Ram Madhvani revisits Auden's Partition poem about Radcliffe

New Delhi: Did Cyril Radcliffe regret the line that he drew to divide India and Pakistan in 1947 and did he ever read W H Auden's scathing poem about his role in the Partition? These questions led "Neerja" director Ram Madhvani to make his short film, "This Bloody Line" on the World Poetry Day (March 21.) "This story was in my head for 10-15 years now. I had read Auden's poem on Partition. It is quite amazing that he does not name Radcliffe in his 1966 poem, but you know that it is about him and about India. "I kept thinking what he would have felt if he had read the poem.

I don't know whether it was published at that time or whether he read it," Madhvani told PTI in an interview over phone. Radcliffe burnt all the papers and maps related to the division and he also returned the 3,000 pounds that he was offered for the job. Madhvani, who screened the film at the India Today Conclave, says perhaps Radcliffe regretted being a part of this monumental decision, which led to the largest mass migration in human history. "He returned the 3,000 pounds, burnt his papers and never spoke about it. So, from this action, you can tell that he must have had some regret about his role. It is a difficult position to be in on a human level," says Madhvani.

"This Bloody Line", revolves around an ageing Radcliffe who gets a call from a reporter about a poem being written about him. His wife, however, implores him not to read the poem as it is not "very kind". But Radcliffe wants her to read it out to him anyway. He then recalls how Mahatma Gandhi had warned him against the Partition even though Lord Mountbatten insisted that he should draw the line. Madhvani begins the story with Nehru's iconic 'tryst with destiny' speech before moving to Radcliffe and his wife, sitting in their drawing room.

He also intersperses the story with images of actual footage of Partition as a pen runs through the map drawing the red line separating the two countries. The director says his film is for the youngsters as they should know what happened during the Partition. "It is also important for the youth to know and talk about what happened. We need to remember and ensure that we don't do that again. And if you do that again, you should know what you are doing." The director says he is happy that the film has connected with people on an emotional level as he has been receiving mails from different parts of the country.