Division
Lenny breaks a plate during the very first minutes of the film. She breaks it without ever giving a reason. Yet the breaking of the plate starkly symbolizes the oncoming division of India into two countries. This breaking of the plate gives us the core dilemma that our main characters face during the film. Furthermore, the plate breaks into many pieces symbolizing the many different natives breaking away from each other for the right of rule over India, after the British leave.
Basant
After being introduced to Dil Navaz, we are shown him forcing Shanta to come to his house. There we see a kite flying festival known as “Basant”. This festival symbolizes the difference of culture between the natives and the British. The very next scene we see Lenny learning dancing while listening to music on a gramophone. This is because Lenny is growing up with parents who are close to the British and have adapted and learned the ways of the British.
End of Rule
When Lenny’s family are about to go out, we see them sitting in a car. The type of car they were riding was available in India due to the rule of the British. We see the Indian servants bowing before the car to spin its starter and then pushing the car to jump start it. This car symbolizes the British rule over India, how the Indians had to bow down before the British rule and had to push forward while keeping the British at the forefront of their country’s rule. Not much later, we see the car get trampled on by marching crowd chanting in favor of Pakistan. The trampling of this machine also symbolizes the end of the British rule and the natives taking the power into their own hands, leading towards a struggle for land.
Foreign Territory
During a heated conversation between Shanta’s group, we are told that the Muslim population in Lahore is much more than the Hindus or Sikhs. This leads to a debate on who will receive Lahore after India’s division. Later, we see a police force move a lot of the residents from their homes. This symbolizes the land no longer being their own but that of a new country that is about to be born, a country built around Muslims.
