Partition (film)
Encyclopedia
Partition is a 2007
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...

 film directed by Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin is an Indian-born Canadian/American film director, producer and screenwriter. His work as a cinematographer includes Partition, Margaret's Museum, Whale Music, Nowhere to Hide, Norman's Awesome Experience, and Riel. He also directed such projects as Partition, Left Behind, and Wind at My...

, written by Patricia Finn and Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin
Vic Sarin is an Indian-born Canadian/American film director, producer and screenwriter. His work as a cinematographer includes Partition, Margaret's Museum, Whale Music, Nowhere to Hide, Norman's Awesome Experience, and Riel. He also directed such projects as Partition, Left Behind, and Wind at My...

, and starring Jimi Mistry
Jimi Mistry
-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...

 and Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...

. The film is set in 1947, based on the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

 and was partially shot in Kamloops, B.C., Canada, standing in for India.

Determined to leave the ravages of war behind, 38-year-old Gian Singh (Jimi Mistry
Jimi Mistry
-Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...

) resigns from the British Indian Army to a quiet life. His world is soon thrown in turmoil when he finds himself responsible for the life of a 17-year-old Muslim girl separated from her family and traumatised by the conflict of the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

. Resisting all the taboos of religious divide, Gian finds himself slowly falling in love with the vulnerable Naseem (Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Kreuk
Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...

) and she shyly responds.

Plot

Gyan Singh (Jimi Mistry) is a Sikh who goes off to war in the British Indian Army with his two best friends Andrew and Avtar. The three are being seen off by Andrew's sister Margaret and Walter. Gyan promises to look after Andrew only to resign after Andrew is killed. Gyan is tortured by the guilt of not being able to save Andrew. The young Muslim woman Naseem (Kristin Kreuk) is separated from her family in riots and unaware that her father has been killed, hides in hope that the Sikh mobs won't find her.

Gyan finds Naseem in the woods, having just returned to his home town near the Pakistani border. Their efforts to hide are foiled; Naseem and Gyan are forced to bargain for Naseem's life with money. The townspeople, although initially resenting her presence, begin to accept Naseem, and it seems that the bad parts of their lives have faded away until night when both Naseem and Gyan suffer from tortured visions of their past. These visions ultimately unite the two and they get married and have a son they call Vijay.

In love, the world seems perfect until Margaret shows up on Gyan's doorstep with news that Naseem's family has been found in Pakistan. Naseem leaves to see them in Pakistan. She is to return in a month but does not arrive. Her two brothers, discovering her marriage to a Sikh, lock her up in her room and forbid her to ever return to India. Akbar, the eldest, is particularly stubborn, and vows to keep her away from her husband at all costs. Gyan, tired of waiting, sets off on a trip to Pakistan to retrieve Naseem. He disguises himself as a Muslim, cutting off his hair and donning a Kofi. Even with the disguise he has to sneak across the border as his papers are not sufficient.

Gyan meets with Walter and Margaret, who barely recognise him without his turban, and leaves Vijay with them while he goes to get Naseem. When he arrives, still dressed as a Muslim, Naseem immediately recognises him. As they run toward one another they are stopped by her brothers and Akbar beats Gyan. To explain himself to his neighbors he tells them that Gyan is a Sikh. Meanwhile Naseem has been locked up by her brother Zakir. Gyan is hauled to jail and there he wallows in the darkness, refusing to return to India until he remembers that he has a son who needs him.

Naseem's mother, realising that the couple are truly in love, frees Naseem, who runs to the train. She recognizes Vijay immediately and hugs him, unaware that Gyan is just on the other side of the tracks. When he calls her name, they begin to fight through the crowd to reach one another. Just as they meet Akbar pulls them apart and begins a struggle with Gyan. Gyan is pushed over the railing onto the tracks just as the train arrives and is killed. Naseem sobs hysterically as she slowly collapses to the ground.

Naseem and Vijay escape on the train as the police arrive for Akbar. With the help of Margaret and Walter they move to England and Avtar spreads Gyan's ashes given by Walter over a banyan tree.

Cast (in credits order)

  • Jimi Mistry
    Jimi Mistry
    -Early life:Mistry, was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England to an Indian Hindu father and an Irish Roman Catholic mother. He was brought up a Roman Catholic and attended St. James' Catholic High in Cheadle Hulme before his family moved to Cardiff where he attended Radyr Comprehensive School...

    ... Gyan Singh
  • Kristin Kreuk
    Kristin Kreuk
    Kristin Laura Kreuk is a Canadian actress and producer, known for her portrayal of Lana Lang in the American television series Smallville. She was also a regular cast member on the Canadian teen drama Edgemont, and has starred in movies such as Eurotrip and Street Fighter: The Legend of...

    ... Naseem Khan
  • Neve Campbell
    Neve Campbell
    Neve Adrianne Campbell is a Canadian actress. After beginning her career on stage, and on numerous commercials, she starred on the Canadian television series Catwalk. She then rose to international fame on the Golden Globe-winning 1990s television series Party of Five, playing the role of teenager...

    ... Margaret Stilwell
  • John Light
    John Light (actor)
    John Light is an English cinema, television and theatre actor.-Career:His theatre performances include the Complete Works Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he starred in Sean Holmes' Julius Caesar as Brutus and in Rupert Goold's The Tempest as Caliban...

    ... Walter Hankins
  • Irrfan Khan ... Avtar
  • Madhur Jaffrey
    Madhur Jaffrey
    Madhur Jaffrey is an Indian actress and food writer who introduced the Western world to the many cuisines of India.- Personal life :...

    ... Shanti Singh
  • Arya Babbar
    Arya Babbar
    Arya Babbar is an Indian actor.-Life:Aarya Babbar was born at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai into a well-known family; his father is the renowned actor Raj Babbar and his mother the prominent theatre personality Nadira Zaheer Babbar...

    ... Akbar Khan
  • Lushin Dubey
    Lushin Dubey
    Lushin Dubey is an Indian stage actor and director. She directed, acted and scripted many drama productions for over twenty years. Lushin is also known for her Solo plays Untitled and Pinki Virani's Bitter Chocolate with theatre director Arvind Gaur She also acted in film like Partition ,Murder...

    ... Mumtaz
  • Chenier Hundal ... Zakir Khan
  • Jesse Moss ... Andrew Stilwell
  • Jaden Rain ... Vijay Singh

Nominations

  • 2008 Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography
    Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography
    The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film cinematography.-16th Genie Awards:* Thomas Burstyn, Magic in the Water* Alain Dostie, Le Confessional...

     - Nominee
  • 2007 Leo Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama - Nominated
  • 2007 Leo Award for Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama - Nominated
  • 2007 Leo Award for Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama - Nominated (with Patricia Finn)
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