Khamosh Pani: Exploring the whirlpool of fundamentalism 06th Dec 2004
12.30 IST
By ApunKaChoice Bureau
Pakistani film Khamosh Pani is a sensitive movie that depicts the pervasive influence of religion and a woman's vulnerability in the face of Islamic extremism.
Using an Indian cast, scripted by an Indian and shot entirely in Pakistan, the feature film has been released in nine cities in India this month.
Directed by Karachi-born Sabiha Sumar, the film depicts a period after 1979 when the country began its journey towards Islamisation under the martial law of President Zia-ul-Haq.
The story centres around Veroo ( Kiron Kher ), a middle-aged Punjabi Hindu woman who forced to remain in Pakistan after India's Partition, converts to Islam and becomes Ayesha. A victim of communal violence, life for her comes full circle as her unemployed, dreamy 18-year-old son finds a direction to his meaningless life after being attracted to a group of Muslim fundamentalists.
"In my film, I try to portray extremism in a bad light. Extremism can be found all over the world, be it the Neo Nazi movement or Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism all have their own fundamentalists," says the petite, Karachi-born director, Sabiha.
"I am a Pakistani and I chose a subject that I could relate to. If people in India decide to misuse it I cannot do anything," says Sabiha who has studied filmmaking at the Sarah Lawrence College in New York.
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Khamosh Pani: Exploring the whirlpool of fundamentalism
