A young, lame girl, Lenny (Maia Sethna), tells the story of the time period immediately before and during the partition of India in 1947, through the voice of her adult self (Shabana Azmi). She hails from a rich Parsi family who wishes to stay impartial to the growing tension between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims in Lahore. She is recognized and protected by her parents, Bunty (Kitu Gidwani) and Rustom (Arif Zakaria) and taken care of by her nanny, Shanta (Nandita Das), a good-looking Hindu woman,. Dil, the Ice-Candy vendor (Aamir Khan) and Hassan (Rahul Khanna) are Muslims and both of them love Shanta. The various religious groups spend their days together in the park where Lenny and Shanta spend their time. However, with the partition, they become separated and the calamity begins.