Movie Review

Movie Name: Ice candy man/1947:Earth

Sohaib Ashfaq – 28728

Pakistan History

Ans 1. Yes, films can indeed be studied as historical documents that provide valuable insights into the societies that make and watch them because they help us to view things from a unique perspective which allows us to examine the social, cultural, and political context of the time when they were made. For example, the movie ‘Ice candy man,’ portrays the complicated history of India's partition by presenting the communal tensions, bloodshed, and human misery that symbolized that era. It gives insights into the cultural framework of pre-partition India, such as religious pluralism, social hierarchy, and gender relations. Films have the ability to form collective memory which impacts how future generations recall and interpret historical events.

Ans2. The main protagonists of the film are Lenny, a Parsi girl, her ayah, Shanta, and Dil Nawaz, also known as the Ice candy Man. On the other hand, the main antagonists of the film are not the main characters, but rather the societal forces and communal tensions that escalated during the Partition of India. The decision of partition led to severe consequences which affected the lives of these protagonists and antagonists. Dil Nawaz, who was a Muslim, went through a significant character transformation in the movie at the time of partition because he had his friends and family in Hindustan : Hassan being the Muslim, Shanta and Lenny being the Parsis and some other Sikh friends with whom he shared a special bond. However, during the partition

all those bonds were severed because the Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were separated from each other.

Lenny who is a Parsi girl was deeply traumatized by the incidents of political and religious violence. Lenny tears her doll by pulling its legs and hands tied on the opposite side which depicts a long-lasting effect on her mind by what she saw in the streets: a Muslim man being dragged by a car with his hands and legs tied to the four far ends of the car. She later loses her Ayah and felt betrayed by Dil Nawaz whom she saw her as her friend and protector. Lenny lost her inner child and went through a character transformation which made her the witness of the misery, bloodshed and betrayal at the same time which would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Hassan, who is a Muslim masseuse, is portrayed as a friend to all who is indifferent to Muslims, Hindu, Sikhs and Parsis and had no enemies. This can be illustrated by the fact that that he helped and protected his Hindu friend Sher Singh and his family by hiding them from the violent mobs in the city. However, towards the end of the movie, we found that Hassan became the target of the violence and was murdered when the religious tensions increased and being a friend in need, Hassan's transformation was more of a tragedy that no one was prepared for.

Dil Nawaz's transformation (also known as Ice candy man) was the most dramatic and unexpected of all. In the first half of the film, his character was depicted as someone who tries to bind his friends together in an attempt to eliminate their religious differences and used to sit and eat with everyone it be Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Parsi despite being Muslim himself. He also protects Lenny and Shanta from the angry mobs who raid the streets. However, Dil Nawaz's transformation was triggered after the Gurdaspur massacre, in which a large number of Muslims, including his sisters were killed and their dead bodies, dripping with blood were piled up in the train which came from Gurdaspur. This was a turning point of the movie which led to creating hatred in Dil Nawaz's heart because this incident completely shattered him. Later, Dil Nawaz joined Muslims who wanted to avenge their loved ones and became a part of the mob from whom he once protected Lenny from. Towards the end of the movie, Dil Nawaz betrays Shanta despite having feelings for her once and Lenny, who saw him as a friend and a protector, forcefully took Shanta with him, accompanied by a Muslim mob.

Shanta's character in the movie can be seen as someone who wanted peace and opposed the idea of partition because of her friends and Lenny. However, later in the movie she wanted to move to Amritsar with Hassan the masseuse as a consequence of increasing religious violence which made her fearful about her own life. Seeing everyone leaving her one by one either by getting killed or becoming the cause of violence scared her and she wanted an escape from all of this. However, luck was not on her side, and she was caught and abducted by an angry Muslim. Like numerous other people she was never seen again.

In conclusion, the transformation of all these characters is a portrayal of the consequences of bloodshed, violence, misery, betrayal and suffering that they had to go through. All these events portray how the partition changed the situation of Hindustan and its consequences on the lives of ordinary people.

Ans3. The Characters in the movie belonged to different religious background: Shanta (Hindu), Lenny (Parsi), Dil Nawaz (Muslim), Hassan (Muslim), Sher Singh (Sikh). This shows that how diverse was the culture of sub-continent with people of different religions and backgrounds living together.

Moreover, Basant (kite flying festival) was also seen being enjoyed by the people in the movie and Dil Nawaz was also seen flying a kite with Shanta. This shows the vibrant culture in the Indian subcontinent and how festivals were celebrated by the people with different religious and cultural backgrounds, including Hindus and Muslims which also served the purpose of bringing different communities together.

Nehru’s speech as a response to partition is also an important historical reference in the movie. In the former era, the only source of communication in the subcontinent was the radio transistor. 14th August 1947, on the day of partition, Nehru’s speech ‘Tryst with Destiny’ was on air on the transistor. In his speech, he was addressing the people of sub-continent and congratulating them on finally getting free from the shackles of British colonial rule and forming two separate nations for Muslims and Hindus. The speech is renowned because of its historical significance, rhetorical strength, vision for the nation, and worldwide influence as a symbol of India's road to freedom and its ambitions for a better future.

Another significant cultural reference in the movie is the childhood Marriage of Lenny's friend, who belonged to the lower class, with an older man, older than the bride's father. This practice is still fairly common in many households in the subcontinent. The film also artfully exhibits the singing, dancing and other wedding rituals that are part of the sub-continental culture.

In conclusion, while "Earth" provides valuable insights into the historical and cultural context of the Partition, it is essential to view it as a creative interpretation rather than a literal historical record. A balanced understanding of the Partition would require considering multiple perspectives and historical sources.

Ans4. First of all, the movie opened my eyes and allowed me to see the history of the subcontinent through a different lens. The history that I was acquainted with through the textbooks, was presented in a very peaceful way in which Hindus and Muslims were said to pack their belongings and go to their separate homelands during and after the partition. However,

and gruesome. The facts or ideas that the movie brings to my mind, is that partition was more of a mass slaughter, widespread violence, and displacement of a humungous number of people which is said to be one of the largest mass migrations in the history and not something that ordinary people wanted. Even though the culture and history of the pre-partition India was remarkably diverse, and people of all religions lived there, there was no widespread violence and bloodshed at that time. The perceived image of the partition that has been brought to us previously, is that Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs could never live in peace together and could never agree on one thing. However, the movie has cleared up this misconception by portraying the pre-partition as a more peaceful era. The idea that movie brings to mind, is that Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs share a common history which is vital to understand in order to bring peace amongst us. A thought-provoking analysis of the movie shows that it was actually the British who was pulling the strings while the ordinary people suffered the losses at their hands and ended up betraying and killing each other on religious grounds. The movie also delivers a strong message on human resilience that even after years of British dominance in the subcontinent, Muslims and Hindus together forced them to leave in hope for freedom and a better future. When making contemporary connections with the partition in the movie, we can still observe that the effects of partition still live to this day. Issues like religious extremism and oppression on the minorities are still common around us as they were at the time of partition. There are still substantial number of Muslims residing in India who suffer at the hands of religious extremists. For example, the hijab ban in 2022 is still implemented by the order of courts in India. Moreover, several mosques have been demolished and extremist mobs backed by BJP force Muslims to raise 'Jay Shiri raam' slogans. Such things are also common in Pakistan where Hindu and Christian minorities are subjected to violence. For example, the Jaranwala incident on 16th August 2023 when angry mobs rampaged homes of Christian families, harassed them, burned down churches and their Holy books. Another example is the Hindu Temple, 150 years old, which was demolished in 2023. Such incidents shows us that the mass displacement of people at the time of partition still have its consequences which lead to instability and destruction of peace. Last but not the least, contrasting the pre-partition and the partition era shows us how Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs used to live together and how it eventually changed to just fighting for survival, which I will be remember for a long time.