A special screening of the record busting film, Bol, was held Friday for the diplomatic community at the American embassy. The movie was introduced by the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, who played a perfect host to the evening. In his opening remarks, Munter was generous in his praise for Geo and lauded its efforts in making such a bold movie which had taken on a number of controversial social issues. Talking to The News, post screening, the US ambassador opined that it was critically important for the West to see such movies that not only revealed the physical magic of Pakistan’s culture and architecture but even more importantly, introduced the world to the social and intellectual parallel narratives taking place in Pakistan. Movies like Bol, he felt, would go a long way in breaking the stereotype image of Pakistan as unlike TV talk shows and newspapers, the wide screen was the perfect forum to capture the imagination of the western mind.
Speaking on behalf of the Jang group, Resident Editor, The News, Mohammad Malick said that Bol was another bold attempt by the group aimed at reviving not just Pakistani cinema but Pakistani liberal thought as well. He said that the Jang Group had never shirked from taking up controversial issues in the larger national interest and had repeatedly taken up principled stances on issues like independence of judiciary, tax evasion etc. He said that Geo Films’ first endeavour, Khuda Kay Liye, also directed by Shoaib Mansoor, too had tackled an equally explosive national issue.
The gathering burst into applause when told that Bol had also made another record by being the first Pakistani movie to cross the $1 million mark in box office receipts. Malick also thanked Ambassador Munter, Ms. Courtney Beale and the other members of the US embassy for hosting the event.
As the movie went about on its roller coaster of emotions, quite a few gentlemen and ladies could be seen discreetly wiping away a tear or two while laughter too lifted the mood every now and then. Talking to The News after the screening of Bol, the diplomatic community expressed its pleasant surprise both at the intense intellectual content as well as the top-notch production standards. While everyone appreciated the quality of English subtitles, the common lament remained about the absence of subtitling of the songs though that little blip did not seem to affect the foot tapping fever. According to one diplomat, he was as much captivated by the physical richness of the frames depicting the old parts of Lahore and its vibrant personality, as the immensely challenging narrative. There was a candid acceptance of the fact that a majority had not deemed it possible for such a “brave movie”, as put by one, to be made and released in Pakistan in the “prevailing circumstances”.
Virtually every diplomat urged the release of the movie (with English subtitles) in western countries though opinions differed on the duration of the movie itself. Ambassador Munter wouldn’t want any cuts but Mrs. Munter thought bringing the movie to 90 minutes would be great as the western audience is used to such duration. The opinion remained equally split amongst the rest of the guests but while there were different opinions on this count, everyone agreed on Bol being a sterling production worthy of making a place in Oscars. Heck, for once even every Pakistani and American present appeared to be in total agreement. And that says it all for the movie aptly titled, Bol.
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