Children of War
- Director
- Mrityunjay Devvrat
- Studio
- Pencil Cell Productions & Maktub Entertainment
- Release Date
- 15 May 2014
- Running Time
- 160 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹9.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹0.75 Cr
Review
"Children of War" attempts to tackle the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War through an ambitious blend of historical documentation and contemporary narrative, but the execution is muddled and the emotional weight never lands. Director Srijit Mukherji clearly wanted to create something profound—intercutting archival footage with dramatized sequences of ritual and political discourse—but the film suffers from a scattered identity. The performances are serviceable, particularly in the scenes depicting Indira Gandhi's defense of military intervention, yet these moments feel more like stage debates than cinema. The elderly protagonist's forest rituals, which should anchor the film's spiritual core, remain frustratingly opaque, leaving viewers disconnected rather than moved by what's supposedly the emotional heart of the narrative.
The bridge between history and present-day college activism is where the film truly falters. Rather than organically weaving past and present, it feels grafted on—a well-intentioned but clumsy attempt at relevance. The college student's speeches about Bangladeshi identity read as exposition rather than genuine character development, and the film never convincingly argues why we should care about his journey when the historical sections have already dominated our attention. Mukherji seems unsure whether he's making a documentary, a political thriller, or a coming-of-age drama, and that uncertainty seeps into every frame. The cinematography is competent but u
Storyline
So basically, this movie takes you back to 1971 and shows you these really intense moments—like this elderly guy in the forest doing these sacred rituals for what he considers his family, which is honestly quite moving. You also get to see how things were politically heated back then, with powerful leaders making these brutal decisions and statements that really shaped what happened. The filmmakers weave in actual historical footage and interviews, so you're getting a real sense of what people were dealing with during that turbulent time.
The really interesting part is when they show Prime Minister Indira Gandhi being pressed by journalists about India's role in all of this. She's defending her country's actions and pointing out that the violence started way before any military intervention—basically saying they couldn't just stand by while people were being massacred. It's this complicated political and moral situation where you start understanding how countries get pulled into conflicts, and nobody's hands are completely clean.
Then the film brings you to the present day where you meet this college student who's trying to inspire his peers by talking about identity and what it means to be Bangladeshi. It's a nice way to connect the past struggles to today, showing how these historical events shaped an entire generation and their sense of who they are. The whole thing really makes you think about how wars and political decisions ripple through time and affect real people's lives.
