NEW DELHI (AFP) ― A new film of Salman Rushdie’s 1981 novel “Midnight’s Children,” which is set in India after independence, may not be released in the country, its director has said, blaming “insecure politicians.”
The adaptation, which has been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, is due for worldwide release in October or November, but has yet to find an Indian distributor.
“Salman has often said that the book was his love letter to India. I think the film reflects that love,” director Deepa Mehta told the Hindustan Times in Toronto.
“What a pity if insecure politicians deprive the people of India (of the chance) to make up their own minds about what the film means,” she said.
Rushdie’s Booker prize-winning novel includes highly critical descriptions of the late prime minister Indira Gandhi, who suspended democracy in India between 1975 and 1977 in a period known as “the Emergency.”
The Gandhi family remains at the centre of political life in India, with Indira’s daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi the president of the ruling Congress party and Sonia’s son Rahul seen as a potential future prime minister.
The Hindustan Times said Indira’s thinly-disguised character is depicted on screen in “a manner that conveys an almost Voldemort-like menace” ― a reference to Harry Potter’s arch enemy.
