Gul Makai Review: I was very much excited about this movie Gul Makai and entered the movie theatre to experience the journey of one of the bravest girl alive, the truly deserving Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai. Well, disappointment is the word that sums up this Amjad Khan directorial to be precise. With a seemingly good cast including Atul Kulkarni as Malala's father Ziauddin Yousafzai, Divya Dutta as her mother Toor Pekai and the late legendary actor Om Puri as Pakistan's Military General Kayani, I was very much excited to know about Malala's incredible journey through an inspiring feature film. However, that's not the case with Gul Makai as the film suffers from bad writing and repetitive violent scenes unnecessarily stuffed in this 2 hours long film.

There is a reason I call it a Taliban biopic. In the first half of the film we barely get to see Reem Shaikh as Malala Yousafzai. The two times she appears is during her introductory scene where she discusses a novel with her father and the second is when she's headed to her school with a worried face. She barely has 5-7 minutes screen presence in the first half and the entire film focuses on the brutality of the Taliban instead of focusing on Malala's hardships to bring right to education. I don't understand why did the makers only focused on Islamic extremism majorly and missed out on showing Malala's journey from her point of view. The film is set in the beautiful Swat Valley of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan where Taliban propagate 'Radical Islamism' making Shariah Law a national political movement in Pakistan. The opening sequence too is flawed as we see Mukesh Rishi who portrays Mulla Fazalullah, Taliban's forefront leader commands the local people of the Swat valley to send their kids to Madarsas and takes donation to build masjids. What you see later is a woman in burqa giving them Indian traditional gold ornaments and how can filmmakers commit such a silly flaw? Gul Makai Director Amjad Khan Says He Still Receives Death Threats from Pakistan for Making Malala Yousafzai Biopic.

We see even more lame scenes like Mukesh Rishi as a barbaric maulana entering a local saloon and slaughtering a man for grooming himself saying 'Musalman Ho K Daadi Kaatna Mana Hai'. They are seen entering local homes and demolishing their Television and Radio sets. I was laughing out loud at a scene where their gang stops a Sumo and takes a TV out of it and throws it on the road. Who carries a TV in their car? Second-hand TV? Talibanis are shown punishing a pregnant woman alleging her affair with her 12-year old brother in law. I mean logic was an element the filmmakers decided to dump while making this Malala Yousufzai biopic. The entire film was about Islamic extremism by Taliban and their jihadi ideology in which they accomplish success by imposing the Shariah law in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This boring biopic was all about the Taliban and Pakistan Military's conflict and it barely showcased the righteous qualities of Malala Yousafzai, instead, Reem Shaikh represented the Nobel laureate by shedding tears all the time. Does Malala Yousafzai Deserve Nobel Peace Prize Or Is She Overrated? ‘Gul Makai’ Director H.E. Amjad Khan Answers.

Watch The Trailer of Gul Makai

Scenic Pakhtun valley, silent flowing river throughout it and the natural backdrop of the film gives us a sigh of relief even from the bad VFX that can be seen where Military Choppers get bombed down and the killings of innocent people. The background score needed to be impactful. With the entire narrative focussing on Taliban's dictatorship, Reem Shaikh's  Malala Yousufzai barely looks like a pretty little prop. Well, the only beautiful moment from the film was Divya Dutta as her mother explaining the rebellious meaning of Malala which had deep-rooted meaning coming from Afghani folklore. The rest of the time the narrative just has brutality, Islamic barbarism shouting Allah Hu Akbar and Naara e Takbir Allah at least 50 times in this film. Okay, Guys, we get the extremism but where is Malala? A question that will haunt the makers for sure. I wished Amjad Khan had a vision and writer Bhaswati Chakrabarty could have come up with bearable dialogues at least.

Performances

Reem Shaikh as Malala Yousafzai was a decent casting but the makers didn't give her an appropriate screen-time or impressive dialogues to deliver. Atul Kulkarni's role as her father gets dragged and is absolutely forgettable. Divya Dutta was graceful as Malala's mother. Om Puri barely had a couple of minutes worth a cameo and it was delightful to see the late actor on the big screen. Abhimanyu Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Arif Zakaria, Sharib Hashmi, and Mukesh Rishi fit the bill for their parts. Although, unfortunately, none of the performances stays with you after the two-hour torture.

Yay!

- Some Scenic Locations

- Late actor Om Puri's cameo on the big screen for one last time

 

Nay!

- Too Much of Violence

- Protagonist's Less Screen-Time

- Dull and Dragged Narrative

Final Thoughts

Gul Makai isn't a Malala Yousafzai but Taliban biopic for sure. The film will make you scratch your head if you decide to watch it in theatre as it doesn't do justice in bringing the Nobel laureate Malala Yousufzai's truly inspiring journey. I would love to see some Academy Award film fraternity members to make a film on this brave Pakistani girl who didn't fear death and fought for girls education in her homeland. Skip this one and better watch He Named Me Malala an enticing documentary on the Nobel laureate available on Hotstar.

Rating:1.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2020 12:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).