Bol

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Apr 28, 2016 In the urdu language the word 'bol' directly translates to 'speak'. The film Bol directed by Shoaib Mansoor does just that; it speaks against some of the biggest flaws within Pakistani society. The director attempts to tackle one too many of these societal issues in a three hour film but also manages to neatly tuck them under an umbrella of one major plot - mental and physical architectures of containment. Architectures of containment are systems that confine an individual's thoughts and actions without being apparent and in the context of Bol, they happen to be religious extremism and gender discrimination. The film portrays Pakistani society as highly modernist and targets the youth and middle class in order to instill a need to dissolve the current point of view and replace it with postmodernism. Postmodernism is defined, in the most basic sense, by Jean-Francis Lyotard as "incredulity towards metanarratives (totalizing narratives)." (The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge) The plot revolves around Hakim, a poor, religiously conservative, stubborn Pakistani father of seven daughters and a son and his obliviousness to the immorality of his actions. Out of the seven daughters, the oldest Zainab is the only one who dares to speak and act against him. Hakim represents the harmful ideologies persistent in Pakistani society while Zainab represents the necessary rebellion against these beliefs. Through the complex characterization and tension between these two characters, the film draws out societal faults and leaves the audience questioning their existing beliefs. The film starts off with Zainab saying her last goodbyes to her family as she is escorted onto prison execution grounds to be hanged. Before she dies she requests that she be able to recount her story on national television on the execution grounds. Once granted permission she has until the crack of dawn to narrate her multifaceted rebellion against her father, Hakim, a stark representation of Pakistani society. The prison and the justice system is the first physical form of architectures of containment the audience encounters because she is about to be executed for unjust reasons. The director begins by using dim lighting and dull colors; in Fig 1. Zainab demands her sisters to take off their burqas and create their own lives. These burqas they wear because of society are another form of architectures of containment that Zainab resists. The film transitions to bright and vibrant colors accompanied by cheerful music once Zainab begins her story because even under Hakim or society's oppression the family manages to find fleeting moments of happiness while listening to a cricket match on the radio or sneaking out to play music (Fig.2) or perhaps see the mall for the first time. However, in the presence of Hakim there exists an underlying sense of tragedy, depicted through the gloomy shots for instance in Fig. 3. He is a delusional extremist who believes he is brimming with religious fervor, he objects to any of the women in his household going outside, he gets his wife pregnant fifteen times in hopes of having a son and also refuses to acknowledge the existence of his transgender son, Saifi. He imposes a modernist thinking on his family by maintaining a centralized control and establishing hierarchy of men above women. This hierarchy results in the death of his transgender son, Saifi, whom the sisters love with all their heart. Saifi is gang raped and for fear of losing respect in society Hakim suffocates him. He then covers up the deed by bribing a police officer using money entrusted to him by the mosque. The importance of his respect surpasses not only religious morality but also the life of his child. This magnified status of respect is an example of individualism, a feature of modernism. Hakim's actions eventually start to catch up with him when the mosque asks for the money, he stalls but is obliged to earn the money backhandedly by marrying a prostitute and getting her pregnant with a girl, because of his infamous tendency to have daughters. The girl is then to be raised as a prostitute which Hakim, a man who imposes stern religious control, accepts. However when the daughter is actually born, he runs away with her, and is convinced the only way to save the newborn's tainted future is to kill her. Once again, this firm belief in the newborn's set out destiny as a whore is an example of modernist thinking and its is this thinking that constitutes the persistence of architectures of containment in society. His faith is deep enough for him to attempt to kill the newborn too. Just as he raises a rock to smash into her head, Zainab strikes him from behind and kills him instead. Her courage is representative of the courage required by the existing youth, to fight against the cultural norms and boundaries of Pakistani society. It provides a scenario where if action is taken a possibility of a world without modernist thinking arises. It is important to note that a single individual cannot bring about such a drastic change, which is evident when, even after Zainab saves the newborn she is sentenced to death for the murder of her father. She refuses to give up and uses her death, an act of mythological heroism, as an opportunity to speak to the nation. She realizes that her story could impact the lives of many and so she stands on the platform of her death in Fig. 4. She tells the people about her dad raising her as if he was avenging her birth and so she begs the nation to answer the question, "If you are incapable of raising your children, then why do you give birth to them?" On the surface her question necessarily focuses on lack of family planning but when thought about, it brings into play the ideas you raise your children with because they shape the future generation and the future world. It questions your social responsibilities not only in the modern sense where a parent is responsible for the actions of their child but in a postmodern sense, where your social responsibility extends beyond the family unit and requires you to resist architectures of containment such as the aspects of Pakistani society presented within Hakim's character. To instigate the audience and produce change the film, Bol, deploys the use of a deeply emotional and controversial narrative and it produces effective catharsis primarily because it aims to accurately represent tragic societal flaws that truly exist but go unnoticed. See more Sep 22, 2014 Fine piece of social commentary cinema of domestic oppression in south Asia covering plenty of the prominent issues that affect lives of families throughout the sub-continent. See more Nov 4, 2013 depressing but perhaps somewhat true.. See more Oct 27, 2013 "- One of my daughters is troubling me. She's started to think very liberally. She's started questioning the religion, even the hadith ! - Astaghfarullah... What are YOU saying, Mr. Hakim ?" See more Nov 5, 2012 a wonderful and great film See more Jul 4, 2012 Want to watch it but didn't find it...movies trailor is good See more Read all reviews

Bol

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