Joyland 2023

In inner-city Lahore, Amanullah is the elder patriarch of the middle-class Rana family, watching as his younger son, Haider, remains unemployed while his wife, Mumtaz, works as an aesthetician at a local salon. When Haider secures a strange opportunity, Qaiser helps him land a job as a backup dancer at an erotic dance theater, where he is slated to perform alongside Biba, a celebrated hijra performer. Haider had once seen a bloodied [Biba] at a hospital, a memory tied to the day his sister-in-law, Nucchi, was giving birth to a fourth daughter. Driven by a longing for a grandson, Amanullah urges [Mumtaz] to quit her job, a demand that unsettles her deeply.

Haider joins the troupe for rehearsals, where he struggles with rhythm and technique, showing glimmers of potential but far from fluent in dance. After one rehearsal, Haider accompanies [Biba] to the theater, witnessing a tense dispute between Biba and the theater manager over how affordable a standee of Biba might be. The two decide to order the standee together, and they also arrange for it to be created at a shop. Back at the Rana home, [Mumtaz] and [Nucchi] install an air cooler, and that night, while Biba attends a public event and is briefly groped, Haider retrieves the standee and brings it home, placing it on the roof with [Mumtaz].

The next morning, the standee on the roof draws attention from [Fayyaz], a widow and family friend, who informs the family and the older generation that the scene on the roof is shameful. At another rehearsal, Haider shows improvement, while that night Haider and Biba visit her home where she explains the hospital moment from before: the blood belonged to another hijra, Tina, who was shot and killed in front of Biba. The two talk about the ocean, and Haider reveals he has never left Lahore. He confesses his longing by asking about the sea, and after a tender moment, he returns home. In bed with [Mumtaz], he asks about the ocean, and she suggests they might visit it someday. He cannot sleep and returns to Biba, where they share a passionate kiss.

One night, [Mumtaz] and [Nucchi] visit Joyland, a local amusement park, while Haider and the other backup dancers prepare to perform with Biba. When the theater lights fail, Haider convinces everyone to continue the routine until power returns, and the performance captivates the audience. Later, [Saleem], [Nucchi]’s husband, catches Mumtaz in a compromising moment with another man visible from the bathroom window, a revelation that unsettles the neighborhood. The next morning, [Fayyaz]’s son confronts the Rana family, reflecting the social pressure and disgrace that linger from the night before.

Mumtaz and [Nucchi] visit a doctor and learn that Mumtaz is pregnant with a boy. Mumtaz sighs that she feels like > running away, and then reassures [Nucchi] that the thought was just a momentary joke. At the theater, [Qaiser] and the other backup dancers press Haider with blunt questions about Biba’s genitals, prompting Biba to rebuke them sharply. Later, Biba and Haider plan to be intimate, but when Haider tries to assume a receptive position, Biba angrily ejects him and declares he should not return to her or the theater. Haider returns home to the news that they are expecting a son.

After a 70th-birthday party for [Amanullah], Mumtaz retrieves a hidden bottle from a bathroom tank and drinks from it; she is later found dead. The funeral draws the whole community together as the family, neighbors, and even Biba gather to pray, wash, and burial her body. In the aftermath, Haider lashes out at [Saleem] for his harsh remarks about Mumtaz, while [Nucchi] chastises him, insisting that Mumtaz’s death is a collective loss and not the fault of any single person. Flashbacks reveal a younger Haider visiting Mumtaz in her home and the two assuming a future together, agreeing to marry despite their arranged arrangement. In the present, Haider leaves Lahore and walks toward the ocean, wading into its uncertain, open waters.