I happened to watch this movie for the second time yesterday . This is a technically very well made movie.I could not help not write about it.It sends shivers down the spine. Its a movie about love lost , hate , confusion, frustration, simple pleasures , and all the varied emotions have been projected very well by a well mixed cast.
Plot Revealed
The movie is shown through the eyes of a young parsi girl (leny baby) who suffers from Polio. The time portrayed in the film is 1947 in Lahore, when India was being given freedom along with Pakistan being born.
Enter Nandita Das ( Shanta Bai)- She is a nanny for Leny Baby who belongs to a parsi family.Leny baby idolises her nanny and is very close to her. Shanta bai is an unabashed flirt. She is admired by lot of guys. Among them are the malish wala( Rahul Khanna) and Ice candy wala (Amir Khan). Every day the three with other guys meet up in the park and involve themselves in daily gossip. Leny baby is pampered by all of Shanta’s friends in order to win her affection.
Gradually there is unrest among the people specially among the Hindus and Muslims following the decision of Indian independence and the news of India breaking up into two.
The Parsis are the only one who do not have anything to do with it and they assume a neutral position. They compare themselves to chameleons who change colour according to their environment for survival.
Slowly the tension builds up and you too can feel it. A train comes in to Lahore bringing in dead bodies of the passengers. Aamir Khan’s family is also there. This adds fuel to the embers and there is chaos in the city of Lahore.
The events that follow are gory and absolutely tragic. Suddenly the friends who used to sit together in the park gossiping become arch enemies going for each other’s throats.There explicit violent scenes which are not recommended for kids. UGHHH !! They have picturised it too well.
As the movie progresses so does the triangular love story between Malish wala, Shanta and Ice Candy Wala.
The ice candy wala proposes and Shanta bai rejects him. She prefers the Malish wala who is gentle and kind to everyone.
The malish wala also helps out the hindus and the sikhs in getting away from the city. Amidst this tension, love blossoms for for Shanta and the malish wala and they give in to their urges which unfortunately does not escape the ice candy wala’s notice.
Shanta bai accepts malish wala’s proposal and they plan to get married and get out of the city. She is very happy and the parsi family is also very happy as they were scared for their nanny.
What happens next is totally unexpected in the normal course of events in the movie. The next morning, when leny baby is walking with one of the house servants, they find the malish wala half naked with his throat slit.
They run for their home. Chaos prevails. Suddenly a bunch of Muslims march in to the parsi family’s home and demand that all the hindus be surrendered to them. The hindu servants had converted to islam or christianity so they escape from the mob but not without humiliation and ridicule.
Then one of them screams that Shanta bai should be given to them. The mob is told that Shanta bai is gone. They get convinced but at the last moment the ice candy wala steps in and coaxes the truth out of leny baby’s mouth.
The whole mob breaks into the house, while the ice candy wala watches, and drags Shanta bai out and put her in the cart and carry her off with the ice candy wala in the lead.
And you are sitting still in horror and anticipation of what happens next. Well the story of millions of such cases rest here.
This is a movie which stirs deep emotions within us and it also leaves us with a taste of disgust in the mouth.
There has been enough movies created using the same plot. This is different as it has kept its story very original and the audience is left with mixed emotions in their minds.
I personally think that these type of movies should be reconsidered before be8ing made because it rakes up the sad and turbulent past for some who would like to keep things in the past well forgotten.
But as far as the movie goes its excellent and it deserves lot of credit to the whole cast. All of them especially the director has gone a great job in making this almost flawless movie !!!
Check it out if you are in a mood for something like this , otherwise you can give it a raincheck !!!