Is BOL really an outright criticism to our society or does it have its own agenda?

The film is attacking both patriarchy and religious orthodoxy and it highlights how the victims of both of these become the women. It does so by showing how two dominant narratives – that of the old Muslim Sharafat and the modern feminist clash with each other. Zainab’s character then becomes very important in the movie as she is the only one who attempts to stand up for her rights. The movie shows the old Sharif existence through its settings, the Hakeem’s  occupation, mindset and dialogues but its coupling with new gadgets -the TV , the guitars etc. and the need to hide it from the old shareef muslim(hakeem shab) brings forth the conflict. We see the movie as a critique of the old sharafat because of how it shows the unreformed woman- Hakeem Sahab’s wife. Those who don’t speak up in the movie are both cursed with the same fate. The mother and Meena have similar roles in this regard which is to bear children without having a say in it. Zainab highlights this domestic violence that is done to women- when she says “Kash main khuda hoti aur har mard se aik bacha janwati .” Being the progressive woman, Zainab wants to change society; she is the one who provides support to her mother and sisters, she provides her mother with a say when she gets her operation done, she is the one who has the courage and audacity to stand up to her father at numerous instances including when she answers back “qadam to ab bahir nikleingay abba”. In the movie the girls are stifled; Zainab is the only one outright who defies her father - the patriarch figure. However even though through Zainab’s character this movie might seem to provide a criticism, if we look closely, we question whether the film really opposes this orthodox Muslim mindset or does it just seek to belong to a different dominant course and Reaffirms Muslim thought and reform.  Even though Zainab is shown as the modern female with a voice, she continues to live within the suffocating confines of the house and allows her father to repeatedly beat her and torture the family. Even though she sees the father commit one horrific crime after another, she can’t do anything about it. Zainab's rebellion too is framed within the same orthodoxy and hence limited by it. Therefore, we wonder if the aim of the film is really to break any great gender stereotypes, or is it just to show how we can reform the next generation of Muslims.