Bilal: A New Breed of Hero"

Banner - Tag Productions

Directed by - Khurram H. Alavi
Written by - Redone & T.I Jakke

Hindi Producers - Anju Bhatt & Chiranjeevi Bhatt

Channel Producer - Mansie Bhatt

Languagares - Hindi, Tamil, Telgu, Malyalam, Bengali, Marathi

Release Channel – Mask TV App

Streaming Date - 30th March 2025

Rating - 4.5 star

This is a story of fourteen hundred years ago, in which opposition to idol worship of Gods and Goddesses and strong faith in one God is depicted. Bilal lives a peaceful life with his mother and his younger sister Ghufaira on the outskirt of the village until the Byzantine soldiers come, enslave them, and kill his mother.
During his childhood, he is sold as a slave to the richest man in the city of Mecca, Umayyah, one of the Quraysh's leaders. Safwan, Umayyah's son, is bullying Ghufaira, Bilal's sister, along with his friends and is about to shoot her with an arrow when Bilal intervenes and saves her. Umayyah hears about this from one of his merchants and reminds Bilal of his status with brutality before ordering the guards to whip him. After that, Umayyah slaps Safwan for
losing to a slave and embarrassing him.
One day, Bilal stops a hungry young boy from stealing from the idol's bowl to spare him a beating from the
Meccan Priest's guards. He gives the boy his own food instead. His act of kindness is seen by Abu Bakr, a man who believes in equality for everyone and sees greatness in Bilal. However,
Bilal doubts him and his beliefs, unable to see a future where slaves are treated fairly. Bilal accepts his belief that there is only one God. He also learns that even people like
Umayyah are slaves as well, their master being greed.
The story turns, Abu Bakr frees Bilal. Bilal is then taught how to fight with a sword by Hamza, who is the foster 
brother, paternal uncle, and also one of the companions of the movement's leader, while also traveling with them up north, fleeing from the persecution of the Meccans. One year later, after the migration to the great city of Yathrib, now renamed as Medina, Safwan sends Bilal a lock of Ghufaira's hair. Bilal immediately rides back to Mecca after receiving it, 
followed by Hamza. How Bilal kills Umayyah and what happens in the end, is showing very beautifully.

Loosely based on the life of Bilal, a companion of the Prophet who was born a slave and became the first man who calls the faithful to prayer 'Azan',

The biggest problem with the movie is that since it’s trying to appeal to a general audience and not just Muslims, the film is very…”secular’, shall we say? There is no mention of the religion, Islam, or of the word, “Muslim”, anywhere at all in the film! The film focuses less on the theological monotheism that Bilal believed in and more of the racial equality that he believed in.

The character of Abu Bakr is only references as the Lord of Merchants. Even the Prophet Muhammad isn’t even referenced! Yes, in Islamic tradition, we don’t believe in portraying the Prophet Muhammad, but he isn’t even mentioned at all in this film! So in this particular aspect, I would say films like The Message of peace and Islamic humanity and also spread massages for world unity.

This is Dubai’s first animated feature puts top-class artwork to use in a story designed to preach about the inclusive, non-discriminatory aspects of the Muslim faith to younger audiences without uses of words Muslim or Islam. 

Overall, the film is pretty good. It's not an amazingly made film, but at the same time, it's a film we respect because of how much effort they put in. If you're a Muslim, you might feel a mix of disappointment and surprise at the film. If you're a non-Muslim and/or this is the first time you're watching Bilal's story, you'll find it quite enjoyable. For Indian users, it's Hindi dubbed version is being released on the occasion of Eid. Go watch the film on Mask TV App.