There was much hue and cry about the movie citing it a movie about "LGBT's". Naturally I went expecting a movies centered around that but was pleasantly surprised with everything else the movie had to offer leaving the much talked about issue only secondary. It touched a lot of issues that are neither acknowledged or accepted in Pakistani society and hence no one addresses them.
The protagonist is basically a beta male; Haider living in a patriarchal household where his (alpha) brother is the main breadwinner but has been unable to father a son (despite having 4 daughters) to continue family lineage. There is a Haider in every house in Pakistan who is not allowed to make his life decisions for himself; whether the girl he marries, having the option to "allow" her to work, he cant even have privacy with his wife as his nieces are made to sleep with his wife. AND he is supposed to be the breadwinner and not his wife no matter what profession choices he has to resort it. It is therefore natural for him to fall for a strong willed trans he starts working for at the theatre. The theatre culture in Pakistan is beautifully depicted.
Some things that stood out for me; I really liked the scene where the family is having dinner and its decided that haider's wife will quit her job without her having a say in it. Everyone else getting excited about the baby boy to be born to carry the family name except the mother bearing the child; the inner turmoil of that mother resulting in drastic actions. The treatment of trans in public transport. The neighbor; an aged woman's having no right to make her life decisions. There are just so many relatable scenes in the movie bring so many shades of Pakistani culture to light that I can just keep going on and on about.....
In the end I would like to commend the brilliant acting of Alina Khan as biba, she literally stole the show. Haider's role wasn't easy to play as well so kudos to Ali Junejo as well.
I will be looking forward to more masterpieces by Saim Sadiq.
The protagonist is basically a beta male; Haider living in a patriarchal household where his (alpha) brother is the main breadwinner but has been unable to father a son (despite having 4 daughters) to continue family lineage. There is a Haider in every house in Pakistan who is not allowed to make his life decisions for himself; whether the girl he marries, having the option to "allow" her to work, he cant even have privacy with his wife as his nieces are made to sleep with his wife. AND he is supposed to be the breadwinner and not his wife no matter what profession choices he has to resort it. It is therefore natural for him to fall for a strong willed trans he starts working for at the theatre. The theatre culture in Pakistan is beautifully depicted.
Some things that stood out for me; I really liked the scene where the family is having dinner and its decided that haider's wife will quit her job without her having a say in it. Everyone else getting excited about the baby boy to be born to carry the family name except the mother bearing the child; the inner turmoil of that mother resulting in drastic actions. The treatment of trans in public transport. The neighbor; an aged woman's having no right to make her life decisions. There are just so many relatable scenes in the movie bring so many shades of Pakistani culture to light that I can just keep going on and on about.....
In the end I would like to commend the brilliant acting of Alina Khan as biba, she literally stole the show. Haider's role wasn't easy to play as well so kudos to Ali Junejo as well.
I will be looking forward to more masterpieces by Saim Sadiq.