Salman Rushdie has quite an interesting story. In 1988 he published a fantastic book entitled The Satanic Verses which severely pissed off a good chunk of the international Muslim community. The Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini even issued a fatwa, a declaration that it is the duty of all faithful Muslims to kill the recipient on sight. You see, the book was seen as sacrilegious, as supporting a view of Islam that many followers felt was blasphemous or insulting to Mohammed. The fatwa was lifted in 1998, but in the interim, many people connected to the publishing or translation of the book were, in fact, murdered. Rushdie published a memoir last year entitled Joseph Anton in which he talks about the experience. Naturally, I have to recommend you read The Satanic Verses. It is an excellent book, well worth your time.
But seven years before, in 1981, Rushdie wrote another incredible book entitled Midnight’s Children. It tells the story of a boy, Saleem Sinai, who is born at midnight at the very moment India received its independence, another boy with whom he is accidentally switched at birth, and the psychic connection throughout their lives to all the other Midnight’s Children – those born between 12:00 and 12:01.
The book has been adapted to film with a screenplay provided by Rushdie and direction by Deepa Mehta, she who directed the acclaimed Elements Trilogy, consisting of the films Fire, Earth, and Water. The film was produced under secrecy, as Mehta feared backlash from the Muslim community. But now it is done and out and is playing at Village 8 Theaters as part of the Louisville Exclusives series.
Village 8 is located at 4014 Dutchmans Lane. Further theater information and showtimes can be found at the Village 8 website.
Image: Internet Movie Database
