Despite some over-the-top acting, mediocre music and logic flaws, Pakistani flick Bol, which means "speak" in Urdu, does an exceptional job addressing a host of thorny universal issues facing not just the Muslim world today but other conservative societies.
Bol
Directed by Shoaib Mansoor. Starring Humaima Malick, Atif Aslam, Iman Ali, Manzar Sehbai, Mahira Khan, Shafqat Cheema and Zaib Rehman. In Urdu and English. Running time 165 min. This DVD can be purchased on the internet and in shops selling movies from the subcontinent in Pahurat.
Director Shoaib Mansoor explores such contested topics as women's rights, domestic violence, gender issues, honour killing and poverty which are usually brushed under the carpet in traditional Pakistani communities.
Despite overwhelming overtures that make us believe that the director is dealing with present-day global issues, the movie's main theme is Pakistan in its entirety, and Pakistan can surely not be cited devoid of its history as a Muslim state. Once we get that out of the picture, I believe it is worth viewing this melodramatic flick within an Islamic context for better clarity of the social predicaments faced by the country today.
The entire plot unfolds in flashbacks as Zainab, the lead character played by the talented Humaima Malick, narrates her life story to the media, shortly prior to being sentenced to death for the murder of a person that is kept anonymous at the start of the movie.
Born to a conservative Muslim family, the feisty eldest daughter is one among half a dozen girls of devout Muslim Hakeem Saab, played by veteran actor Manzar Sehbai. While dutiful and respectful towards her elders, Zainab speaks her mind when it comes to confronting her tyrannical father over issues such as birth control as his quest for a son continues to go unresolved. When his wife is carrying a child for the seventh time, his pursuit of a male successor in the family is thwarted when the child is born a hermaphrodite. As Saifee grows up amid a brood of sisters, it is heart-wrenching to watch.
The father disregards his presence in the family. From here the audience watches in bated anticipation the trials and tribulations of one brave woman's stand against a stifling society.
One flaw that dogs the otherwise well structured plot of the movie is the continued dispute between Zainab and Hakeem about interpretations of the Koran. One such debate turns out to be pretty humorous; while following a cricket match on the radio, her father asks his family to pray for Pakistan's victory, to which Zainab retorts that Allah is not responsible for Sachin's or Inzamam's scores. Pakistan eventually loses, much to the chagrin of the despotic patriarch.
For a film that is apparently rooted in burning issues to make the most callous society contemplate its actions, the script has cracks that should not have been overlooked.
One egregious case occurs when the decision is taken to send the hermaphrodite teenager, who has led an otherwise cloistered existence since birth, to work at a trucker's stop where he eventually gets gang-raped.
Questions are also raised when Zainab, who happens to be on trial, decides to tell her story to the media only from the gallows, disregarding the opportunity to tell her story in court where she could have made a stronger statement about the injustices facing women such as herself in contemporary Pakistani society. Whether this is director Mansoor's commentary on Pakistan's judicial system is anyone's guess. On the whole these blemishes are forgivable since Bol, aside from the social predicaments it raises, offers a window into Lahore, a city rarely seen in subcontinental flicks. Mansoor takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster ride as they go through the swarming brothels of the notorious Heera Mandi to the maze-like old city.
Popular pop star Atif Aslam also has a supporting role in the movie, together with stunning model and actress Eman Ali, who plays a courtesan who also puts in a spirited performance with the rest of the cast. Mansoor leaves the viewer with a question: If murder is a crime, why isn't creating a new life punishable if you can't look after it?
