Shanta is in a small group of friends which has people from almost every major ethnicity that exists in Lahore. Two of them, Muslims, are very close to her. Both Hassan and Dil Navaz love Shanta, but neither is able to tell her. Word spreads that Lahore is now going to be part of Pakistan due to partition. Violent communal riots among the Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs take place in Lahore.
Population exchange begins to occur.
Muslims living in India are trying to go to Pakistan and Hindus living in Pakistan are trying to go to India. How this event, partition, effects the lives of Shanta, Dil Navaz, and Hassan is witnessed by Lenny. Deepa Mehta is extremely successful in weaving the love story into the main underlying theme of partition. Some of the scenes are very hard hitting. The most memorable one, at least for me, was the scene where Dil Navaz goes in the train that was carrying his sisters to Lahore from Gurdaspur.