Bol (movie review)

Review Writer: Ajay Bharat
Rating: ****
Movie Tagline: "BOLNAY KAY LIYE IJAZAT NAHI HIMMAT CHAHIYE"


Director Shoaib Mansoor's Bol is the social drama movie. It is the Pakistani movie in Urdu language (Urdu is more than 70% common with Hindi language). Shoaib's 2005 Pakistani movie ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ was a big super hit movie, which was also released in India. Bol released on 24 June 2011 in Pakistan, which breaks the all previous record in 1st week collection, previous record was made by Bollywood movie ‘My Name Is Khan’. It releases on 31st August 2011 in India on the occasion of Eid. Pakistani famous playback singer Atif Aslam and actress Iman Ali of ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ fame are also acting in this movie. It is not religion centric movie like Soaib's earlier movie. Let's see how Shoaib perform on this movie.

Zainub is sentenced to death. On the advice of Mustafa, she expresses her last wish as to tell her story in front of media. She tells her story to media on the night before her sentenced to be executed.
Zainub's father Hakim Sahib was a Hakim (traditional natural medicine maker without any formal degree). Hakim's business was decreasing day by day due to the increasing of licensed doctors. Hakim in his desperation to have a male child, have 7 daughters in his family. Then, Hakim's wife gave birth to a transgender child, who later named as Saif Ullah aka Saify. Hakim wants to kill him, but her wife doesn't let him do that. Hakim hates Saify.
Family's financial condition is continuously deteriorating because of decreasing business and increasing family members. Hakim is a very religious person, and putting lots of limitation to his family. He is also very strict with his daughters. No daughter is studied more than 5 standard of schooling. Zainub was the rebellion in family, who once married and then divorced because of some family problem. Zainub's younger sister Ayesha have close friendship with neighbor Mustafa, both intend to marry. Saify becomes skilled in sketching. Mustafa decided to take Saify to some place for professional drawing, so that he can earn some. Then, Mustafa takes Saify daily with hiding this from his father Hakim. Then some bad instances happen to him on work after few days, and a she-male take saify to home. Hakim when see she-male with him, he killed Saify at night.
Now, police demands 2 lakhs from Hakim to hide the matter. As Zainub continues the story, media persons start to feel that she might be innocent, and want to wake up President so that he can delay the sentence to death of Zainub.
Then what happens tells the movie...
What Hakim will do for getting money for the matter...? Will Mustafa marry to Ayesha...?
Whose murder charges are on Zainub and why... Will president will wake up and delay her sentence...

Shoaib Mansoor is successful in making very good movie of social drama. Performance of Humaima Malik as a rebellion child in the family as the character of Zainub is outstanding. Performances of actors who are playing Hakim, Chaudhary, Meena, and Ayesha are also very good. Music is hum-able and good.
It is the great effort of Shoaib to bring such a brave movie who discusses those issues with such a simple and good way which generally trying to be hidden even in most modern societies. He touches the topic of religion compulsive family, large family, problems’ of transgender, prostitution culture of some community. And with all this, it keeps focus on Zainub’s story without any feeling of over-burden of social issues.
It is a story of woman struggling for her and her family's existence in an orthodox family, in which women treated as second grade gender. One of the powerful points of movie is that movie doesn't portray Hakim's character as a bad guy ever, but his old-fashioned values make him to do that.
Atif Aslam performance is just OK as his character is not very important in movie.
It is not mindless films who claim to be entertaining but if you try to feel Zainub's character then movie might thrill you and entertain you more, with all this it is also thought-provoking.

Though movie is more than 2:30 hrs long, and feel little slow at very few places. But it never fails to entertain you. It is not a boring documentary.
What good in movie are its strong performances, direction, story, and its way of handling thought provoking issues with very good way.
Do not come to see movie with expectation of light entertainment movie or mindless movie.
It will be liked by fan of thought provoking entertainment.
Reviewer Verdict: It is a must watch movie.