Edutainment
Gul Makai – Malala Yousafzai’s extraordinary journey is now a movie
A pseudonym of the Pakistani activist Malala, she used Gul Makai as her pen name while writing blogs for BBC Urdu during the subjugating Talibani rule.
“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen, can change the world” – Malala Yousafzai
On October 9, 2012, a young girl was shot by a Taliban gunman in Swat valley while she was going to school. However, a fighter, an educator, a women rights activist, an inspiration and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate was born that day, even as Malala continues to go from strength to strength.
In an effort to immortalise Malala’s story, director Amjad Khan decided to make a biopic on the brave girl. With its first motion poster storming through social media, Gul Makai traces the courageous and extraordinary journey of the inspiring activist. A pseudonym of the Pakistani activist Malala, she used Gul Makai as her pen name while writing blogs for BBC Urdu during the subjugating Talibani rule.
Reem Sheikh
Featuring TV actor Reem Shaikh as the Nobel laureate, the poster exhibits the character with an exploding open book depicting the spine-chilling life of Malala Yousafzai. Aiding to the expressive visuals, Kabir Bedi’s voice reverberates, “This is about those times when the Taliban was destroying Pakistan and Afghanistan in the name of Jihad and religion. When from a very small village in Pakistan, a voice arose…”
The shooting of the film had begun in 2015 but was disrupted due to conflicts in the Kashmir valley. It will also be Om Puri’s last film accompanied by a song recorded by him.
Malala Yousafzai
The official synopsis of the film, as quoted by The Indian Express, reads, “Gul Makai accounts the courageous journey and struggle of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, from her humble upbringing in the Swat Valley to her becoming the champion for free education to all. Gul Makai is a small tribute to this lion-hearted girl who is in every essence a global citizen championing a cause that transcends boundaries, caste, religion, and geography.”
Shot in the valleys of Kashmir, the film features Divya Dutta, Mukesh Rishi, Abhimanyu Singh and Ajaz Khan while tracing the then-horrifying socio-political environs of Pakistan.