This movie is a class apart. The true picture of the partition is presented here in this masterpiece by Deepa Mehta. The viewers don't see the glory of Independence but the heart wrenching drama of the Partiton of India and Pakistan. The story starts off very well with Aamir Khan and Nandita Das. The little girl, who plays Leeny Baby has done a brilliant job. Her role as a physically challenged 10 year old Parsi girl is just superb. Nandita Das brings great credibility to the character of ShantaBibi. Her emotions towards Aamir and Rahul Khanna are shown on screen very well. Her devotion to Lenny and the Parsi Family are all brilliantly done. The other actors like the Parsi Family are well cast and they have good roles to play in the film. But the movie, like so many others before it, belongs to Aamir Khan. His metamorphosis in the movie is beautifully shown. His easygoing charm and his way with words captures the audience as they feel that he is really Dil Nawaz, The Ice-Candy Man. His lust for ShantaBibi is shown beautifully. His reaction at the death of his sister, in the train from India is stupendous. He begins to change from the easy going Ice Candy Man to the silent religious fanatic. He finally releases one final stroke which completes the movie and leaves the audience shocked. Rahul Khanna tries very hard but find himself seriously out classed by Aamir and Nandita. His character should have been given to a better actor. He was one of the few flaws of the movie. The other actors like Raghuveer Yadav who converts from Brahmin to Muslim is also a very good character. He does a fine job of his cameo role. Khulbhushan Kharbanda also performs his role authenticity.
The movie is a little slow at times, but on the whole it is just brilliant. It shakes the viewers into the horror, that was the Indian Partition. We should all be thankful for having good lives after watching this movie.
The movie is a little slow at times, but on the whole it is just brilliant. It shakes the viewers into the horror, that was the Indian Partition. We should all be thankful for having good lives after watching this movie.