Gunnah and Gunnah-gaar

The movie 'Bol' is one of the biggest initiatives taken by the Pakistani film industry to bring forth the the social issues residing in Pakistan. It shows a blend of several themes such as poverty, gender position and disposition, over-population, desperation and male dominance. However, this blend does not lead to a constructive conclusion to be achieved at the end rather gives rise to the theme of 'gunnah' in an extremely problematic manner. This is because each character is focused in terms of rights and wrongs of their doings leaving the audience confused about their virtue. It is also to note that the constant references to 'Khuda' and religion do not make this a judgement of virtue, rather a judgement of 'gunnah' and 'gunnah-gaar'.

We are introduced to an extremely poverty stricken Urdu speaking family living in 'Androon Shehar'. It is poverty (and also illiteracy to a certain extend) that makes the dominant Male (Aba jee) to desire for a son and to detest the birth of his daughters. The male desires for a male just like himself to become the next bread earner. This desire becomes a problematic 'gunnah' when the male pressurizes his wife to conceive child after child. We come across this perspective through the dialogues and conversation of the lead female character played by Humaima who we see constantly striving to gain more confidence to confront the dominant male. The modern world is shown to be progressing as the gender differences and discrimination are reducing (as depicted in the songs). However, we see the female dis-positioned in the Haveli because of the constant rivalry between the male and female. The female cannot look into the eye of the male and speak her mind. She can not go to school, she cannot go out to earn money.  Her entertainment and pleasure must also be hidden from the dominant male character: Aba jee. However, we do see an effort on the part of the female to gain this confidence and create an agency to support each other. This support is shown sinful according to Aba jee's perspective when he beats his daughter because she got her mother's uterus removed as a sign of birth control. While the female community within the Haveli considers beating them a 'gunnah' on Aba jee's part.

 It is again this rivalry existing between the genders that a Eunuch is further dis-positioned in the society as if the third gender is forced into the normal world and do not have the right to exist. Yet again, belonging to a third gender category is characterized by the dominant male as a problematic 'gunnah'. At a deeper level, the female criticizes the male for defining the desire of a Eunuch to live, as a 'gunnah'. She labels killing the Eunuch as 'gunnah'.

The desire of the male for a male legacy is strengthened by the constant argumentative rivalry shown by the weaker sex of female and male which makes the male attempt for desperate measures. This desperation again leads to the occurrence of 'gunnah'. A religious man (maulvi/Hakeem Sahab/Aba jee) kills his Eunuch child, steals money from a mosque's treasury, 'marries' a prostitute for money and to conceive a boy and later tries to kill his new born child because it turns out to be a daughter. These are all acts of desperation. According to the protagonist, all these acts are sinful while according to the dominant male, his daughter's outspoken attitude is sinful.

Forming a judgement of whether an act was sinful or not, or any character was a sinner or not is one confusion that stays in the mind of the audience. However, it is problematic that we do not give any second thought in forming a judgement that Saka Kanjar is sinner. He does not lie to anyone, he is hospitable irrespective of his lack of manners and he keeps his promise till the very end. Yet, his virtue serves him no purpose and we conclude him a sinner merely because he is a pimp. On the other hand, Hakeem Sahab (the dominant male) is not characterized as a sinner merely based on his occupation. At this point, the movie engages the typical stereotypes to conclude who is a sinner and who is not. Hence, it can be concluded that 'gunnah' and 'gunnah-gaar' come with problematic judgement which engages the audience in the movie on a completely different level.