The Subaltern in Bol

There are two characters in the movie Bol which can be characterized as subaltern or voiceless. The first character is that of Saifi, who has a speaking disorder which makes him unable to communicate normally. When Saifi is being raped in the truck, he cannot call for help. His mother tells him, "beta tum cheekhe kyun nahi". Apart from this, he is constantly pushed by his sisters to be a "Mard" but he cannot say what he wants to be. Saifi has no brother, he is at home with his sisters day and night, which is why he has no masculine company, he is more inclined towards femininity. He is the only secular figure, if any, in the movie, but the movie never shows how these transgenders should be treated.

The second voiceless character is that of the prostitute Meena. She hides behind a fake accent of Lakhnavi Urdu. This is because she finds solace in the character of classical Tawayef who had authority over thier lives and their bodies as opposed to Meena. she lives in the special room given to her in the brothel but she has to say in her life. She is the sole bread earner for the brothel, but not as vocal as she ought to be. On the occasion of her daughter's birth, she does not utter a single word. The fact that she brings her daughter to Hakeem Shafat Ullah shows that she rebels from Saqa Kanjar and her supressed life. She cares less for the blood of the Shareef Muslim but she does not want her daughter to have the life she is living.