Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Latri Jo Lafro (2016)

A review on Pakistani comic theatre play, Latri Jo Lafro (2016). It was played in Memoni language.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Director is Fraz Chhotani

 

 

 

+ Note

Fraz has acted in a number of NAPA plays including Merchant of Venice, Lao to Qatl Nama Mera, Kuttay and Sau Din Chor Ke among others. He has worked with a number of directors as a Lighting Designer and with Mateela Films as an Assistant Director.

 

 

 

+ Full Cast

1) Nazar-ul-Hassan as Bachu Bhai

2) Farhan Alam as Zubair

3) Hammad Khan as Achchan

4) Ashfaq Ahmed as Haseen Gul

5) Kaleem Ghouri as Bachu’s Partner

6) Faraz Gill as Policeman

 

 

 

+ Plot

It is about two Memon characters, maamu Bachu Bhai and his nephew Zubair. They have lost their entire wealth in the Stock Market crash and owe a lot of money to their creditors, from whom they must somehow need to escape for good.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Yet again, an amazing performance by Nazar-ul-Hassan as Bachu Bhai. This guy is unbelievable when he is performing (whether on stage or on screen). He is truly a phenomenon, a wonderful performer.

ii – Ashfaq Ahmed as Haseen Gul played the supporting role of rich Pathan was very amusing. He was the main comic relief character of the play. The audience simply loved his performance especially the Pashto accent that he adapted to deliver his lines. Good job! Other Honorable Mentions: Hammad Khan.

iii – The play started out well, in Memoni language.

iv – The screenplay did a brilliant work in order to exceed the expectations of the audience of their favorite performers, to execute better.

v – The set was exquisitely designed with appropriate props and objects.

vi – The costumes of the characters were very convincing and relevant to the class of these characters’ status.

vii – Kaleem Ghouri was given the most suitable role of Bachu’s Partner (former). Kaleem has his signature move to how he must act upon a given character. It was enjoyable to see him perform.

 

+ Low Points
i – The play was so interesting, sensational performances by the cast members and good direction; I was left somewhat unsatisfied due to average time length was given to carry out the play. Perhaps a sequel to this wonderful play with addition of few new characters would uplift this play from its predecessor.

ii – Regardless how much humorous Haseen Gul character was written, however it is sad to say that we are still dealing with stereotype jokes.

 

+ Overall
Latri Jo Lafro has some excellent performances, incredible comic timing and hilarious punch lines were written…

 
Rate: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Abu (2017)

A review on Canadian feature length documentary film, Abu aka Father (2017). It’s Production House and Distributor is Gray Matter Production / Loaded Pictures.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Written, DOP, Directed & Produced by Arshad Khan
  • Co-Written by Matt Jones
  • Co-DOP by Bob Gundu, Franck Le Coroller, Justin Black & Shannon Harris
  • Edited by Etienne Gagnon
  • Music by Michael Robert Snow

 

 

 

+ Note

Abu is a debut documentary feature length film by Arshad Khan. He has documented his struggles with his sexual identity on a journey to self-finding and acceptance within the family. Using the archives of the family photos and videos, it explores his family’s story, homosexuality and often tense relationship with his father.

Though this documentary is originally shot in English language, there is however a Hindi/Urdu version for South Asian audiences as well. Before Abu, Arshad has made a number of short films including shorts Threadbare (2008), Brownie (2011), Doggoned (2012), Valery’s Suitcase (2016) and Zen (2012).

Deepa Mehta, who happens to be a famous an Indo-Canadian film director & screenwriter, is this documentary’s narrative director. Deepa is best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996), Earth (1998) and Water (2005). Sylvain Bellemare & Mimi Alard are Abu documentary’s sound designers while Sergeo Kirby co-produced it.

Abu had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2017. Also in the same year, it screened at the Dharamshala International Film Festival and the next year at the Kashish International Mumbai Queer Festival in 2018. It has also screened at BFI London Film Festival, LA Film Festival, Fantasia International Film a Festival. This documentary has won 12 awards including for Best Feature, Best Documentary and Jury Awards. Since then it is shown on the Canadian broadcasting network CBC TV as well. Unfortunately, due to its content, Abu is to yet to be shown / released in Pakistan.

Due to sensitivity of the subject, the names of the main cast are intentionally avoided in this review. There are some SPOILERS ahead!

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Abu as Father
  2. Arshad Khan as Son
  3. Ammi as Mother
  4. Baaji as Sister

 

 

 

+ Plot

As a gay man, the film maker, Arshad Khan explores his troubled relationship with his religiously devote, Pakistani Muslim father.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The usage of the video archive, pictures while going back n forth and talking about the past & the present is certainly not an easy task to do. To deal with such a touchy subject in a non-linear narrative, one needs to hire a really good editor to do the job. And this documentary has made their promise come true.

ii – Arshad Khan’s direction may surprise many people as this is his directorial debut for a documentary feature length film. By showing the viewers of his father’s origin to his enlisting in the army to his marriage, having children till Arshad’s life starts to come into focus. We then see how the dark past of his unfolds, which may have changed his liking towards sexuality, discovering, accepting himself in a foreign community and eventually facing his parents on a topic which is still considered a taboo in sub continent countries.

The way it is shown in this documentary, without making it obscene or vulgar have made the viewers to come closer to such a sensitive subject. Those people, who are already facing such similar problems in their lives, may learn how to deal with it. And as for others, who see this issue in bad light… well, now they might give a second thought on them and try to treat them as human beings. Arshad has been able to make that bridge between these two different types of people on their understanding towards this subject.

iii – I believe that not only just his father had three different images that he portrayed of himself but we all do. Such as, his father’s first image was for the people who barely knew him and the outside world. The second image was for his family, close friends and relatives. The ones who were the closest to him and knew him personally. And the third one was just for himself. This image is a conflict with our inner demons where we question ourselves on our acts and thoughts.

The reason behind this is that, not only how his father was reluctant to talk to his son on his sexuality even after coming out in the open, Arshad’s father was by nature was shown to be more reserved and self centered.

Although, he loved all of his children very much but still had some serious communication gap with them especially with Arshad that made them draw away from their father. After having the ‘Dream’, his father was really shaken up by it. He then soon decides what his ultimate goal now is and starts to act on it almost immediately. He even starts to mend things up with those who meant to him a lot, such as his children. It was his inner call that made him to reach out towards them.

iv – There were some of the film references given in the documentary, including some song references that bought out the real beauty of this film. The situations which Arshad had to deal with on different times of his life and at times the real life was played out in a very much typical scene taken from a Bollywood film was a good call, by the director to make this documentary more interesting to watch.

v – The emotional end of having the person staring silently at the open sky. This technique is often used to bring out the dramatic effect mainly in documentaries based on their personal tragic journeys. Good thing is that it works well with this documentary.

vi – There are a number of people behind the camera who gathered and shot different timelines footage. You would fall in love with the vintage videos Arshad has of his family. Besides the video footage shown of Arshad’s family past (recorded in VHS format since his childhood days), the present footage taken to make this documentary possible including where the interviews had been taken, have come out nicely.

vii – The usage of the animation to reenact a scene, dream sequence, is one of the best ways to show his side of the story.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The title of the film is Abu as Arshad’s father is the center person where his son, Arshad’s troubled relationship revolves with. Although, his father’s different turning points are shown in detail from his upbringing to what he did in life for his family, the multiple businesses that he switched on to, his struggles to survive after the migration at a foreign country, turning himself to be a religious devotee and finally towards redemption.

Even after showing all that, I feel as a viewer I still do not know Arshad’s father on a personal level. Such as how exactly he treated his children which made Arshad specially to grow so much apart from his father long before he gets to know of his sexuality? We never get to see his father’s personal interactions with his children in detail but only briefly mentioned at some places.

We know that his father had a short temper and did lots of shouting. And by having long history of past different experiences in his life, have made him a person unlikely to develop close or friendly relationship with his children. However, with all that keeping in mind, he was a father who was unable to express his love to his children in a manner where their mother was able to do it successfully.

I just feel that we (as a viewer) didn’t really get to know of his father the way that we wanted to, as we should have been. Either the director on-purposely skipped to talk on this explicitly or maybe because of the communication gap he had with his father, Arshad too was kept in the dark as well.

 

 

+ Overall

A handful of documentaries that I consider them in ten best list, out of which Abu is certainly one of them.

 

 

Rate: 4.50 out of 5 stars

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Izhar-e-Ishq (2016)

A review on Pakistani rom-com theatre play, Izhar-e-Ishq (2016). It was performed at NAPA’s basement.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Taha Khan
  • Costume Design & Production Design by Areeba Aqeel Burney

 

 

 

+ Note

Taha Khan is an actor and appeared in the NAPA play Guri Ka Ghar by Zain Ahmed. He has also worked in various short films among which three of them are registered on the international website IMDB.com

 

 

 

+ Full Cast

1) Mazhar Suleman Noorani as Shaukat Sahab

2) Sarosh Baloch as Begum Shaukat

3) Faryal Noushad as Hina

4) Taha Khan as Faizan

5) Anas Bin Uzair as Rizwan

6) Umair Rafiq as Amjad

7) Syed Arsalan as Bakht

 

 

 

+ Plot

It is about a retired govt. officer, Shaukat Sahib, his wife Begum Shaukat with their two sons Rizwan & Faizan and a daughter Hina. Shaukat sahib’s nephew Amjad is coming to Pakistan from USA for a business trip while Mrs. Shaukat desperately wants him to marry her daughter. She is willing to go to any lengths for this mission.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Umair Rafiq, Taha Khan and Sarosh Baloch performances were most decent.

ii – The screenplay was overall mild with some satisfactory humor in between fair punch lines.

iii – The costumes of the characters were sound.

iv – The slow-motion sequence with Celine Deion fame song ‘My Heart Will Be Go On’ in the end was a nice call.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The BIGGEST flaw of the play is that the performance by most of the cast members, especially by Anas Bin Uzair was WAY ‘Over the Top’. He desperately needed a tranquilizer to stop him but it was already too late. Those actors who act comic thinking since they are in a comedy play, therefore they need to look and comic are literally committing SUICIDE on their hard work. Let the situation, the humorous punch lines do the rest of its job and NOT TO ACT COMIC in front of audience.

Rather than blaming the actors, it is the sole fault of the director. An experienced director would know well that in a comedy play, the actors are told to be IN THEIR CHARACTERS ONLY. Neither the director nor the actors realized that the way they were performing is strictly prohibited to do especially in a comedy play. Hence instead of giving great performances in front of the audience, they were actually OVER ACTING.

ii – Faryal Noushad performance was the weakest; kindly work on your acting skills.

iii – If this play was actually written for the children, then I could understand why this level of humor.

iv – The character of Faizan was written poorly, just to make space for one more character.

v – On some scenes, Begum Shaukat walked slowly while in other scenes she walked swiftly in highly energetic manner like a young female.

 

 

+ Overall

Izhar-e-Ishq is desperate stuff; Skip it unless you love childish humor.

 

 

Rate: 2.50 out of 5 stars

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Qusoorwar (2016)

A review on Pakistani drama-thriller theatre play, Qusoorwar (2016). It was performed at Arts Council Karachi.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Sunil Shanker
  • Written (adapted) by Wusatullah Khan

 

 
+ Note

Qusoorwar is an adaptation of Twelve Angry Men (1954) teleplay by Reginald Rose for the Studio One anthology television series. Initially staged as a CBS live production on 20th Sep 1954, the drama was later rewritten for the stage in 1955 under the same title, again for a feature film, ’12 Angry Men’ (1957) and a remake in the year 1997.

Besides this play, there were people from the audience who came forward and complained on the play having the use of excessive adult language (abuses, sex references) in the play which was not only unnecessary but offending for the public to hear it. They suggested or should I say recommended that they should be removed if next time performed.

Clearly, this is not the fault of the writer but of the organizers who held this Adult play at their auditorium. Just like there are films where some of them are not families / kids, in same manner all theatre plays are not written to performed in front of families or kids. They are rated for adult audience only.

 

+ Full Cast

  1. Sunil Shanker as The Foreman / Juror #1
  2. Wusatullah Khan as Juror #2
  3. Fawad Khan as Juror #3
  4. Meesam Naqvi as Juror #4
  5. Saad Fareedi as Juror #5
  6. Ali Junejo as Juror #6
  7. Nazar Ul Hasan as Juror #7
  8. Joshinder Chagger as Juror #8
  9. Ali Rizvi as Juror #9
  10. Rauf Afridi as Juror #10
  11. Osama Tahir as Juror #11
  12. Naveed Kamal as Juror #12

 

 

 

+ Plot

It is about a trial of a young boy who is accused of killing his father. The jury of 11 men & 1 woman are sent into a room where they have to decide the boy’s fate according to the evidence, the witness testimony and trial that took place in the court room. If there is any reasonable doubt then they are to return a verdict of “Not guilty”. But if the votes of the jury are for “Guilty” then it would mandatory to give “Death Penalty” to the accused.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The performances by all 12 performers were magnificent! No where can I pin point and say ‘No, that performer didn’t do the job well or gave an under-performance’. Every performer dialogue delivery and punch lines were spoken with their heart out. Everyone did a fantastic job. They all should be proud of it.

ii – The adaptation of the script by Wusatullah Khan is outclass! I was very pleased how realistic the dialogues were kept in the play without declining the quality of it in able to be accepted for a universal audience.

iii – It was well directed by Sunil Shankar. I can assure you that it’s really a tough job to keep interest level high if so, many performers are all present at the same time.

iv – The set design was intentionally kept dark, without any colors. All 12 performers were mostly present together in throughout the play. The purpose was for the audience attention to paid on the 12 jurors rather being diverted at the background.

v – In this play, I have seen these four actors’ performances previously (Syed Meesam Naqvi, Nazar Ul Hasan, Fawad Khan & Saad Zameer Fareedi) and already regard them in ‘Great’ category. The other eight performers were new faces to me including Sunil Shankar.

 

 

+ Low points

i – I am not sure whether to perform off stage (since the present stage does not give you enough access to make another room) is a good decision or not? Could the audience (at far end) view it properly in compare to what they are viewing it on stage?

ii – When the murder weapon is asked to bring inside the room to examine, Juror #1 / The Foreman reaches for the door and opens it (without asking someone outside to open the lock first).

iii – Wusatullah Khan as Juror #2 spoke too softly during his performance. I do understand that his character is written as well-mannered and soft spoken but the audience were facing problems in some of his dialogues.

 

 

+ Overall

Qusoorwar brings the audience to a conclusion to how much difficult it is to be held responsible in finding the accused as “Guilty” even in so-called in ‘Open & Shut’ cases. If the curiosity did not occur in Juror #8, then they would had easily had given their verdict to hang an innocent person till death. Sunil Shankar’s clever direction of this great play adaptation, grand performances, highly thought-provoking thriller that takes another classic play to its true fruition.

 

 

Rate: 4.50 out of 5 stars

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Dark Room (2016)

A review on Pakistani drama theatre play, Dark Room (2016). It was performed in Sindhi language.

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Maqbool Ahmed

 

 

+ Note

This is Maqbool’s directional debut stage play. He has acted in several plays including Dheti Diwarain for NAPA.

 

 

+ Full Cast

1) Paras Masroor as Siddiqui

2) Umair Bhutto as Jamshed

3) Nadir Hussain as Zafar

4) Haider Qadri as Kamran

5) Saddam Hussain as Ismail

 

 

+ Plot

It is about four friends who have recently graduated from college and are desperately looking for work. They are faced with a harsh environment where their youthful ideals are corrupted. One of them refuses to bow down to the corruption and chooses to resist the moral decay that is rotting the souls of the others.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Remarkable performance by Haider Qadri as Kamran. This performance was truly a standing ovation quality. He is one of the two stars of this play who are new to me. Not only did he perform well but even his character was most interesting of them all.

ii – Paras Masroor as Siddiqui performed magnificently. His terrifying act as Siddiqui, as the most matured guy of the group gave the audience chills with his realistic execution. Other Honorable Mentions: Rest of the cast.

iii – The screenplay was excellently written; many good punch lines which created interesting and important point to watch the play in the first place.

iv – The art direction of the stage is properly managed.

v – A haunting, tragic play that is told through the eyes of the struggling graduate young guys.

vi – This is the first play where more than three performers have acted in most praise worthy manner ever.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – I wished this play was performed in Urdu language too with these same cast & crew.

 

 

+ Overall

Only the most hard-edged soul won’t be moved by Dark Room, a heartening play.

 

Rate: 4.75 out of 5 stars

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Raat (2016)

A review on Pakistani suspense theatre play, Raat (2016). It was performed in Punjabi language.

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Shumaila Taj
  • Sound Designed by Alooha

 

 

+ Note

Shumaila Taj is a graduate student of NAPA while done Master’s degree in English literature from Bahauddin Zakariya University (Multan). She has acted in various plays like Nakal Makani and Dheeti Deevaaren.

 

 

+ Full Cast

1) Akbar Islam as Chacha Karam Deen

2) Farhan Alam as Chaudhry Sher Ali

3) Aqeel Ahmed as Jhalla

4) Amir Naqvi as Bhoot

5) Naveed Kamal as Bala

6) Muhammad Ahsan Ali as Ramju

7) Arthur John as Ashqoo

8) Samhan Ghazi as Patwari Mansha

9) Rahi Siddiqui as Muharar Ghulam Hussain

10) Adnan Anis as Police Wala

 

 

+ Plot

One night a 13 year old girl, Sakina who runs away from her home as her family has accepted marriage proposal from the aged landlord of the village. Everyone try to search for her along the river in the dark that same night.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Great performance by Amir Naqvi as Bhoot. He looked frightening and yet comic in his own way. This is the first time I saw a character of Bhoot on stage who is scared of humans. Personally I liked his performance and appearance as Bhoot a lot. Good work Aamir!

ii – Aqeel Ahmed as Jhalla played the lead role nicely. His character was written as simple and lovable. Other Honorable Mentions: Akbar Islam and Naveed Kamal.

iii – The effective screenplay helped the play to flourish with ease of success.

iv – The set design and lighting were handled brightly.

v – The ending was very moving.

 

+ Low Points

i – I would love to see this play in Urdu language with the same team.

ii – I feel that the play was too short regarding the content is concerned. Since the play was interesting and performances were well put so its time span was rather small.

iii – Due to its short time length, we were unable to meet further new characters or few more interesting scenes, especially of the Bhoot.

 

 

+ Overall

Raat is a tense and entertaining theatrical experience that should keep audience guessing until the very end.

 

 

Rate: 3.75 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Pinky Memsab (2018)

A review on Pakistani drama feature length film, Pinky Memsab (2018) aka Pinky Madam. The Production House & Distributor is Eveready Pictures.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Written, Directed & Produced by Shazia Ali Khan
  • Co-Written by Babar Ali
  • Cinematography by Humza Yousaf
  • Edited by Suraj Gunjal
  • Music by Abbas Ali Khan

 

 

 

+ Note

Pinky Memsab is a film dedicated to those who are/have lived in Dubai to know the true meaning of this story. The life of an unhappy Dubai socialite gets entwined with her impressionable young maid to a point where they are both thrown into crisis. Now, they must break free from their pre-conceived notions and unspoken class barriers to discover who they truly are.

Hajra Yamin and Khalid Ahmed are well-known theatre artists. Khalid Sb has written, acted and directed many of hit theatre plays at NAPA. Taaliah Mazhar Khan is the film’s costume designer.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Hajra Yamin as Pinky
  2. Kiran Malik as Mehr
  3. Adnan Jaffar as Hasan

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supporting Cast

  1. Sunny Hinduja as Santosh
  2. Khalid Ahmed as Qutb
  3. Shamim Hilaly as Jahan Ara
  4. Mariel Bianca Salazar as Grace
  5. Eesha Ishaq as Esha (Cameo)

 

 

 

+ Plot

After divorce, Pinky is accepted as a foreign house maid at Dubai in an elite social class family. Everything seems like a dream-state life until one day her reality is hit by life’s hardships.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – A very well directed film by Shazia Khan. It’s her directorial debut feature length film. It’s a shame that she didn’t directed any other after this film.

ii – Sunny Hinduja who performed as Santosh, a driver with Indian roots gave a fantastic performance. It made me wonder why I have not seen any of his past performances for. In this film, he has most certainly done a great job.

iii – Kiran Malik is also new to me. But that’s because this is her first film as well. Her performance is quite realistic and very intelligently played out. Other Honorable Mentions: Hajra Yamin.

iv – The cinematography is beautifully shot; its lighting control and color correction really lighten ups your mood.

v – The core message of the film is nice as it is regarding life’s hardships especially what you dream to achieve but what you get in real life. This film is dedicated to those people who are working abroad for financial reasons or better lifestyle. And to survive there, they sometimes need to shelf their dreams and need to do what is best for that moment.

vi – From production design to costume designing and makeup & hair styling, all three departments’ work are splendidly done.  Loved the wardrobe of Mehr and Hasan.

vii – The cameos by Khalid Ahmed and Shamim Hilaly, who played the roles of Mehr’s parents were not only surprising but their scenes were the most interesting. Other interesting ones were of Santosh and Pinky scene sharing.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Without a good story, there’s hardly anything to watch here. Your focus would automatically turn towards other things, such as performances, cinematography, songs etc.

ii – Even its ending is disappointing. Too bad, as the trailer had raised many people expectations.

 

 

 

 

+ Overall

Pinky Memsab could not fulfill its promise for something new or exciting.

 

 

Rate: 2.0 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Parey Hut Love (2019)

A review on Pakistani Rom-Com feature length film, Parey Hut Love (2019) aka Stay Away from Me, Love. The Production House is The Vision Factory Films while its Distributors are ARY Films, Salman Iqbal Films and B4U Motion Pictures.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Written & Directed by Asim Raza
  • Co-Written by Imran Aslam & Nasir Aslam
  • Cinematography by Salman Razzak & Serkan Guller
  • Edited by Alam Azeemi
  • Music by Azaan Sami Khan

 

 

 

+Note

Parey Hut Love is based on British film, Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). The director’s previous work is Ho Mann Jahaan (2015) starring Sheheryar Munawar, Ahmed Ali Akbar and Mahira Khan.

It is claimed by BTS team that Mahira Khan was originally offered to do role of Saniya. Mahira however makes a cameo appearance in this film. Shehryar Munawar’s real life father, Munawar Alam Siddiqui plays a father role to Shehryar in this film. Its production designer is Saqib Hayat.

 

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Sheheryar Munawar as Sheheryar
  2. Maya Ali as Saniya
  3. Ahmed Ali Butt as Arshad
  4. Zara Noor Abbas as Shabbo
  5. Nadeem Baig as Faisal
  6. Hina Dilpazeer as Farida
  7. Munawar Alam Siddiqui as Aziz

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supporting Cast

  1. Frieha Altaf as Feroza
  2. Yousuf Bashir Qureshi as Mehmood
  3. Rachel Viccaji as Tanaaz
  4. Faheem Azam as Rustom
  5. Mahira Khan as Zeena
  6. Shahbaz Shigri as Hasan
  7. Parisheh James as Natasha

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

+ Minor Cast

  1. Jimmy Khan as Anwar
  2. Fawad Khan as Producer
  3. Marina Khan as Director
  4. Sonya Jehan as Actress
  5. Imran Aslam as Friend
  6. Cybil Chowdhry as Sheheryar’s Friend #1
  7. Meera as Karishma Chaudhry
  8. Saife Hassan as Relative
  9. Durdana Butt as Friend’s Relative
  10. Ahmed Ali Akbar as Sheheryar’s Friend #2

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

An unlikely romance between a young free-willed, commitment-phobic aspiring actor, Sheheryar, and a beautiful strong-willed expat, Saniya, who meet and fall in love over a series of unplanned encounters at destination weddings.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – ‘A’ graded work behind its cinematography, it made the film visually very stunning. The lighting, color correction, everything related to it is at its best quality.

ii – The production design is very detailed and stands in the rank of award worthy.

iii – Amazing efforts in its costume designing, reflected their social class of elite family background.

iv – Makeup & hair styling did a fantastic job. Every cast member looked elegant on-screen.

v – Zara Noor Abbas is a wonderful and beautiful actress. Her performance looks very natural and believable. I hope that I be able to see her in lead roles in her upcoming projects onwards. Other Honorable Mentions: Mahira Khan and Munawar Alam Siddiqui.

vi – The songs are beautifully shot and nicely choreographed in its dance sequences.

vii – As per everyone expectations, Ahmed Ali Butt, who is yet again a comic relief character made the audience laugh where ever he could.

viii – Two best cameos I liked were of Fawad Khan and Meera. I wish they had bigger roles in the film due to the interesting characters that they were playing.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Just like in the famous Bollywood’s classic film, Deewaar (1975) where the character of Amitabh Bachan as Vijay is having an argument with his brother, Ravi (played by Shashi Kapoor) on the valuable things that he has, believing that his brother doesn’t have anything to compare with.

 

Vijay: Mere paas property hai, gari hai, bank balance hai… tumaray paas kya hai?

Ravi: Mere paas ‘Maa’ hai

 

Similarly, in this film:

 

Paray Hut Love: Mere paas big budget producer hai, director hai, cinematographer hai… tumaray paas kya hai?

Critics: Mere paas ‘Audience’ hai

 

On a serious note, this film too suffers from weak script which is usually the backbone to any film’s success. If you really believe that you can make a good film out of bad script, well, think again.

ii – Parey Hut Love is so ‘Interesting’ film that I snooze off twice in the first half and once in the second half. And whenever I woke up, there was a song going on. This film strongly reminded me of Shehryar’s first film, Ho Mann Jahaan where one of the lead stars also has made her appearance. And irony is that I slept (don’t know for how long) while watching Ho Mann Jahaan as well.

iii – After watching this film, I would rather say that Shehryar Munawar is a ‘Jinx’ to any film he signs for. If you see his filmography, you would find them highly unwatchable. Such as, Ho Mann Jahaan (2015), Project Ghazi (2017) and 7 Din Mohabbatein (2018). Although, his acting is okay and he is good looking but… all his movies suck badly.

iv – The question is why would you think that audience be interested to see a long list of special thanks given to the different sponsors and participants (who made your film possible) be given a separate slide to look at? Only ones who would be interested in it would be the ones got involved in your project. International market usually does that in the closing credits.

v – I have two words for Coca Cola’s brand endorsement in this film… ‘Fitay Muu’!

vi – It was hard to take Hina Dilpazeer’s character seriously. Even in ‘Emotional’ scenes, she kept cracking jokes. No, that was not beauty of it.

vii – So many cameos and yet most of them were given barely any screen time or importance to the kind of role they should play.

 

 

 

+ Overall

Parey Hut Love is a top notch, big budget forgettable film of the year.

 

 

Rate: 2.25 out of 5 stars

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Heer Maan Ja (2019)

A review on Pakistani Rom-Com feature length film, Heer Maan Ja (2019). The Production House is IRK Films and Arif Lakhani Films while its Distributors are Geo Films and Distribution Club.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Azfar Jafri
  • Written by Owais Korai Baloch
  • Director of Photography by Rana Kamran
  • Edited by Mitesh Soni
  • Produced by Imran Raza Kazmi, Hareem Farooq & Arif Lakhani

 

 

 

+Note

Heer Maan Ja is around two people who are extremely enthusiastic about life and their future together. There is a hidden message regarding honor killings in this film.

This is the third time where Hareem Farooq has worked in a film produced by her. The music is composed by Ahmed Ali. Previous two films where Ali Rehman has worked with Hareem Farooq are Allahyar (2018) and Parchi (2018).

Heer Maan Ja is the fourth film from IRK Films directed by Azfar Jafri.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Ali Rehman Khan as Kabeer
  2. Hareem Farooq as Heer
  3. Faizan Shaikh as Wajdaan
  4. Mojiz Hassan as Jerry
  5. Shamayale Khattak as Ramzan/Ramzy
  6. Aamina Sheikh as Saba
  7. Abid Ali as Heer’s Father
  8. Anjum Habibi as Wajdaan’s Father
  9. Ali Kazmi as Heer’s Friend

 

 

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+ Supporting Cast

  1. Samina Nighat as Heer’s Mother
  2. Munazzah Arif as Wajdaan’s Mother
  3. Saleem Mairaj as Gangster
  4. Mikaal Zulfiqar as Doctor
  5. N/A as Kabeer’s Co-worker
  6. Shaz Ali Khan as Kabeer’s Friend
  7. Zara Sheikh as Dance Girl (Cameo)
  8. Ahmed Ali Akbar as N/A

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

Heer and Kabeer part ways following a misunderstanding and a tragedy. Years later, there is an encounter which leads to a roller coaster ride of a journey while Heer is in danger.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Rare to say this but this film does manage to connect emotionally between their lead characters and the audience. Not often do you see that in a Pakistani film. Either they overdo it or ignore it altogether which is always a bad sign for any genre film.

ii – The writing may not have lived up to one’s expectations but good direction by Azfar Jafri have made this film quite watchable and funny.

iii – Faizan Shaikh as Wajdaan, the film’s antagonist has played his part really well. Previous performances I have watched of his was in Parchi (2018) and Maalik (2016). In both films, he did a good job as an actor. Here too, he gives a splendid performance who looked a real threat to the protagonist to deal with.

iv – Mojiz Hassan’s performance as Jerry, surprised many with his comic performance. Before entering the film industry, he has performed in a number of theatre plays including of Anwar Maqsood’s. We welcome Mojiz to be part of our media industry and looking forward to his upcoming projects. Other Honorable Mentions: Ali Rehman Khan.

v – The direction of photography as well as its lighting made the film visually interesting. Rana Kamran is one of the best cinematographers to do that.

vi – The comic relief characters such as Jerry & Ramzy played by Mojiz Hassan & Shamayale Khattak respectively bought much of the film laughter.

vii – Noteworthy cameos played by Mikaal Zulfiqar and Aamina Sheikh. They made their presence felt and brief comic performance to remember them by.

viii – Good work behind its makeup & hair styling department. The main characters especially were able to glamour on-screen.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – There were times where the film was at 5th gear of comedy and other times where the film is so much violent. What’s that all about? Try to keep it balance. I was not really sure whether I was watching rom-com or drama-action film. I know that some international films do this genre swap formula. But not every time it works. There are some ‘Hits’ and ‘Misses’ in the international market as well. Stick to the basics, first. Get that right a number of times till you know it well and then do experiments with your films.

ii – Hareem Farooq looks old enough to play these kinds of roles. Hey, I’m not saying that she needs to come in mother’s role. Well, she… doesn’t quite fit in this… love sweet heart roles. Its just, some people start to look older quicker on-screen, that’s all.

iii – This is the first time where I did not enjoy Ali Kazmi’s performance. Here he plays a ‘Tootla’ character which definitely didn’t come out well. He was trying hard to sound funny. And what’s with his Woody Wood Pecker’s hairdo that he always has? You pick any TV serial or film of his, this is the exact same hair style that he has. Change it for God’s sake! Don’t good actors change their hairdo or have a complete makeover when they are doing a different role?

iv – There is definitely some good comedy in the film… but then there’s childish comedy also.

v – After letting the audience know of Kabeer’s terminal illness, it is barely touched upon throughout the film. As if, it didn’t matter anymore. Similarly, with such a family tragedy at hand, Heer decides to wear glowing sneakers to run away from her marriage. Interesting…

vi – Was it not better to see young actors playing the flashback scenes during their college/university days of Kabeer & Heer being together? Instead of making the two lead stars to look ‘Younger’, it would have been a better option to show two young actors playing their lead roles only in flashback. Then the camera & visuals intervene and make the Ali Rehman & Hareem Farooq standing in their places to show the present time. It’s purely director’s call on this. What he has already shown does works also.

vii – So much appreciation given to the film’s sponsors and team. Rather than showing everyone in 2 – 3 slides, every sponsoring partner was getting a separate thanks. Oh, I can assure you that this is really annoying.

viii – When the special thanks slide was given to the McDonalds in the start, it immediately occurred to me to their ruinous product placements that they usually do in every film they get their hands on. Rather than being disastrous, the film tried best to keep them away from the main frame. But still, product placement by McDonalds or any major company most often ends up real’ bad for any film in Pakistan.

ix – The song with Zara Sheikh is a forgettable one.

 

 

 

+ Overall

Unlike many rom-com films released this year, Heer Maan Ja surprisingly has a heart to connect to.

 

 

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Superstar (2019)

A review on Pakistani Rom-Com feature length film, Superstar (2019). The Production House is Hum TV while its Distributors are Hum Films.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Mohammed Ehteshamuddin
  • Written & Music by Azaan Sami Khan
  • Sound Mixing by Rhitwik Raj Pathak
  • Visual Effects by Syed Mujtaba Ali
  • Produced by Momina & Duraid Films

 

 

 

+ Note

Superstar is the story of two characters from different worlds as they journey to find the true meaning of the word ‘Superstar’. Mahira Khan showed great interest to work in this film and wanted its production to start just after her film, Bin Roye (2015).

Gazain Abbas is one NAPA’s theatre actors who performed along Mahira in her on-stage scenes.

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Mahira Khan as Noori
  2. Bilal Ashraf as Sameer Khan
  3. Alizeh Shah as Chutki
  4. Nadeem Baig as Agha Jaan
  5. Ali Kazmi as Shaan
  6. Asma Abbas as Choti Ammi
  7. Jawed Sheikh as Zulfiqar Khan
  8. Marina Khan as Laila Khan
  9. Saife Hassan as Zahid Malik

 

 

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+ Supporting Cast

  1. Waqar Hussain as Bobby
  2. Kubra Khan as Actress #1 (Cameo)
  3. Hania Aamir as Actress #2 (Cameo)
  4. Osman Khalid Butt as Actor (Cameo)
  5. Mani as Director #1 (Cameo)
  6. Syra Shehroz as Actress (Cameo)
  7. Fahim Burney as Director
  8. Adnan Shah Tipu as Casting Director

 

 

 

+ Plot

Noor, a budding actress who wants to make it big in the film industry meets Sameer who is a celebrity with stardom. Together they learn the price of success and that sometimes to shine, you need the darkness.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Once again, Mahira Khan’s performance has touched to the public’s high expectations. She is certainly a gem for our film industry and we are very proud to have her as our industry’s one of the brightest stars.

ii – I always found Bilal Ashraf to be a good actor and have praised on his performances. He is charming, good looking …yet I would say that his best role is yet to come. In this film, he plays the role of Sameer Khan, a big, famous, handsome star who surprisingly falls in love with a common, beautiful girl. I don’t believe that this film did justice with the kind of role written for him. I see him as an actor who has much more potential in him to do on-screen. I guess we just have to wait and see which film role turns out to be a memorable one for Bilal to stand on top. Other Honorable Mentions: Nadeem Baig, Alizeh Shah and Ali Kazmi.

iii – The first half is much better watch than the other half. I guess more interesting scenes would be the reason; although more towards fantasy.

iv – Beautiful cinematography and lighting. One’s mood does turns off quickly if the film’s visual is weak. But this film makes sure that doesn’t happen. Praiseworthy effort behind the camera, good job!

v – As far as makeup & hair styling is concerned, I believe that they did a great work. The lead stars especially were stunning on-screen.

vi – A good chemistry to watch of Bilal Ashraf and Mahira Khan. Both are likeable stars and its good to see that they were able to bring audience attention towards their love story.

vii – One or two songs are good, especially the last one where Bilal as Sameer Khan sings on-stage. The dance choreography regarding Mahira’s songs is nicely put.

viii – Good work behind its costume designing. Mahira’s and Alizeh’s wardrobe made them look even prettier.

ix – The film’s humor level is hilarious regarding scene sharing of Alizeh and Bilal. Then there are minor funny scenes later on.

x – The production design works well with story line, more suitable with the main and sub plots.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – This film confirms us, that we really need good writers. Almost every film this year which had high expectations, have failed mainly due to weak story line or writing issues. Why do producers invest in those films which has a frail script? Any experienced producer would straight away say ‘No’ to it. Honestly, who wants to lose his money? Superstar’s writing has same issues which is btw the major flaw for its failure. This movie could have been a good inspiration of A Star Is Born (2018) but was not.

ii – Wow! I had almost zero interest in this film. Primarily because do you really believe that a next-door girl is selected in an ad with a big star who btw falls in love with the same girl. And then after some time, she becomes a superstar without any struggles shown but only mentioned with a swift of 3 years gone by. Just 3 years? And no struggles or rejection shown? You can’t possibly fall in love with such characters. I mean, let people feel their pain, their struggle… let them know how it does it feel to lose them or for their loss. If you don’t do that then don’t expect people to care of what’s happening in the film. Hey, I know that I won’t.

iii – Most of the cameos are useless, not properly utilized. The role of Saife Hassan is totally wasted.

 

 

 

 

+ Overall

Ehteshamuddin’s Superstar promises the audience too much but leaves them in utter disappointment.

 

 

Rate: 2.50 out of 5 stars