The story is about Joseph (Nana Patekar) and Flavy Braganza (Seema Biswas), a deaf couple in Goa. They have a baby girl, Annie (played by Priya Parulekar as young Annie), who is able to speak and hear. A few years later they have another baby, a boy named Sam, who also speaks and hears. Annie's life is divided into two worlds – one with her parents and the other of music, which she loves. Annie gets her musical inspirations from her grandmother, Maria Braganza (Helen).
A few years later, after the tragic death of Sam, Annie's (Manisha Koirala) life is shattered and music and singing fade away. When Annie grows up she gets in touch with music once again – with Raj (Salman Khan) whom she falls in love with. She starts singing again. When Annie gets pregnant, her father tells her to abort the baby because it will dishonor the family. Annie refuses to go against her church and religion. When Joseph learns this, he asks Annie to leave the house. Raj tries to convince Annie's father that he is a nice guy, but Joseph dislikes him mainly because he is a Hindu who doesn't live in Goa, so Annie would have to live far away from him.
Annie marries Raj and gives birth to a boy, whom they name Sam, after her brother. She, Raj, and Sam go to Joseph's house to reconcile with him. Joseph accepts Annie's boy and approves Raj as his son-in-law. Things are really beautiful until their life takes a drastic turn. Annie and Raj have a devastating accident; Annie is seriously injured and goes into a coma. Joseph, Flavy, and Raj try hard to revive her, even trying to stir her emotionally for the sake of Sam. The broken Raj, Joseph's moving mute "speech", and Flavy's love and hope bring Annie back to consciousness.
The musical numbers were composed by Jatin–Lalit and Remo Fernandes. The lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The soundtrack topped the music charts in India[10] and was #97 on the list of "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks of All Time", compiled by Planet Bollywood.
The film is considered ahead of its time and rated by many as best work of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film features several autobiographical references to life of director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.[11][12][13][14][15][16] In 2010 Filmfare included Manisha Koirala’s performance in the film on its Top 80 Iconic Performances list. [17][18]
A box office failure when released, the film has over the years gained cult following.[19][20][21][22]
Khamoshi's narrative is similar to that of the 1996 German film Beyond Silence.[23][24]Khamoshi was released on 9 August 1996 and Beyond Silence was released on 19 December 1996, more than four months later. The 2014 French film La Famille Bélier and its 2021 American remake CODA also have a similar narrative.
^National Film Awards Function; India; Directorate of Film Festivals; India; Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity, eds. (2003). Rāshtrīya Filma Puraskāra. New Delhi: Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India for the Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 69. OCLC54766419.
