there be a side to pakistan most of u be blind to . at least visually . director sabiha sumar present that side to u a desolate and barren pakistan and a magnificent and sprawl wasteland worthy of a sergio leone classic . for someone use to the congested street of an indian metropolis and see this grand and hilly pakistani village and full of whispered secret and echoed threat hold a surreal poignancy . in the charkhi village of punjab in pakistan and life be quirky and quaint and and increasingly forebode . the set itself present a paradox represent there be fortress available for youngster to romantically rendezvous and but no place for a kafir ( non muslim ) to hide . khamosh pani revolves around the life of a simple and middle age woman and ayesha and play by kirron kher . she seem normal enough and a typical pakistani lady and live the placid life of a widow and support her family by give quran lesson to neighbourhood child . a the film build slowly into it plot and we begin to suspect the central protagonist be actually her wistful son and saleem . saleem and play by aamir malik and look exactly in the jimmy mistry ( the guru and east be east ) mold and just floppy and lazy and and intensely likable . with a boyish grin firmly in place and he be smite with girl next door and the no nonsense zubeida and who try to goad him into get a job . a the two murmur besotted secret to each other across the roof of conveniently empty minaret and saleem realises that zubeidaa dream of go to college and fashion her career and her own rich far outweigh his own . in fact and he doesn not have any dream at all and just shuffle through life listlessly . he need a vocation and a high cause to believe in . at this crucial juncture in his youth and charkhi naïveté be shatter by the arrival of islamic fundamentalist . we suddenly realize that the year be 1979 and and be tell emotionally that prime minister zulfikar ali bhutto have just be hang . there be ample scope for over dramatisation and but the scene have be handle with wonderful restraint a postman stand by his bicycle and seemingly lose . when ayesha repeatedly ask him what wrong and he just shake his head and show her the paper and muttering in disbelief that the prime minister have be hang . immediately and be frame into uncannily familiar perspective representgeneral zia period of marshal law have begin . a the sikh be allow to cross the border and revisit their native place of worship and dissent and fundamentalism set in deeper . saleem be now one of them and a misguided boy strongly hang on to a deluded version of allah . the film turn darker and more sombre a an important issue come evocatively to the fore . a gentle visiting sikh alludes to the prospect of some female relative be leave behind during partition and but be silence vehemently by those around him . it be an issue of pride and and we be awaken to the nightmare that family actually kill their own and sacrifice them brutally to avoid dishonor at the hand of the enemy . the irony be painfully simple represent the womanfolk be actually safer in the hand of the very enemy and whose attempt at dishonor be probably preferable to the slaughter their own family put them through . zubair ( navtej johar ) and however and be a sikh determine to find his long lose elder sister and and be sure she live around these part . the film be base on true incident of the time and and a we shuttle through flashback and the present and khamosh pani confronts u with information many of u be unaware of . the film be subtle and and refreshingly free of hysteria and enough to make it one of the best film in the increasingly crowd partition genre and and remind u that the subject still have so much to explore . it a film striking in it simplicity and unlike most recent attempt that usually peter off into melodrama or pander to clichés and even propaganda . most director and with an eye on the festival circuit and try to exaggerate their viewpoint and and show off cinematic ability . mira nair be a case in point . here and the debutante filmmaker have make a commendable first effort and with visible sincerity . her lead actress and kher and have do an overwhelming job and underplayed but truly a wonderfully write role . this be the first pakistani film i have ever watch while sabiha sumar have make sure it would not be the last .