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Bol
- Director: Shoaib Mansoor
- Writer: Shoaib Mansoor
- Producer: Fatima Jilani
CGiii Comment
Honour killing...Eunuchs...police corruption...and, money laundering like you have never seen before...just the tip of this iceberg...intersex, prostitute breeding...
With the line at the beginning: Throw away these Burkas...And make a life for yourself...
It would be easy to say that this film is anti-Islamic...it certainly is not a promotional film for new recruits...it is about fastidious religious adherence...the fundamentalist who falters and is able to justify himself...all in the name of religion...that literal interpretation that has caused so much trouble and heartbreak.
Most atrocities have occurred in the name of religion - the atrocity in Bol is a microcosm of this hackneyed excuse...it's a family led by a tyrant...all in the name of religion...sound familiar?!?
Admirably, the Pakistani censors allowed this to be released (relatively uncut) in Pakistan...and, it is now the highest grossing Pakistani film to date...simply, by doing this - signifies a change and/or the willingness to change, perhaps, is in the air.
Or, is it?
Those that would benefit most from seeing this - i.e. women - are banned by their husbands from watching television...and, forbidden to leave their homes. Let us not forget those under the Taliban-like thumb...
Yes...it is a little like preaching to the converted...those cinema-going liberals...however, those liberal neighbours may have less-liberal neighbours - watch the film...the neighbours are important.
It is, by no means, a perfect film - it is a powerful film.
The musical sequences are redundant (and terrible), the stutter is redundant, too many scenes (usually involving a guitar and horrendous camera work) are vacuous...cut out 30 minutes or so...and the power will increase exponentially.
Some characters are grossly mis-managed, others grossly under-managed and, some should not have been included in the final cut...
Sehbai's performance is, at the beginning, too abrupt and over-played...but, to his credit, it does improve and becomes a credible tormented Judas...in an Islamic context.
The structure - the two distinct halves - interspersed with the predictable prattling journalist is...too simplistic, too unsatisfying...too meagre in the first half's resolution.
That said...all in the name of constructive criticism...
This film, Bol, is an astounding example of cinema...at its bravest.
Oscar-worthy...definitely - with a few cuts.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Zainub Khan has been found guilty by Pakistan's Courts and is to be hanged. Her last wish is to tell her story before the media, and after approval, she relates how her family was compelled to leave Delhi during 1948 and re-locate to Lahore. This is where her father, Hakim Sayed Hashmutallah Khan, married Suraiya, and hoping to sire a son, instead ended up with 7 daughters. The 8th child turned out to be a hermaphrodite and Hashmutullah wanted it dead but Suraiya insisted that she will not let anyone know so as not to shame her husband. They named the child Saifullah, and hired a tutor to teach him at home. After a failed marriage, Zainub returns home, notices that the tutor was molesting her brother and asks him to leave. With dwindling income from his father, unable to attend school, his mother giving birth to still-born babies, his siblings uneducated, Saifullah is then himself compelled to seek employment.
Cast & Characters
Humaima Malik as Zainub Khan;
Manzar Sehbai as Hakim Sayed Hasmutullah Khanab;
Iman Ali as Meena Kumari;
Shafqat Cheema as Chowdhary Saqa Kanjar;
Atif Aslam as Mustafa;
Mahirah Khan Askari as Ayesha Khan;
Varda Butt as Hifza;
Hania Chima;
Sagar Kamran as Young Saifi;
Amr Kashmiri as Saifi