Pusan 2003

Two films of contrasting nature
by H.N. Narahari Rao

In the recently concluded 8th Pusan International film festival there were two important films which engaged our attention. One was Silent Waters by Sabiha Sumar (Pakistan / Germany / France) the other Travelers and Magicians by Khyentse Norbu (Bhutan).

Silent Waters is a film which will definitely generate ripples in the minds of the people in India and Pakistan when they see it. The director Sabiha Sumar very subtly recreates the traumatic experience of partition of the two countries and its aftermath.

Saleem, a youth, son of Ayesha falls in love with Zubeida. What starts as a simple love story gradually builds up into a saga of political oppression and religious fanatics. In order to perpetuate his dictatorship General Zia (in the seventies and eighties) created a hate campaign against other religions and India, through promoting Islamic fundamentalist groups in order to divert the attention of the people from holding elections. These groups made provocative speeches. They believe that the lines of partition were drawn in blood by the Islam followers who sacrificed their lives to create Pakistan based on religion and those who do not have faith in Islam have no place in this country.

Saleem becomes a victim of this propaganda and gets totally involved in this fundamentalist movement. He even forgets his lover and rebels against his mother and other moderates and becomes a militant. In one of the satirical jokes a barber in a saloon remarks to his customer: "It is easy to cut the hairs of Zia - because once we say election his hairs stand up and it becomes easy to cut". There is much interesting dialogue like "Your love for Islam does not bring us cheaper onions" which are frequently used even now in both the countries to denounce both types of fundamentalism. In one of the scenes a video show of speeches of the fundamentalists is exhibited. After the speech Zia's photo is shown as though he is the saviour of Islam in Pakistan . Saleem asks what is this ? The answer is :this is is a machine called VCR imported from America.

The dramatic turn the film takes is when a group of Sikh pilgrims from India come to the village Charika to offer their prayers at a Gurudwara which is now in Pakistan territorry. One sikh Jaswant Singh tries to locate his sister Veero who stayed in Pakistan during partition. We are really taken by surprise when we find Ayesha herself happens to be his sister who after staying gets married and becomes a devoted Muslim and even gives lessons in the Holy Koran.

The revelation creates trauma for all the protagonists . Saleem gets totally disheartened by the fact that he is born to a lady who belonged to a family having no faith in Islam, Ayesha becomes irrevocably disturbed because her identity is revealed and she can not accept the invitation to meet her father in India, she now belongs neither here nor there, the pilgrim Jaswant Singh becomes totally disillusioned when his sister rejects his invitation.

Ayesha is gradually rejected by her own kith and kin and gets isolated. She ends up drowning in a well finding peace in the silent waters. Sleem repents and reconciles.

The film is handled very delicately. It is to be remembered that Partition was an episode which took the lives in hundreds and thousands, blood spilled all over the borders. But at no point is explicit violence shown in the film, at the same time it depicts the holocaust of the ghastly events and their effects. The ending is quite interesting . The current events in Pakistan are shown with portraits of Musharaff and the speeches and the same assurances of conducting elections - a repetition of the past - and we ask ourselves: is there an end to it ?

It is understood that the film is finding its way into festivals in India under the title "Kamosh pani". I am sure there will be enough material for critics to write and interpret. But the question is: will it find its way in Pakistan ?

In contrast to Silent Waters, the film Travelers and Magicians is a film with a lighter subject, interesting particularly for the people in the Indian subcontinent. People, even those well placed in life have a notion that they would be economically well off if they landed up in America and got a job . Here in this film the protagonist is an young officer posted in the border area of Bhutan and tries to make his way to America for greener pastures . But on his way he gets acquainted with interesting characters: like a Buddhist monk who tells him a story , an old man who sells apples and a beautiful girl and her father.

Norbu has the ability to make this an interesting narration. And he has made it. A very thin story but it is rich with cinematic values. Excellent photography, a well knit script with tinges of humour, a smell of location with which the director is very familiar, all blended to make it a most enjoyable film.

Norbu makes us guess what will be his next one and when it will be... yes, we eagerly await it.

H.N.Narahari Rao
© FIPRESCI 2003

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