Bol

Shoaib Mansoor has followed up Khuda ke Liye, a fine film in its own right, with Bol, an even better film. The unimpressive beginning and an ultra-disappointing sharp turn to neo-capitalism in the end notwithstanding, the film is exceedingly well shot, brilliantly acted, and sensitively dramatized. The support cast is exceptional and the film makes you fall in love with Lahore, the city. Atif Aslam, it turns out, is a good actor, even though his music only disappoints his otherwise rich voice. The women in the film make you say, "Yeh Lahore wale..." The boy who plays Saifi, a queer child, deserves a special mention for his exceptionally brave and adorable performance. Indeed, the film sketches a universe that smokes paradoxes of the most bizzare kind to sustain its devout affiliations, and raises alarms about something very relevant. The film is so well written it makes you stop and say 'waah..' a few times. The language carries its weight in surprising simplicity and leaves a mark. The sense of humour, culturally marked, is of the most superlative quality.

The film left me wanting to watch Pakeezah once more, and hear Rajkumar say, "Afsos ki log doodh se bhi jal jate hain.." But it also left me thinking about Asghar Wajahat's title of his famous play: 'Jis Lahore Nahi Dekhya woh jamya hi nahin..' One day, not too far from now...