3 weeks ago
Films revisit Partition, remind India who she used to be
India has many movies.
Some recent ones are about brave soldiers crossing the border to fight, like Uri: The Surgical Strike.
This year, several new movies and shows tell a different, older story.
They remember 1947, when India and Pakistan were split apart in an event called the Partition.
Many families had to leave their homes, and people were deeply hurt.
Batwara 1947 is about a Muslim family that protects an elderly Hindu woman even while fleeing to Pakistan.
Main Vaapas Aaunga is about a very old man who lost his home and his love in Sargodha.
Operation Safed Sagar shows how India fought the 1999 Kargil War with restraint and honour.
These films say India still has a peaceful soul underneath.
The actors hope telling these stories helps young people understand the past.
Rajkumar Santoshi's Partition drama Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol and Karan Deol with Shabana Azmi as a Hindu woman refusing to leave her Lahore haveli, releases on August 14 and is produced by Aamir Khan.
Imtiaz Ali's Netflix India film Main Vaapas Aaunga follows 95-year-old Keenu (Naseeruddin Shah), forced to flee Sargodha during the Partition, on a last journey to reconcile with the love he lost.
Onir Sen's Netflix India series Operation Safed Sagar revisits the 1999 Kargil War, emphasising India's restraint, honour, and sense of loss.
Sriram Raghavan's Ikkis, this year's first release, features Dharmendra visiting his birthplace in Pakistan despite losing his 21-year-old son in the 1971 Indo-Pak War.
Shabana Azmi says a 'veil of silence' over the Partition made it harder for later generations to understand the trauma and cites Nelson Mandela's Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a model for revisiting it.
- Who
- Filmmakers Rajkumar Santoshi, Imtiaz Ali, Sriram Raghavan, Onir Sen, and Nikkhil Advani; actors Sunny Deol, Karan Deol, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina, Sharvari, Dharmendra, and Deepak Dobriyal; and producer Aamir Khan. Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah recently supported student protests in New Delhi.
- What
- New and recent Indian films and series — Batwara 1947, Main Vaapas Aaunga, Ikkis, and Operation Safed Sagar — revisit the 1947 Partition and cross-border wars, highlighting harmony, restraint, and remembrance.
- Where
- Indian cinema; the stories are set in Lahore and Sargodha (now in Pakistan), Punjab, and the 1999 Kargil War.
- When
- Batwara 1947 releases on August 14; Main Vaapas Aaunga recently debuted on Netflix India; Operation Safed Sagar released earlier this month; Ikkis was the year's first release.
- Why
- Artists say the Partition is one of India's most traumatic events, long hidden by a 'veil of silence,' and revisiting it can help later generations understand what actually happened.
Pop-patriotic cinema
Remembrance and restraint
Depicting India's response to cross-border threats
Pop-patriotic cinema
Blockbusters like Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019), the Dhurandhar franchise, Gadar 2, and Border 2 celebrate a 'Naya Bharat' that pierces the border to hit back, and calls for surgical strikes are now commonplace.
Remembrance and restraint
This year's films — Batwara 1947, Main Vaapas Aaunga, and Operation Safed Sagar — remind India of its peace-loving DNA, showing restraint, honour, and loss rather than revenge.
How to remember the Partition
Pop-patriotic cinema
The 'veil of silence' around the Partition helped the first generation survive, and reopening such wounds could make them even deeper.
Remembrance and restraint
Revisiting the Partition, as Nelson Mandela's Truth and Reconciliation Commission did for South Africa, records stories of humanity and helps later generations understand and metabolize what happened.
Key facts
- Upcoming film
- Batwara 1947 — releases August 14
- Director
- Rajkumar Santoshi
- Cast
- Sunny Deol, Karan Deol, Shabana Azmi, Abhimanyu Sharma
- Producer
- Aamir Khan
- Source material
- Asghar Wajahat's play Jis Lahore Nai Dekhya O Jamyai Nai
- Netflix film
- Main Vaapas Aaunga (Imtiaz Ali) — Vedang Raina, Sharvari, Naseeruddin Shah
- Netflix series
- Operation Safed Sagar (Onir Sen) — 1999 Kargil War
- Earlier 2026 release
- Ikkis (Sriram Raghavan) with Dharmendra and Deepak Dobriyal; Freedom at Midnight season 2 (Nikkhil Advani) on SonyLIV
Quotes
Shabana Azmi
Actress and narrator in the film
“"The Partition of Indians and the cavalier manner in which the Radcliffe Line was drawn is one of the most traumatic events in our history."”
indianexpress.com
“"Mandir todna Islam nahi hai"”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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