A review on Pakistani drama feature length film, ‘Zinda Bhaag’ (2013) [Run Alive]. The Production House is Matteela Films while its Distributors are ARY Films and Footprint Entertainment.
+ Crew
- Directed & Written by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi
- Cinematography by Satya Rai Nagpaul
- Edited by Shan Muhammed (India) & Fahad Bajwa (Pakistan)
- Music by Sahir Ali Bagga
- Produced by Mazhar Zaidi
+Note
Zinda Bhaag focuses on the issue of illegal migration highlighting the issue and the epicenter of this trend within Punjab. There are cameo appearances by Ibrahim Rauf Khawaja, Samiya Mumtaz and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Its first Pakistani film selected as the Pakistani entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards but was not nominated. However the film did won four awards at the International South Asian Film Festival in Canada. The film won a ‘Special Jury Award’ at the Jaipur International Film Festival. The film also received five awards including Best Film (Jury) at the recently concluded ARY Film Awards held under the aegis of the Pakistani TV channel network, ARY Digital Network. This film also won ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Director’ (Meenu & Farjad) and ‘Best Actor’ (Khurram Patras) in Pakistan’s prestigious ‘Lux Style Awards'[better source needed] and the ‘Student Jury Award’ at Festival du Film d’Asie du Sud Transgressif (FFAST) in Paris.
+ Main Cast
- Naseeruddin Shah as Puhlwan
- Amna Ilyas as Rubina
- Khurram Patras as Khaldi
- Salman Ahmad Khan as Chitta
- Zohaib Asghar as Taambi
+ Plot
To escape the reality of their everyday lives, three young men try to succeed in ways they might least expect it.
+ High Points
i – Khurram Patras’s performance is admirable in as anti-hero. His crucial acting comes out in the climax. Other Honorable Mentions: Amna Ilyas.
ii – The story is interesting and suspenseful.
iii – The production design is creditable and locations are well chosen according to its dark theme of its content.
iv – Nice scene of an ambiguous end, as to not everything is on the plate.
+ Low Points
i – It took a lot of time to gain interest in this film. At first the story was not clear as to what exactly was happening in the film. But then slowly and gradually it picks up speed to make the story interesting and digestible. But that happens after its interval.
ii – It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to accept and watch this film. Basically it’s not a commercial film and secondly the film pace is quite slow.
iii – Most people may watch Zinda Bhaag once in a life time.
+ Overall
Zinda Bhaag is a notable entry in realistic drama film where its convincing story brings out tense, difficult to digest situations that are haunting to watch.
Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars
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