The Voice-less Saifi

The movie Bol reminded me a lot of the following words by Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Bol, ke lab azaad hai tereBol, yeh thoda waqt bohot haiJism-o-zaban ki maut se pehleBol, ke sach zinda hai ab tak Bol, jo kuchh kehna hai keh le -Faiz Ahmed Faiz

However in the context of the movie it becomes apparent that speaking up (bol) is a liberty reserved for the members or agents of the nation only. Consider the example of the transgender figure, Saifi. Throughout the movie he is portrayed as gender-less and as having a speech disability. He not part of the nation because his sexuality does not conform to the dominant narrative.  And this problem of identity inhibits his expression, mobility and consequently his ability to speak up.  

At home his sexuality is controlled by the domestic environment. His father, Hakim, confines his movement to the rooftop separate from the rest. His sister, Zainab, resorts to violence when she finds him dressed as a girl. She starts hitting him and saying:   

“Kuttay kameenay kitni dafa samjhaya hai tumhay? Kitni dafa samjhaya hai Saifi? Tum mard ho mard ban key raha karo? … kesa lagta hun? Saifi mard kartay hain aisa?  Tum koi larki ho”.

Next, without consulting him, Zainab his mother and Mustafa decide to place him under the apprenticeship of a truck painter. Over there he is exposed to the inappropriate sexual advances of the two painters.   After the events of the first day he is encouraged by Zainab and his mother to continue working in the same environment where he is raped the following day. Once Hakim finds out about what transpired he suffocates Saifi to death.

The tragic fate of Saifi in the movie only re-asserts the position of the transgender figure in society. The extent of voiceless-ness of figures like Saifi can be realized by the fact that within the same patriarchal household of Hakim Sahib even the mother exercises a fair amount of agency. In the beginning of the film only when Hakim Sahib wants to kill Saifi she interferes and does not let him kill the child. In stark contrast, Saifi has restricted mobility and no voice in anything that concern him. His suffocation in the end re-enacts this oppression and voiceless-ness.  

In a way the movie fails Saifi (and transgendered figures like him) because it does not accord him a voice. Instead of criticizing his treatment Bol only re-asserts his position as the voiceless figure of society. He cannot speak up because he has no voice.