What Will People Say

Just got home from the theater, and I have to say, this was a truly great film, and quite disturbing at times. I was deeply moved by it, and I think a lot of the people that saw it, were also. The ending is just perfect. It made me really appreciate how safe I feel in my community, and to really feel how much of a difference there is between certain cultures. A must watch in my book! 10/10

The movie is highly judgemental and tries to vilify an entire culture based on individual conceptions. The director is requested to kindly study culture in-depth before trying to paint such an evil image of it.

This movie is a completely wrong depiction of Pakistan's culture and society! No wonder it was not even filmed in the country! An attempt to give a bad name to the country! Complete 180 degree to the real face and culture and doesn't even touch social problems prevelant in Pakistan expatriate families. Atleast you should have mentioned it in credits that you filmed it in India!

The claustrophobia one feels during this film is almost unparalleled. You feel what this Pakistani girl in Norway feels. The filmmaker is in complete control of the craft and knows each frame she wants to use. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is over the top. From sub characters to main characters everyone has done a pitch perfect job. Adil Hussain's last look at us is haunting. And the young girl who's the protagonist is absolutely lovely. What a film. A feminist masterpiece. Kudos to the team.

'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.

I wish I had the guts and courage to talk about what happens to me as a girl in Iran. Thank you Iram Hag for this movie.

"You mean everything to me," Mirza tells his teenage daughter Nisha. Apparently "everything" is far less important than what others might say, for Mirza cares deeply about such opinions. When it is discovered that Nisha sneaks out the window at night, adopts Western ways and is not the compliant and traditional Pakistani daughter she appears, Mirza goes ballistic. Nisha is as stubborn as her father though and manages to outsmart him at first, but there is little sympathy from other relatives. They encourage Mirza's firm hand. Nisha's smart phone is chucked into the snow, freedoms are drastically curtailed and Nisha is threatened with a one-way ticket to Islamabad. Sooner or later father or daughter, or both, must break. I thought I knew where this film was going, but it went deeper than I thought it would and in different directions. The story is fantastic and thrilling; dead ends become glimmers of light (and the other way around), characters are torn apart by the choices they make and there are intriguing glimpses into the Norse and Pakistani ways of life. The director is a natural. She controls mood like a sorceress; sound is contrasted with silence, close-ups reveal the glimmer of flames in the eyes of characters and scenes flow seamlessly into each other. The acting is not flawless, but thoroughly convincing. The ending scene will stay with me, hopefully forever. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

I was forced to watch this with my school, as a film interested person i had high hopes. False hopes, i do not understand why people in Norway liked it so much why do they praise bs like this? It was empty and the subject is so overused, if we want more international success we have to create more inspiring, entertaining movies. Instead of this lame awful dull trash, that they force us to see.

If you want to make a film about Pakistani culture, cast pakistani actors or at least film it in Pakistan. because the only place which slightly looks like the place shown in the film is in old Lahore. Also the fact that festival movies like these only portray the same old narrative. theyre are millions of people in Pakistan with a much more "liberal" mindset than that.

This movie reeked of bias. You don't need to belittle one culture to strengthen your opinion. You have to present true facts & sound reasoning. Representation of pakistani culture was inaccurate & showed the team didn't bother researching. The accents, dialogues were very wrong. The movie lacked consistency & needed a better overall explanation to it which it didn't have, rather it only gave an unfair idea