SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

shahzaibh Can't believe that the director managed to address so many issues in a two and a half hour snapshot of urban Pakistani lifestyle. The message is change and the capability of it. Issues touched upon are transgenders, stereotyping and misinterpretation of religious doctrines, cricket, government corruption, prostitution, overpopulation, male child preference syndrome and other minor concerns. It is amazing how they put so many issues in a nutshell. As a former selector of male acting category at Miami Film Festival, have to mention the remarkable piece of acting by Shafqat Cheema who stole the show overall.

umer_uf It seems that I'm getting a lot of hate for my comment on how crappy Bol is. For those who haven't seen or don't plan on watching this movie; here's the plot in a nutshell: It's a story about a girl who wishes to tell the world her story before she is hanged for the murder of her father. The movie doesn't seem to know what issue it wants to highlight and provide a solution for. Although it's a love letter to family planning, it keeps on flip flopping between religious extremism, domestic violence, homosexual abuse, and prostitution among many, many other issues. Whoa there; one problem at a time, Shoaib Mansoor.The movie takes place in an ultraorthodox Muslim family of Hakim Sahab, who keeps impregnating his wife in hopes of having a son. In fourteen tries his wife gives birth to seven daughters, one hermaphroditic son (who is bane of his existence), and has seven miscarriages. We are also introduced to the neighbors of Hakim Sahib, Master Sahib who dogmatically follows the "bachey do hi achey" model of family planning. After a few more miscarriages, the 'Joan of Ark' of our story: Zainab; decides to gets her mother sterilized. This is done so Hakim Sahib can't impregnate her anymore.If I go on any further I'll make the same mistake the movie makes and that is to swim in a puddle of irrelevant details and in turn derail my train of thoughts. Basically when the hermaphrodite son gets raped, Hakim Sahib kills him. Consequentially he is forced to bribe the police with masjid donation and in his desperation to get the money back for the masjid meets with a pimp. The pimp offers him the money only if he is able to impregnate the pimp's daughter with a girl. The story reaches a climax when the pimp's daughter conceives a baby girl whom Hakim Sahib attempts to murder. In trying to save the baby's life, Zainab strikes her father on the head leading to his death.Here is my problem with the movie. The acting in the movie was very shallow and one dimensional. The characters were very stereotypical, and extremely predictable. Hakim Sahib in particular comes off as very comical and silly even when he is trying to be serious. The music is dreadful and unnecessary. This movie is just an extended episode of a Pakistani drama in that it is boring and TOO DAMN LONG. Most importantly, it is unabashedly biased and essentially doesn't provide any real solutions. Bol is the second movie of Shoaib Mansoor that tries to paint all religious Muslims with the same brush and brand them as heartless villains. He puts forward music and dancing as the solutions to Pakistan's social conundrum and a blatant rejection of all Islamic values.Extremist Mullahs seem to be a common theme in his movies; in 'Khuda key Liye' we saw the music-loving boy fall victim to some extremist mullah who spouts hate for the west and music. Mr. Mansoor even tries to justify that music is halal by saying that the Prophet Daud used to sing since he was blessed with a beautiful voice. Mansoor's blatant disregard of Quran and Hadith is very visible in both the movies. Ironically, he has embraced the 'Pick and Choose' method that the very same extremists he despises and maligns have made their methodology.I came across a very interesting point as I was researching the movie and its director that may help explain his bias and motivation. It turns out that Mr. Mansoor was mentor to a very "beardly" famous Pakistani: Junaid Jamshaid. Jamshaid was once was a famous pop star, who had a change of heart and left the music industry abruptly deeming it unappealing andun-Islamic. Mr. Mansoor was personally wounded by this transformation and he allegedly said "I gave him sixteen years of my life as a true friend and played a role in his professional life to the best of my abilities. How could he throw away our sixteen years just like that without even consulting me?" This comment in the backdrop of his first movie 'Khuda Ke Liye'; which is homage to music; helped me understand his whole anti-mullah crusade. Mansoor somehow feels that it's his obligation now to prevent any more Junaid Jamshaid type transformations.My biggest fear after seeing this movie was that it might discourage young Pakistanis from learning about Islam with an open mind. I spent a significant chunk of my life in Pakistan and I attended a Madrassa when I was there. I can truthfully say that I know exactly what goes on there, and I can tell you for a fact that a lot of what Mr. Mansoor portrays in his movies is grossly exaggerated. In fact, anyone who dares to learn about Islam in Pakistan is stigmatized and ridiculed at times as I can personally attest to. I was ostracized by the other children and often tauntingly called a Mullah, and whatever other derogatory term that is attached to children who attend madrasas. Alternatively, if you really want to watch a thought provoking, emotionally moving Pakistani movie check out Ramchand Pakistani. It is a beautiful story of a poor Pakistani Hindu boy and his father accidentally imprisoned in an Indian jail, and accused of being Pakistani spies. The movie is grossly overlooked, and under-appreciated which is a shame. It makes great use of the silent yet somber beauty of the Pakistani desert landscape, traditional music and the main cast complements the tone and pathos of the movie perfectly. On the other hand, Shoaib Mansoor is simply digging for compliments and popularity by grossly exaggerating the reality, wherein Ramchand Pakistani shows a real side of the Pakistani minority and their struggles. It just works, people!. Bol makes a mockery of the term 'social commentary' and earns the director the label of sycophant from yours truly: the Cineophant.

donnamela Other reviews have already stated most of what you should know about this amazing movie, but let me just add: if it feels preachy or a little badly acted in the first 10 minutes, don't abandon it! It quickly gets over that and becomes one of the most well-made, subtle, beautifully picturized and acted films I've seen recently. It's utterly heartbreaking. Despite being laden with meaning, it doesn't feel burdened by the responsibility of getting across its message(s). It's slow and steady but I was not bored for one second. I remember one scene with the father having a conversation with someone. No action, no music, just two people talking. I felt like I was watching someone's real life. I think that's this film's real strength -- it follows the natural rhythm of life and just feels so REAL. Unlike most films which are constructed to have a lead up, climax, aftermath etc., this one flows more naturally. What happens, happens, whenever it needs to. There is one character who could have easily come off as a comic-book villain, but thanks to amazing writing and acting we actually, despite our best efforts, DO see him as a human. It's quite incredible how the director was able to do that. Oh, and the music!! The only song that was totally out of place was that Bol Do song with Atif and the girl. But the rest was just lovely. My favorite is the Hona Tha Pyar song. As for Atif, his part is really small. He plays a nice guy and it's hard to find anything wrong with his performance since it was so unchallenging. But he sure is cute and has a nice presence on screen. The actor who played the father did a great job. He was devout, conflicted, disgustingly evil and vulnerable at the right times. I really didn't know how to feel about his character, and that's a GOOD thing! My complaints include the brevity of the role of the main girl. The actress was just amazing, and I could see it in her that she had SO much more to give. I felt like the director gave us this beautiful female character and didn't fully take advantage of it or of the actress's talents. After the Big Sad Scene (you'll know it when you see it), the ambivalent reactions of the mother and sisters might be upsetting to viewers. Also, the last song is very beautiful but the sequence that goes along with it, while plausible, is very rushed and feels unrealistic compared to the rest of the film. But the very, very last shot kind of saves it.In short, highly recommended. It's unique and special. This director has his own style, and I love it.

Salil Gupta Technically, director Shoib Mansoor delivers an A Grade script. Upon seeing Khuda ke Liye, I was very pleased with the movie. But this movie was above par. Not that the movie was flawless. But the only problem with the audience is that although we keep shouting on the extreme want of quality cinema, meaningful cinema, when a good film actually comes, we tend to find more flaws in it than appreciating it. Are we insecure of accepting somebodies honesty and creative genius?Other young directors should actually pick up quality of film making from this to make movies with substance. The subcontinent has great potential for these kind of social topics.