This movie had been referred to me by my friend, whose tastes match mine, and so I went to see it, the movie has a powerful impact on the viewer’s frame of mind. If you want to see a movie with your thinking hat on, go for it.
It is a film by a woman about women in the subcontinent and their struggles to emerge from a position of being no better than chattel and symbolic of their men?s ?honor?, to being independent, equal members of society who can define their own destinies.
The Zia era in Pakistan was an era that saw the birth of the Taliban, their introduction into Afghanistan as a force to counter the Russian occupation, and the eventual defeat of the Russians.
If this had been the primary purpose of her film, it would have been somewhat of a political statement. But Sumar?s theme is much more subtle and powerful. It is a film by a woman about women in the subcontinent and their struggles to emerge from a position of being no better than chattel and symbolic of their men?s ?honor?, to being independent, equal members of society who can define their own destinies.
Interwoven between these two themes, is the fertile land of the Punjab that, in 1947, was tragically split into two, the East going to India and the West to Pakistan. The Punjab was the scene of an enormous amount of bloodshed during the Partition: families were separated, properties and houses were abandoned on either side of the border, friends became enemies, and the worst sufferers became the women and children who were raped and slaughtered in the heat of communal passions.
Ayesha, a devout Muslim widow in the small Punjabi village of Charkhi, is the film?s heroine. She has a secret leading back to the events of 1947, that is gradually revealed through flashbacks. As the pieces of the puzzle fall into place,
As an adolescent belonging to a Sikh family during the time of Partition, Ayesha had refused to follow her father?s instructions to jump into the Charkhi well, thereby saving her family honor from the possibility of Muslim-initiated rapes and murders. Instead she ran away and was soon accosted by a sympathetic Muslim man who converted her to Islam first and then married her.
Many years later, in 1979, she lives alone with her adolescent son, Saleem, earning an income through her late husband?s pension and the Quran classes she offers to young girls.
Saleem?s life at this time consists of loafing around with friends and setting up romantic trysts with Zubeida, a village girl with hopes of pursuing a higher education in the city. Saleem?s beliefs and values come into question when he encounters two new village residents.
The arrival of these militant Muslims coincides with the mass arrival of Sikhs from India, who have recently been granted permission by the Zia government to visit their holy temple in Charkhi.
The militants successfully influence and recruit Saleem on their mission to propagate fundamentalist Muslim ideals into the government, ideals that include anti-Sikhism and the repression of individual thought and choice.
Once Saleem discovers the truth about his mother?s background, he is caught between his devotion to her and the staunch commitment he has made to his new allies. The maelstrom that ensues leads up to an unpredictably violent climax, and a conclusive flash forward into 2003.
References to the historical events of the Partition of 1947, the Zia regime of the late ?70s, and a brief look at the present-day, is set as a backdrop to the individual conflicts of the people of Charkhi. Among a non-Pakistani audience, these references may serve as educational food for thought.
One important event in Pakistani political history that is mentioned is the hanging of Prime Minister Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto (father of ex-PM Benazir Bhutto), who spearheaded the Pakistan People?s Party (PPP) and was viewed as the representative of the working-class masses.
In the film, Ayesha and other like-minded friends mourn Bhutto?s execution as the end of a progressive, democratic Pakistan and the beginning of a backward-sinking fundamentalist society under the rule of General Zia.
Furthermore, the film begs the question that, in the latter case, whose responsibility would it be to interpret which laws are ?Islamic?: the mullahs or the Muslim citizens of the country?
She believes in peace between members of different religions. Her beliefs are in direct opposition to the ideals of the fundamentalists, whose goal it is to drive out the non-Muslims from Pakistan. This age-old conflict between the ?moderates? and the ?fundamentalists? projects into the historical debate of whether the nation of Pakistan was originally founded as a secular nation for Muslims or a nation to be governed under Islamic law.
Furthermore, the film begs the question that, in the latter case, whose responsibility would it be to interpret which laws are ?Islamic?: the mullahs or the Muslim citizens of the country? This debate hits at the very root of Pakistan?s political weakness, even today, and it is for this reason that the subject matter of ?Silent Waters? is a timely one.
Kirron Kher, the veteran Indian actress, who most recently played the mother of Paro in the Bollywood film ?Devdas?, gives an outstanding performance as Ayesha. Aamir Malik makes his superb debut performance as Saleem. Other cast members include Arshad Mahmud, Salman Shahid, Shilpa Shukla, and Sarfaraz Ansari.