Trauma of Partition in Indian Cinema: A Study of Brutality, Deprivation and Recollection

This research paper is a study of cinema dealing with tragic aftermath of partition. In films based upon partition, filmmakers tried to encapsulate how the partition affected psyche of people in India and Pakistan. Films like ‘Khamosh Pani’, ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, ‘Komal Gandhar’ portray the intensity of pain felt by characters, as was faced by common man. Although decades have passed yet this unfortunate tragedy casts its dark shadow on lives of millions in unaccountable ways. The task of acknowledging and chronicling the saga of pain that millions underwent is best documented through films. Films bestow a kind of immortality to a subject and no more suitable medium could be found for articulating the pain of partition. Artists and film makers have, of late, responded and the last decade has seen several instances of aesthetically powerful films made on the tragedy that defined the ghastly event.