Sydney-based filmmaker Anita Barar’s interesting documentary film Crossing the Lines explores the stories of those people, now settled in Australia, who have seen the bloodshed of 1947’s India-Pakistan divide, and had crossed over the India-Pakistan border against their wishes during the partition - empty-handed and heavy hearted, with horrible memories of killings and bloodshed.
Based on the interviews of senior citizens of Indian and Pakistani origin, the film narrates the first hand experiences of these people as they relive their past and talk about the emotions they go through when they meet their counterparts – i.e., when Indians meet Pakistanis or vice versa. The film also tells some unforgettable stories of how some individuals risked their own lives to protect those members of the other community, in spite of the general widespread violence.
The 75-minute long documentary in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi has been launched in July in Sydney, followed by a launch in India.
Writer, filmmaker, casual broadcaster and theatre personality Anita Barar’s own family moved from Pakistan to India at the time of partition. While making this film, Anita discovered that among the people she interviewed who had experienced the horrors of the partition, there is no animosity at all – life for them has moved on.
Anita Barar works on SBS Radio in Australia, as casual broadcaster and is also known for her good knowledge of the Indian film industry. Some of her films include The First of April, a situational comedy, and In God’s Hand, about an elderly man. She also made a short film on domestic violence, A New Dawn.
