Bol, Hindi/urdu Pakistani film review, Johnson Thomas

Hindi film reviewsJohnson Thomas

A soul- stirring cry for the oppressed!Film: BolCast: Atif Aslam, Humaima Malik, Mahira Khan, Iman Ali, Shafqat Cheema, Manzar Sehbai, Zaib Rehman, Amir KashmiriDirector: Shoaib MansoorRating: * * *Shoiab Mansoor’s earlier work as director was ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ an indictment against religious fanatism and it’s inhuman practice. ‘Bol’ his current work takes that denouement further by dwelling into the religio-cultural mind-space of a people governed by laws of the Shariat which are interpreted as per convenience by it’s self-appointed guardians. The film is stark, hard-hitting and has stirring drama to carry the story through to an illuminating climax.

The narrative begins with Zainub(Humaima Malik) being sentenced to death and on the prompting of her brother-in-law Mustafa, and as granted by the President, she gives in to the ‘last wish’ of telling her story to the media. She talks of displacement during partition, the family’s shift to Lahore and the birth of a hermaphrodite Saif Ullah( Amr Kashmiri)in a family already teeming with girls. Her mother (Zaib Rehman) weakened by consecutive childbirth gets protection from future pregnancies at Zainub’s insistence. Her father, a local Hakim(Manzar Sehbai) is devoutly religious and looks forward to the birth of a son as part of Allah’s wish. Disappointed by Saif’s birth ,he banishes him to a corner of the house and prefers to forget him altogether. It’s upto Zainub and her sisters to care for him. When Saif shows outward signs of his true sexuality, the sisters are perturbed and Zainub with the help of their kind hearted neighbour Mustafa(Atif Aslam) sends him to work as a assistant painter under the guidance of a man who paints trucks for a living. But the other painter assistants, recognising Saif’s sexual leanings, rape him and when he returns home the next day his rigid puritanical father, in a fit of misguided righteous anger uses a plastic bag to suffocate him to death. Zainab is heart broken but she must carry on as she herself is burdened by the shame of a failed marriage. Mustafa secretly marries Ayesha (Mahira Khan)despite Hakim saheb’s objections to his Shia belongings. Hakim in the meanwhile is debt-ridden and is forced to take up the job he was desisting from engaging in , i.e. teaching of the Nazra Quran to Saqa Kanjar’s( Shafqat Cheema) children. Saqa Kanjar even lauds him for his ability to father girl children, which is a highly valued ability in the kanjar community- for which Saqa is willing to pay in lakhs. Seeing a way out of his debts, Hakim marries Saqa Kanjar’s resident tawaif Mina (Iman Ali) and their liaison begets a girl child. Hakim’s family though is caught unawares when one fine day Mina leaves her daughter at their doorstep and Saqa Kanjar with his henchmen in tow come to take back their prized possession. A deranged Hakim prefers to kill the child rather than hand him over to Saqa but Zainub intervenes and ends up having to face the gallows!

It’s a long-drawn-out story, the runtime touches close to three hours but every moment within is a moment of revelation- about the kind of oppression that blind belief in religious customs can wreak on human existence. The narrative is unembellished, the colours within are muted and earthy , the pace is slow but inveigling and the tension picks up slowly and steadily as the story twists and turns towards it’s eventual climax. The picture brightens when Mustafa and Ayesha sneak out to perform at a concert or when the daughters of the house give vein to their material desires while the tyrannical Hakim is away from the house. The atmosphere goes right back to the oppressive when Hakim is back and the sounds of laughter turn to cries of anguish. Shoaib Mansoor’s story and script is very hard-hitting and provokes thought and debate on the use of religion and orthodox practices to control the weak and the voiceless. The story is set in Pakistan but could be true of any region in the world governed by ultra-conservative religious societies. The dialogues penned by Shoaib Mansoor himself are veritable gems. The urdu’ lehza’ is impeccable and the words that communicate the pain, anguish and frustration of a repressed society have a beauty all their own. The pop-cross-cultural references about Meena Kumari, Pakeezah and Umrao Jaan add more layers to the already sharply etched multi-hued narrative. Manzar Shehbai’s Hakim Sahab is riveting as is Humaima Malik’s Zainub. Zaib Rehman, Shafqat Cheema, Atif Aslam, Mahira Khan, Amr Kashmiri, Iman Ali, also acquit themselves with honour. The songs in the film were unwarranted and for most appeared to be intrusive rather than inclusive. Shoaib Mansoor’s heartfelt narration is given greater depth and voice by Salman Razzaq’s amazing cinematography and Armughan Hassan’s languid editing style. This is a film definitely worth watching!Johnsont307@gmail.com