Khamosh Pani Breaks a Long Silence

“Khamosh Pani” (Silent Waters) is a unique Punjabi movie that is slowly making ripples in the cinematic world. The Pakistani-French-German co-production has already bagged four awards during the 56th Locarno International Film Festival held in Switzerland last year, including best actress (Kiron Kher) and for Best Film. And to think that Sabiha Sumar, a relatively unknown Pakistani female film director (from a virtually unknown Pakistani film industry) has generated this attention and acclaim makes one wonder about what other talent might be out there in our country of origin?

Sabiha is a Pakistani, married to a Sri Lankan and lives in the Delhi, India (one has to be a bit imaginative as to how this came about, since it certainly is true). She studied filmmaking at the Sarah Lawrence College in New York and has made political and environmental topics as core issues in her past work which includes “Who Will Cast the First Stone”, “Karachi” and “Where Peacocks Dance” aired on television in the UK. Her “Of Mothers, Mice and Saints” has been produced in Germany. Not too much is known about her in Pakistan but “Khamosh Pani” is bound to change that (if it is ever shown there to the general public and not just at the Karachi Film Festival).

Khamosh Pani was included in the lineup of films shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival held recently in the city (at the Kabuki) and Berkeley (at the PFA). It was presented in association with 3rd I South Asian Films. I had the opportunity to catch it in Berkeley on April 25th and was lucky enough to get the last seat in standby after regular tickets were sold out. I went with much curiosity and low expectations because the track record of both India’s Bollywood and Pakistan’s Lollywood films has not been good (in my opinion) or at par with American, European and recently independent Iranian films. But barring the few minutes at the beginning which probably had viewers thinking of another South Asian “movie drama with song and dance to follow” this was certainly different. What it turned out to be was a movie of great sensitivity on a subject that many post-Partition born Indians and Pakistanis have often heard of but not really studied.

Khamosh Pani is about of a young Sikh girl Veero left behind on the Muslim side of religious divide in 1947 when women lost their honor at the hands of the opposing “religious’ side or their lives at the hands of their own male family members. The women who escaped forced suicide or execution by males in their family ironically to protect family “honor” are a subject not often discussed in both India and Pakistan today. Thousands of Muslim women were abducted or left behind by their families, refugees fleeing for Pakistan in India while similarly Sikh and Hindu women were forced to fend for themselves in Pakistan while their kin escaped to India. Needless to say “honor” on both sides was preserved at such a high human cost in female lives that some of these abandoned women who later contacted their own families on the other side of the divide were rejected by their own fathers or brothers because they were now considered a source of family dishonor. Khamosh Pani is one such story about a Sikh girl “Veero” who is transformed into Muslim “Ayesha”. But it does not end there. Ayesha is to discover late in her life, the forces of history can be unforgiving not once but twice.

The role of single mother Ayesha is brilliantly played by Indian Actress Kiron Kher (of Devdas Fame) who is trying to fulfill her own dreams regarding the future of her one and only son Saleem (Aamir Malik) who is romantically involved with the vivacious Zubeida (Shilpa Shukla) but only till an extremist religious viewpoint enters the life of their village. General Zia’s “Islamization” in the late 1970’s shortly after the execution of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is part of this story. It is about the transformation of Saleem as he takes the extremist line brought to “Charkhi” village by two men from the nearby city who succeed in recruiting cadre from this once peaceful haven. The movie cinematography is simply but colorful as it is shot mainly in Wah, and Hasan Abdal in Pakistan. The village also contains an old Sikh Shrine which is finally opened to pilgrims from India of that faith. The Sikh group that comes to visit their holy site is welcomed by the townspeople but not so by this newly formed group of extremists (“Which creature loves Sikhs most” asks Saleem “Lice” is the answer given amidst laughter). And within this Sikh group is a man named Jaswant, originally from this same village before partition and now looking for a sister left behind.

Ayesha has two unique traits. She does not go herself to the nearby well to fetch her own water (the title Khamosh Pani is born out of this) and that she sends homemade treats to the Sikh Shrine each year. On the other hand she also teaches neighborhood children how to read the Holy Quran. She expresses her much frustration (as does Zubeida) as Saleem drifts away to extremism and is forced to make difficult choices. Ayesha and Veero collide unmercifully in one body and old prejudices and new extremisms are of no help.

Not every character is handled masterfully but Mahboob (the village Barber) played by veteran Pakistani actor Arshad Mehmood stands out like a colossus even with his brief yet powerful appearances. How he handles the taunts and warnings of the extremists on a number of occasions is really worth seeing. Ayesha’s neighbors Amin (Salman Shahid) and Shabnam (Fariha Jabeen) add balance to the story as they long for their own daughter “Mina” abducted by Sikhs during the same time of Partition.

A review cannot expose the complete story-line, but is written to encourage potential viewers to either see the movie or discourage them. Khamosh Pani is a wonderful film which is simple and brilliant at the same time. It is not like Deepa Mehta’s “Earth” which probably had a much larger budget. In a strange way it reminded me of the work of the best South Asia has yet produced in Independent Cinema, of Satyaji Ray and his “Distant Thunder”. Distant Thunder dealt with an actual man-made famine in Bengal. Khamosh Pani deals with another man-made tragedy of the last century in human terms but does not try to judge the merits or demerits of partition itself. It deals with the sad plight of the abandoned women of the 1947 breakup of India and Pakistan from a human viewpoint. But I believe that its actual message is a lot broader.

Viewers of Khamosh Pani from both sides of the divide of 1947 will need their handkerchiefs or tissues to wipe their tears because of the sadness that it confronts. But I came out of the theatre with a positive feel. It is a must-see for the Indian and Pakistani Diaspora. Peace once again appears to be a possibility in South Asia and that needs our encouragement.

One can only hope that President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee also receive the message that Khamosh Pani (Silent Waters) is sending out loud and clear. India and Pakistan must cooperate to end their over half century old hostility. In this movie, Sabiha Sumar reminds all South Asians of their not so glorious past. She has broken the silence on just one ugly segment of the human tragedy that started during 1947. And maybe, just maybe, there is a lingering hope that this year both Ayesha and Veero will be able to go home.