“An intriguing and self-assured satire that knows how to handle difficult and unwieldy themes with precision and unexpected flair.”

Deep in the heart of the Punjab region of Pakistan stands the city of Sahiwal, which carries a layered history going back centuries. Built on ancient agricultural grounds that somehow remain rich and fertile, it is a vital center for both the economy and culture. It serves as the stage for Lali, directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, who weaves together a bitingly funny and shockingly offbeat dark comedy about the intersections of culture and modernity, and how one will usually inform the other in unexpected but fascinating ways. The film follows Zeba and Sajawal, who have recently gotten married after a brief courtship in which they were deemed to be a compatible pair. Their traditional wedding starts off as a relatively joyful occasion, but quickly descends into chaos when the groom’s mother is injured after accidentally being shot during the celebrations with a rogue pistol. What some may view as merely a misfortune in which tragedy was narrowly avoided eventually comes to fuel the rumours that Zeba, with a history of three former suitors she was supposed to marry all dying mysteriously, wields dangerous powers, stirring concern for Sajawal’s safety. A film that acknowledges its unconventional approach to examining culture, while also leaning heavily into the absurdity that comes with an unorthodox premise, Lali immediately captures our attention as an intriguing and self-assured satire that knows how to handle difficult and unwieldy themes with precision and unexpected flair.

Marriage has been a cornerstone of literature for about as long as we’ve been telling stories. However, while most stories tend to view a wedding as the destination, others focus on the aftermath, which can yield some fascinating observations into both the social and psychological elements. Lali begins with a wedding, a curious choice considering the viewer is immediately plunged into the story and into a ceremony without having time to get to know the characters. This is a smart decision, since the festivities and tensions associated with a wedding prove to be fertile ground for some strong character development, which sets the stage for the rest of this film. Crafted as the story of a couple who seem to only get to know one another after getting married, Lali essentially functions as a covert folktale (and the idea of the bride being the reason all of her previous suitors perished without explanation does evoke the classical myth of Bluebeard), which is combined with some tremendous insights into contemporary Pakistani culture. The core of the film involves exploring gender roles – it doesn’t present itself as a deconstruction of social structures, but rather an intricately woven depiction of how culture functions in the modern era, where old-fashioned beliefs, while still integral to society, are gradually being challenged, replaced instead by more progressive views that seek to unseat sacrosanct customs. The film communicates these ideas through the unconventional tale of two people learning to live with one another, but finding that, despite seeming to be a strong pair, the secrets lingering beneath the surface are rather disconcerting.

While the thematic content is strong, Lali truly flourishes when we see how the director puts the film together, and how the more interesting conceptual decisions thrive as a result of his unique approach to exploring the subject matter. The topic certainly could have justified a more intensely dramatic work (though there are some harrowing moments, particularly late in the film), but the decision to craft this as a dark comedy gives the director additional space to challenge and provoke within the confines of this narrative. A good satire should always keep the audience guessing, and at no point in Lali can we predict where it is heading next – we may have a general idea of what the film is communicating, but it moves in so many wild directions, both conceptually and tonally, that the unpredictable nature becomes one of its greatest strengths. Khoosat combines magical realism (drawing heavily from traditional Pakistani customs) with a healthy dose of surrealism to create a layered film in which humour intermingles with social and cultural commentary to both entertain and unsettle. Credit must go to the cast, specifically Mamya Shajaffar and Channan Hanif as the central couple (as well as Farazeh Syed, who steals every scene she is in as the loud-mouthed mother-in-law who always has something to say). They anchor the story and give it a sense of authenticity. By the end of the film, we’ve experienced something almost indescribable, moving from a delightfully perverse comedy-of-errors to something that borders on psychological horror – and at no point in Lali are we anything less than wholly entertained and challenged, a difficult combination to accomplish, especially with such a specific concept. 

While he may not be a newcomer to the industry (having directed both film and television over the past decade), Khoosat is still someone we should pay attention to. Lali feels like the arrival of a major new voice in South Asian cinema, which is growing increasingly global in its reach, precisely as a result of these ambitious and daring attempts to explore culture from an unconventional perspective. This film is a caustic, bitingly funny tale told from the viewpoint of someone eager to both critique and celebrate, which is the foundation of many strong works of satirical fiction, especially those that understand the impact that a well-constructed, genre-bending story can have when capturing something as challenging as cultural nuances. Designed as a means to underline common gender roles in contemporary Pakistan (a culture that we do not see reflected on the global stage as much as we’d like) and how they are steeped heavily in older traditions which are gradually eroding, Lali is the rare kind of satirical dark comedy that manages to lampoon and criticise without mockery, showing the splendor and beauty of these traditions while also noting the inevitability of change, pushing boundaries without crossing any moral or artistic borderlines in the process. It proves that sometimes the most radical statements are delivered in unorthodox packages, and through a careful combination of tone, style and narrative, can become the root for a truly original and provocative work.

(c) Image copyright: Khoosat Films