An adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel of the same name, 'Midnight's Children' is a passable film. Go in with limited expectations & your chances of being disappointed will be less.

'Midnight's Children' Synopsis: A pair of children, born within moments of India gaining independence from Britain, grow up in the country that is nothing like their parent's generation.

'Midnight's Children' is an engaging story on paper, but on celluloid, it appears clichéd. India-Pakistan conflict, is beaten to death in cinema. Sure, the novel must've been captivating, but on-screen, it looks very regular. Deepa Mehta's Direction is terrific. She makes this otherwise passable film, watchable, due to her true talent as a storyteller.

Performance-Wise: Satya Bhabha delivers a sincere performance. Shriya Saran has 2 standard expressions. Siddharth tries hard to look like a menace. Darsheel Safary is very good. Seema Biswas & Ronit Roy are excellent, as ever. Others lend support.

On the whole, 'Midnight's Children' is watchable, at best.

The biggest problem for the American viewer of this film is a lack of knowledge about the history of India and Pakistan...which is understandable. It makes the first 20 or so minutes of the film totally confusing if one does not know the difference between Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus. About 20 minutes in there was a reference to halal meat, which finally made me realize this film was about people who were Indian Muslims.

But then, I found the film fascinating, although I felt bad that I wouldn't be able to talk with my friend in Pakistan about it on the phone...because this film is probably not at all acceptable in Pakistan's political environment. Although to be honest, I can't say the film is at all complimentary about the governments of India or Pakistan.

There's a lot of "magic" (for wont of a better term) in this film, and that's also difficult for Americans. I lived in Southeast Asia for a bit, and it's a whole different way of looking at spiritualism. So you need to go into this film with an open mind.

The good news is, this is almost all in English, with a few subtitles here and there.

I was very impressed with Satya Bhabha's performance as the lead male in the film, as one of the Midnight Children.

The film does an excellent job of leading you through a character's journey from childhood through adult. But when it comes right down to it, this is a film about good - versus - evil. It's a very complex story. And it deals wonderfully with relationships between the various key characters.

Highly recommended.

I haven't read the book. I have heard a lot about it, though. I got an opportunity to watch it & it was magnificent. So, this review will more connect with people who HAVEN'T READ THE "BOOKER OF BOOKERS!"

Deepa Mehta's magic works once again after her Elements Trilogy. The topics were bold then. Now the topic is diverse - mostly because with a fountain of genres, Midnight's Children talks about many things... from love to superstitions, from the Partition to the Emergency, from magic to realism... narrated so wonderfully, it enthuses. The last 20 minutes are little boring & staid but the first 100 minutes makes up for a good show.

Performances are brilliant with every single person working beautifully & totally carving a splendid character out of Rusdhie's imagination. Ronit Roy, Bhabha, Goswami, Darsheel Zafary & Rahul Bose are terrific. Music is amusing, screenplay is good and the locations are so genuine with no anachronisms at all, MC marks as another super-hit by the Deepa-Hamilton duo. Certain sequences/ideologies troubled me but since it is all fiction encapsulated in a narrative, I quite enjoyed it. Depiction of sensitive topics is great which is not unusual in a Deepa Mehta film. A lot could be written about it and the best way to know all about it is to watch it.

The tale from the 1940s to the 1970s, with certain twists & turns, beautiful ideas, relationships, empathy, violence, real topics, age- transitions, fights, superstitions, sex, infidelity tiny tidbits and the magic... is enduring. 8.2/10!

BOTTOM LINE: Quite a good, charismatic watch. Not Deepa's magnum opus, though.

MESSAGE: Liberty doesn't come cheap.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? MAYBE NO.

Profanity: Mild | Nudity: No | Sex: Mediocre | Violence: Critical | Gore: Critical | Alcohol: Strong | Smoking: Mild | Drugs: No