O que vão dizer

Some Pakistanis would vociferously scream that the portrayal of Pakistani culture and norms is blatantly exaggerated here. Well, let me tell you. It isnt. Pakistani parents, including those who live abroad are willing to sacrifice and kill their daughters if there need be for the sake of their honour. The typical middle class man's obsession with his daughters chastity is certainly not exaggerated. The film beautifully captures the diaspora, the claustrophobia and the contradictory nature of Nisha's life. The last scene in which her fathers reflection stares at us is brilliant. But some things are sure exaggerated. I donot know if those stem out of ignorance or a desire to appease the "white audience" with their saviour complex. I do not know if they tried to portray Islamabad or Quetta in the movie-if it was Islamabad then it was obviously very wrongly portrayed. It is a fully developed urban city with internet connection. Same with Quetta. One does not need to run to far off stores in search of internet! Also who in their right minds would make out in a street in Pakistan unless you live in Defence or something? I mean maybe the police can react the way they did in the movie but thats rare and pertaining to the special circumstance that both the people are very young and from a familiar area. I can understand this because I am a Pakistani but one might make a lot of assumptions if they arent. Moreover, everything that Nisha went through was very very traumatic. Her grief and sanity still seems pretty intact for someone who went through a lifetime of trauma. Still very willing to please her parents. Or maybe thats my peronal opinion. All that aside, donot sit without grabbing a tissue paper because this is a highly unsettling movie.

In case you plan to watch this movie, be ready to be emotional. It succeeds in expressing the feelings of a teenager who is forcefully abandoned in an unknown nation to never known relatives. The freedom of the teenager is denied in the name of religion, but the question is " Does the religion asks us to be bonded"? Anyways the story explains beautifully how some parents become devils in a child's life and the ultimate goal of a women should be marrying and serving her family.

'What will people say' isn't any easy movie. It'll make you fall in love with Nisha, root for her, enjoy life with her and when all her freedom is curtailed you will cry for her, feel disturbed , haunted and by the end of the movie , like Nisha ,you too will crave for her freedom, wish to be broken from the shackles that her parents have imposed on her, pray to run away as far as possible and to live life to the fullest . Maria Mozhdah as Nisha perfectly embodies the life of thousands of girls in India and Pakistan who are forced to play along the whims and fancies of their parents. Their voices are muted, actions are restricted and in the end they become mere puppets in the hands of their parent who live the way the society wants them to. When Mirza tells Nisha " you mean everything to me" his everything matters less than his society's opinions. He is happy to lock up his daughter,mentally abuse her and take away her freedom if that is what the society wants. It isn't Nisha but 'what will people say' that means everything to him.

This Norwegian piece of art is a must watch for its raw emotions, gripping story line and gorgeous frames. The movie will stay deep with you, haunt you and in the end remind you of how far ahead we are of freedom.

Just watched this very interesting and well produced movie but still it disappointed me to a certain extent. Here's a short comment on the movie. I started watching this movie very late at night and regretted my decision of watching it because I knew I had to leave it in the middle and watch the rest of it the next day. I couldn't wait to finish it as the story around the subject, film making and acting, everything is superb. The subject is great and has been tackled skilfully. The only problem with the movie is it's research about Pakistani culture.

• We don't have vegetable markets like it was shown in the movie. The markets here are very different.
• Word "videsh" is a Hindi word and it's not used in Urdu.
• In Punjab, pani puri is called gol gappay. Nobody serves gol gappas in a cup wrapped in aluminium foil. It's served in a clay pot.
• We don't use "thaali" made of steel for our food. People use ceramic or plastic plates and bowls.
• The bus that they were traveling in Pakistan, I've only seen that bus in this movie.

Plus there are many such things which, honestly, can be easily ignored but again honestly, such things do make a difference. There's a difference between good job and extraordinary job... when the whole team is working so hard to present something great to the audience, then these apparently small issues do bother. You can produce an extraordinary movie when you have not overlooked such stuff. Anyway, overall I loved the movie hence my disappointment that it lacked proper research. I would like to mention that the ending was great!

"Hva vil folk si" follows the story of a young Norwegian-Pakistani woman Nisa and the horrors that she faces in the hands of her family in the name of culture. These are one among thousands of horror stories that happen to people of the developing world. Though the developed countries have matured culturally, the developing world is far behind and still treat grown up children like property.

Director Iram Haq gives life to her own ordeal and the horrors that she faced as a young woman. Ably supported by her lead actor Maria Mozhdah, who in a tremendous performance will steal our hearts and sympathies equally. Brilliant cinematography and editing are a plus factors to this low budgeted film. Supporting actors too have done a decent job. Sync sound is used to great effect to kindle our emotions.

It is a must watch movie for the developed world, just to understand how culturally different they are from the rest. I believe that Religious Parents in the developing world wouldn't give a hoot to the contents in Hva vil folk si but liberal parents can learn a thing or two. One should take care of their children till they are about 12, Only guide them and support them as teenagers, at 18 they should be able to decide for themselves. The children have come to live their lives in this world not ours.