Weaves complex tale of rich and poor, switched at birth.

It’s the stroke of midnight on Aug. 15, 1947. As India throws off more than two centuries of British rule, a baby boy of complex parentage tumbles into the world and lands in an upperclass Bombay family, swapped at the hospital with another boy who is plunged into a life of poverty. Deepa Mehta’s sumptuous film, Midnight’s Children, written and narrated by Salman Rushdie and based on his celebrated 1981 novel, spans 30 years on either side of this momentous occasion. It uncovers the staggering changes in the country, from 1917 to 1977, through the twists of fate and family surrounding the boy, Saleem.


Like a Victorian novel, the story sprawls across generations and geography, and tells parallel stories of family and country. By the time Saleem is born, he and his family are set, by fate and circumstance, to witness the major political upheavals of modern India. Mehta weaves the historical with the personal compellingly by using grand, epic gestures for the small, personal story and domestic touches for the mighty moments of history. So, when a pair of long-lost lovers meet in a café, Mehta makes their tiny private movements huge; they take turns kissing a glass, since they cannot kiss each other, and the emotions swell melodramatically. Conversely, when the Pakistani Army takes over the government, the attacks on the radio transmitter, airport and presidential palace are acted out by Saleem and his uncle using salt shakers and utensils on a dinner table, with just a crackle of gunfire on the soundtrack to signify the sweeping violence.


Rushdie grew up in India (like Saleem, he was born in Bombay in 1947) with Hindu myths and the Arabian nights, where fantastical elements are part of the everyday fabric of life. The midnight children of the title refer to the children born in the first hour of India’s freedom, who connect telepathically to Saleem and who have magical powers, a metaphor for the hope of the future of India. The film maintains a matter-of-fact approach to the magical aspects of the story by representing them in a low-tech manner, which is effective. 


Rushdie’s novel is kaleidoscopic, but the adaptation is a straightforward march. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and the first half of the film is gripping. Toward the end, however, the story becomes plodding and episodic; it feels squeezed into the time limitations of a feature film. With a cast of characters and scope of story that rivals Dickens, it has enough plot to fill a four-part TV drama, a format that would have given the later characters room to breathe and grow.


Cinematographer Giles Nuttgens and designer Dilip Mehta have created gorgeous layers of light and texture; beads, fabric, cellar stairs, wedding headdresses, and even a basket of invisibility to hide and reveal the action. The acting is wonderful, especially Shahana Goswami as Saleem’s mother, Rajat Kapoor as his grandfather and Seema Biswas as the nurse, Mary. This is a rich film that, though it falls short, is worth seeing for the complex family story beautifully rendered. 


MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN HH 1/2 • Directed by Deepa Mehta • Starring Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Darsheel Safary • 149 min. • At Osio Cinemas