Even after over half a century, some wounds are not healed and some conflicts remain brutally harsh. The 1947 partition of India had a disastrous impact on the women of the affected region. Many years later in 2003, this film was filmed in a Pakistani village. It depicted the tragic tale of the 1970 conflict which piled on top of the 1947 massacre. Khamosh Pani presents a tale of a middle-aged woman and her adolescent son. She has good community relations with neighbours, her son goes to school, has a potential future with a local girl. All seems fine until Zia-ul-Haq starts consolidating power. The free and open culture starts closing in on her. There are no happy endings. Ayesha has been portrayed beautifully. Her Punjabi speech feels very natural. The beauty is how easy it is for Kirron Kher to blend in with the narrative. It is her story, yet it is not limited to her. The way she becomes another statistic is heart-wrenching. Usually, the movie ends with the fate of the central character. In Silent Waters, the director Sabiha Sumar still continues few more scenes depicting if anything really changed. This last bit leaves a lasting impression, further emphasising the title of the movie. This is a Punjabi film, but thanks to a long exposure with Bollywood, I found absolutely no issues understanding the dialogues. At times I was stumbled, but the subtitles helped then. By 2003 standards the cinematography leaves more to be desired. It is the same year when Bollywood was churning out Kal Ho Na Ho and the likes. But considering this is filmed locally in a village in Pakistan, that rustic look feels natural too. Silent Waters makes you thoroughly uncomfortable if you are closer to this tale, for others, it still holds quite the punch.