EARTH

EARTH, 1998

Kanada, India |DVD, Color, 110’ |English, Hindi
Cast: Aamir Khan, Nandita Das, Rahul Khanna

Earth, the second installment of theElements Trilogy, tells the bloody events preceding the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 from the viewpoint of a young girl stricken with polio, and the story of a group of friends. The young girl, Lenny’s nanny Shanta is a beautiful Hindu woman admired by two Muslim friends named Hassan and Dil. Shanta, Dil and Hassan are part of a group made up of friends from various religions. Although there are some amongst the friends who believe that the political climate will have no effect on the group, the divisions within the group also intensify as the tragedy of the country on the verge of separation worsens. The partly autobiographic film, adapted from Bapsi Sidhwa’s book Cracking India depicts a tension and tragedy whose repercussions and traumas are still largely present.