Revisiting Joyland
Set in Lahore, Joyland follows the story of an unemployed Haider, who stays at home while his wife, Mumtaz, works. He is seen to be wilting under the weight of patriarchy and familial traditions. When he finally lands a job as a background dancer, he falls in love with the star of the show, Biba, a trans woman. Their relationship, brief and complex, transforms into a threat to Haider’s marriage and his place in a rather orthodox society.
The very first scene of the film — Biba, limping and covered in blood at a hospital, encapsulates trans lives in South Asia. She later shares that the blood was of a fellow hijra, who was shot. Through this, director Saim Sadiq carefully portrays her existence as an example of trans lives in this region — full of violence, hatred, and precarity. However, she is never limited to fetishism or a prop of antagonism. She is also not a dancer at an erotic theatre or just there for comedic relief. Biba transcends the stereotypes of trans women in cinema.
The complexities of her existence are further solidified by vulnerable moments. When Haider tells her that he likes her just the way she is, her identity is at risk of erasure rather than a declaration of love. He, after all, fails to like her for who she is.
The film was not well-received in conservative Pakistan. It was banned due to its “highly objectionable material which does not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society”.
This particular pattern of erasure escapes borders. Presently, whether through Sahara Chowdhury or Xulhaz Mannan from 2016 in Bangladesh, an attempt of erasing and demonising the community has always existed. Although Sadiq highlights Haider and Biba’s relationship, the true essence of the film lies in Joyland’s gallantry through Biba’s quiet resistance.
