M. Wajahat.

Khan (17002) Fri-Sat 4th slot

Film Review: The Ice Candy Man

1. What interesting facts or ideas does the movie bring to mind? To what contemporary
events does the film refer? What will you remember?
A. The movie shows partition from the eyes of a little girl, Lenny, and how the people
around her were affected or changed by it. It showed how the people from different
communities changed before and after partition through the group of friends which
included Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians. For example Dil Nawaz, the ice candy
man, was a jolly person who did not hold hatred against any religion but as the movie
progressed it showed how partition turned a good man into the blood thirsty animal that
he was by the end of the movie. I will always remember the dialog that Dil Nawaz says,
“we are all like the lion in a cage, waiting for the cage to open and to kill whatever is in
its way” because it was a chilling dialog that, however bitter, showed the truth about how
people are when they are under the pressures of fear, loss, anger and frustration. The
movie brings forward the idea that the partition was not at all the beautiful event that our
history books tell us about. It was an event of great loss and sacrifices regardless of the
side they were on and what religion they followed.

2. How and why do you think the partition affected the life of different character(s) in the
movie? How do you see them transform in the movie? (discuss in detail)
A. The main characters included Lenny, Dil Nawaz, a Sikh, the Hindu ayah, Hassan and the
Christians. As for Dil Nawaz, he was a funny person and loved his friends regardless of
their religion but after the slaughter for her sister in the trains that came from India he
started to feel a growing hatred for the Hindu community. When he saw the ayah making
love with Hassan he lost the only reason to love the Hindus and so he journeyed on a
darker path and joined the Muslim mobsters, killed many and was also involved in the
kidnapping of the ayah by the end of the film.

The Sikh was the zoo keeper who was a polite man but as the partition drew near and the
riots started to increase him and his family was forced into hiding and he could no longer
trust even the people he used to call friends, Dil Nawaz.

The ayah was a pretty lady who was caught in a love triangle with two Muslims, Dil
Nawaz and Hassan. As she was a Hindu in a Muslim majority land she grew to be scared
and decided that it would be safer to start with the Parsee family who had taken a neutral
position. Although it did not work as she was later kidnapped from the house by the
Muslim mob lead by Dil Nawaz who she had rejected over Hassan.
M. Wajahat. Khan (17002) Fri-Sat 4th slot

The Christian was forced to convert to Islam to remain safe and we also say a Hindu
child married to a Christian old guy for the sake of shelter and safety. This showed how
fear rule over people at the time of partition.

Hassan was, as called by the ayah, a gentle man who cared for people regardless of their
religious belief. He stayed loyal to his Sikh friend for whom he arranged transport to
safely get out of the hell hole that had became of Lahore but he was unable to fulfill his
promises to him and the ayah as he was found dead in a sack.

Lastly, Lenny who was a Parsee child saw the many horrors of partition that a child
should not be exposed to. She was a little girl who did not understand what was
happening as her world started to crumble around her. She saw houses burn, people
brutally killed and saw the people she trusted change. She lost her ayah and saw how the
mob forcefully took her away while the ayah screamed in fear. In the end it showed an
old Lenny who blamed herself for the abduction of her ayah.

3. What is the basic argument of the film’s plot? What theme(s) underline the plot? What
does the film show about the people and their values? What is the general set of
assumptions upon which the film is based?
A. The basic argument of the films plot is that how civilizations can crack and crumble
under pressures and how easily can people lose their so called humanity. The film
focuses on the themes of death, injustice, romance, revenge, tragedy and drama amidst
the chaos of partition. It shows how the values of people change under different
circumstances, for example the group of friends had an idealist approach that they would
remain the same no matter what and that they were above their religious differences but
as the film progressed we saw how religious intolerance grew in the hearts of the people
in the group. Their group broke off on religious grounds just like the sub continent had.

At the start of the film a scene showed Lenny drop a plate which broke and she just stood
there watching the once whole plate shattered into small broken pieces. This scene sums
the underlying idea, the general assumptions, of the film that the partition came suddenly
and broke the sub-continent in to small pieces and all people could do was watch it
descend into chaos and bloodshed and it was not a particular group that faced losses.
Everyone was damaged beyond repair in one way or another.

4. Who are the films main protagonists and antagonists? Why do they behave the way they
do? What was the general theme of each character’s development?
A. As the characters developed their roles also changed. Throughout the movie Hassan
remained a protagonist, helping others and remaining loyal to his friends. He was a
courageous and kind guy who met a cruel fate. While Dil Nawaz started off as a
M. Wajahat. Khan (17002) Fri-Sat 4th slot

protagonist but after the tragedy he faced, death of his sister and the rejection of his love,
he started to shift to the evil side and by the end of the movie became an antagonist who
joined in the dirty works of the mob and kidnapped the ayah. He was a fun loving guy
who later transformed into a person filled with hatred and fueled by revenge. Lenny was
an innocent child exposed to the horrors of the real world and her ayah was the Hindu
victim of Muslim cruelty.

5. What are the historical and cultural references used? Is history treated fairly, or twisted to
suit the film makers’ purposes?
A. The movie tries to capture the essence of the partition by depicting and using historical
events to connect with the viewers emotionally. One of the events was the Gurdaspur
massacre in which trains filled with dead bodies arrived for India and amongst those dead
bodies was the sister of Dil Nawaz. These also used Nehru’s speech which everyone
heard on the radio together to show how it was perceived by the common people. Dil
Nawaz, when standing on the rooftop after his sister’s death also outlined the layout of
Lahore at that time and how and where the different communities lived within the city of
Lahore at that time. The film also mentions the names of the historical figures of that
time such as Jinnah, the viceroy and the Sikh leader.

In my opinion the history was treated fairly as it did not sympathize with a particular
group such as only Muslims or only Hindus. Rather, it showed a wholesome view of how
all the groups faced hardships and loses. It showed Muslims killing Hindus, Hindus
killing Muslims, Sikhs rioting in the streets and at the same time also going into hiding to
be safe from the bloodthirsty mobs. It showed how people used religion as an excuse to
take out personal grudges, as in the case of ayah who Dil Nawaz kidnapped on the bases
of being a Hindu but clearly it was because he wanted revenge for the rejection of his
love. The cage was open, the lion had escaped and was ready to kill and there was no end
to it.