Midnight's Children (2012) on Netflix
Saleem Sinai is born in Bombay at the exact moment India gains independence. His family expects him to be special, and he hears the voices of children born in that first hour.
- Netflix2.6/5
- IMDb6.2/103,508 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes41%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1917 Kashmir, the doctor Aadam Aziz tends the sick daughter of the landlord Ghani and marries her. In Agra in 1942 he supports the politician Mian Abdullah, and when Abdullah is killed returning from a party, his secretary Nadir Khan hides in the doctor's cellar, where Aziz's daughter Mumtaz marries him privately. General Zulfikar finds out that Nadir is there, and the marriage ends. Mumtaz later becomes Amina when she marries the businessman Ahmed Sinai, and the couple moves to Bombay and buys a villa from the Englishman William Methwold. Wee Willie Winkie, an accordionist who plays at the villa, and his wife come to entertain, and she is expecting a child. Amina is also pregnant, and on 14 August the two women give birth to boys as India becomes independent.
Cast
- Kusum Haideras Rani of Cooch
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Midnight's Children (2012)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Shooting in Sri Lanka was briefly halted after Iran complained to the government, and director Deepa Mehta appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who agreed to let filming continue.
- Salman Rushdie spent two years paring his 600-page novel Midnight's Children down to a 130-page screenplay, and told the BBC he sold the film rights for $1.
- For the lead role of Saleem Sinai, Deepa Mehta wanted Imran Khan but his salary was outside the film's budget; she cast British actor Satya Bhabha instead after seeing video of him performing in a play.
- Mehta shot in Colombo rather than Pakistan or Mumbai because she feared protests by Muslim fundamentalists and by Indian National Congress and Gandhi family loyalists, and cast members signed secrecy clauses to keep the production quiet.
- After the premiere show, Indian National Congress leaders accused the film of portraying former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and other leaders negatively, and further screenings at the festival were stopped, drawing heavy criticism.
- Kangana Ranaut and Rani Mukerji were originally cast as Emerald and Amina but were replaced because of scheduling conflicts, while Irrfan Khan pulled out over Life of Pi and Nandita Das left after she had her first child.
