Critics rating: 3.5 Stars

Cast :  Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Toor Pekai Yousafzai, Khushal Yousafzai, Atal Yousafzai, Mobin Khan.

Direction: Davis Guggenheim

Produced: Davi Guggenheim, Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes

Genre: Documentary Film

Duration: 88 Mins

Few know the value of a voice until they are forced into silence. Fewer still would defy the forces that be to be heard over the sounds of shelling and artillery fire. At a time when the blooming Swat valley was reduced to rubble, it took the courage of a young local girl to shine a spotlight over the Taliban crisis which marked her as an essential target for the terrorists.

Malala Yousafzai was named after Malalai, the national folk heroine of Afghanistan who rallied the Pashtun warriors against the British forces in the 1880 Battle of Maiwand. “It is better to live like a lion for one day than a slave for a hundred years,” she cried. It fired the Pashtun fighters onward. Malalai herself bore their flag after their flag-bearer was killed. She died in battle too, falling to British bullets. The ironic parallel with the Pakistani activist is chilling.

The documentary cuts between the Yousafzai family’s Birmingham home and the smudgy, animated, water coloured flashbacks of her childhood without making the proceedings surreal. Her reticent mother and mischievous brothers get some screentime, making it a family of eclectic members out of which Malala and her schoolteacher father Ziauddin remain the most high profile and vocal on the cause close to their hearts. The bond between father and daughter is evident from the early photographs to the anecdotes to the ventures they collectively undertake for education.

We see her life through the lens of one appreciating her persona and her stance, not so much the teenager with interests beyond her current mission. He Named Me Malala draws awe and respect for a girl who blogged under the pseudonym Gul Makkai for BBC before coming on camera and openly naming the Talibanis responsible for spreading terror and making bonfires of items they considered vulgar. This was until the fateful bullet to her forehead rendered the left side of her face to be inexpressive, also affecting her hearing.

It would have been helpful to see some insightful moments into her likes, dislikes instead of the single-minded drive she possesses to make a difference. We do see instances of her arm-wrestling with her brother, scrolling through pictures of sportsmen and being embarrassed when asked about her book. However, somewhere it becomes an introduction of who she is to an audience that does not know much about her life. For that end alone, the film is a wonderful watch.

A rousing speech, a horrifying backdrop and the steely resolve to encourage literacy make He Named Me Malala an interesting watch. It is set for an Indian release soon, worth a look to make you count your blessings for the numerous privileges while those just across the border are not half as fortunate.