Lenny
and The Independence of India
Earth 1947 was a very deep and moving film. It addressed the
relatively unknown issue of India’s independence and partition between India
and Pakistan. The movie shed light on the fighting, bloodshed, and loss of life
that happened after the British gave up rule. The story does not focus really
on the various effects partition had on the nation, but rather on what happened
to the general public through the eyes of a little girl, Lenny. This is one of
the most brilliant moves on the director’s part. Showcasing the people’s
barbarism from the point of view of an eight-year-old girl amplifies all the
scenes in the movie. We see and hear about the most terrible acts mankind can
commit through the innocent eyes of a child, making even the most rigid people
tremble. Lenny shows perseverance, courage, and strong-will, which is why I
believe she is the most important character in the film. The whole story,
although it might not seem like it, revolves around her and her actions.
One of the biggest roles Lenny
plays in the movie is giving a comparison to the other characters in the story.
Lenny is the sweet innocent little girl that does not know right from wrong.
She sees no religion, no skin color, no geographical divide, and sees only
friendship. When in the company of other people, while they all talk about
religious divide, she thinks about ice-cream and play. She keeps the audience
down to earth. When in the restaurant while all the friends are ordering food,
one of the Islamic men starts to berate the Hindus and the Sikhs. This outing
is supposed to be friendly and nice, but instead the two men get to the verge
of wanting to kill each other, all in the presence of a child. Another notable
scene is when the group is on the roof watching the chaos ensue on the grounds.
Ice Candy Wala amusingly watches the Muslims kill the Hindus and blow up their
building. He laughs and smiles, all in front of little Lenny. The final, and
most important scene, however, is during the conclusion. The mob attacks the
Parsi home looking for the Hindu nanny. Ice Candy Wala asks Lenny where the
nanny is, taking advantage of her innocence and young age. Lenny tells him
where she is and the mob then takes the nanny away. In all three of these
scenes, Lenny shows the absolute craziness of all of the people. Muslims,
Hindus, and Sikhs are willing to give up all sanity and moral value to prove
which religion is the best. Lenny gives the audience a control to look at and
see how barbaric the divide really is between India and Pakistan.
I think the scenes shown when
Lenny was present highlight the extreme cultural divide India had during the
Independence, but as well as before. In the very first gathering of the
friends, they talk about Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh race jokingly. At that point
it did not mean anything. This cultural divide, however, throughout the movie
grows and becomes very defined. This is the way that India was before the
partition. As shown in the book, Modern
South Asia, every one was aware of the different religions, and there was
an underlying acceptance and/or tolerance of different ways people lived.
Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs all spoke the same language, lived in the same
areas, and participated in the same events. The only difference was which god
they prayed to. This did not create tension. After the divide, however, the
tension rose and people took differences to heart and firmly believe one group
was better than the other. This is why Lenny and the friend group are so
important, they mimic what happened to India and its separate groups of people.
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