partition became the most alluring theme Radio in 1951. He started his journey with for directors just within the first two years ‘Pen and Paper’ and attached himself to of Independence. We have many examples Yojana, The Illustrated Weekly, The of films based on partition just as the film National Herald and The Hindustan Times Lahore (1949) is the first film on the silver and worked in the department of mass screen that showed the glimpses. After that communication of UNESCO at Paris in the theme of partition was repeated on 1956. He served as the Member of cinema screen in the form of many films Parliament in upper house from 1980 to like Azadi Ke Baad (1951), Kashmeer 1986. He was conferred the Padam Bhusan (1951), Kartaar Singh (1959), in 1974 but he returned the award in 1984 Dharamputra (1961), M.S. Sathyu’s being grieved with the Sikh riots in Garam Hawa (1973), Tamas (1987), Train Amritsar. In 2007 he was awarded the to Pakistan (1998) 1947 Earth (1998), Padam Vibhushan. Shaheede Mohobbat:Boota Singh (1999), Refugee (2000), Gadar (2001), Pinjar Train to Pakistan by Khushwant (2003), Partition (2007), Midnights Singh is accepted to be the first Children (2012-released in Cannada), comprehensive treatment of the Bharat (2019). Partition in Indian English literature. ISSN: 2581-8333 Copyright © 2021 SP Publications Page 21 SP Publications International Journal Of English and Studies (IJOES) An International Peer-Reviewed Journal ; Volume-3, Issue-4, 2021 www.ijoes.in ISSN: 2581-8333; Impact Factor: 5.421(SJIF) RESEARCH ARTICLE Khushwant Singh was the sufferer, The adept characterization and himself and also a close observant of cinematography portrayed on the screen this tragic event. In the current novel, aptly swayed away the watchers to the he depicts the impact of Partition on a actual time of the Independence as the village named Mano Majra set on the picturisation is so exact and real that the border of India and Pakistan. The peace people actually experienced the the and harmony of this village was same agony as the people felt at that disturbed by the arrival of train from time. Many famous artists from Pakistan which carried dead bodies of Bollywood essayed different roles in innocent people. This arrival of train this movie: Nirmal Pandey, Rajat brought an abrupt end to a long Kapoor, Mohan Agashe, Smriti Mishra, communal harmony of the village. Divya Dutta, Mangal Dhillon, M.S. Singh also created the plot of love and Sathya, Suresh Jindal and others. romance as Juggat Singh alias Jugga, a local robber, fell in love with a Muslim Pinjar: Mourning of the Nation girl, Nooran. To save the life of his Amrita Pritam, the leading 20th beloved, Jugga sacrificed his own life century poetess of Punjabi language, was and fought with the people of his born on 31st August in 1919 in Gujranwala, community. British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan). She The film Train to Pakistan wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. She was the directed by Pamela Rooks rolled out as first woman to win the Sahitya Akademi a film nearly four decades after the award for her long poem ‘Sunehade’ publication of the novel and almost five (Messages) in 1956.