Month: August 2019

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Habib Uncle (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Drama theatre play, Habib Uncle aka Habib Mamo (2017). It’s an adapted play, originally written as ‘Uncle Vanya’ by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Damyanti Gosai

 

 

+ Note
Habib Uncle is an adaptation from Uncle Vanya (1897) which received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. Uncle Vanya is unique among Chekhov’s major plays because it is essentially an extensive reworking of his own play published a decade earlier, The Wood Demon.

There have been many adaptations into film and TV series, including BBC TV episode Uncle Vanya (1991) featuring renowned stars such as David Warner, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ian Holm.

+ Full Cast

  1. Muneeb Baig as Habib Mamo aka Uncle Vanya / Ivan
  2. Najma Kifayat as Durdana aka Yelena / Helena
  3. Nadir Hussain as Professor aka Prof. Serebryakov / Aleksandr
  4. Umair Rafiq as Dr. Salman aka Dr. Astrov
  5. Aisha Iqbal as Salimah aka Sonya
  6. Godina Fernadez as Buha aka Nurse / Marina
  7. Imran Fattani as Shareef aka Waffles / Ilyas
  8. Roohi Bano as Fakhrunisa aka Mrs. Voynitsky / Maria

 

 

 

+ Plot
A retired professor has returned to his estate to live with his beautiful young wife, Durdana. The estate originally belonged to his first wife, now deceased; her mother, brother still lives there and manages the farm. There they meet old friends, daughter (by first wife) and family relatives including Habib who still has his undying feelings for Durdana… even after so much time has passed.

 

 
+ High Points
i – A wonderful performance by Umair Rafiq. With passage of time, Umair is proving everyone that he would soon stand in the ranks of great artists and his fellow young performers should see him as a moral example for self-improvement.

ii – Roohi Bano played a very different role and performed nicely. Other Honorable Mentions: Aisha Iqbal.

iii – The makeup artist did a good job.

iv – The set design was nicely presented / constructed.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – After knowing who was directing the play, I had very low expectations. And therefore, I was not disappointed.

ii – There was this unrealism feeling throughout the play, as if the cast were told to PERFORM only rather than to be in their CHARACTERS with natural dialogue delivery.

iii – Overall performances by the entire cast was mild at best.

iv – Although the play was shorten to 50 minutes, that is almost half of the play which was performed instead of 2 hours one. No matter whatever the reasons are behind this decision, the real intense scenes are to be seen in the 2nd half ‘If’ it played out entirely. Really disappointing!

v – For the rest of the cast, kindly pick those roles which are different or challenging while giving good (or above average) performance. Try not to repeat or be stuck in ‘Type Cast’ roles. This would help you to grow and build confidence in yourselves as a strong performer.

 
+ Overall
Habib Uncle is a hard effort to make it closer to the original source… which this play itself is barely watchable.

Rate: 1.0 out 5 stars

 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Do Qadam Door Thay (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Rom-Drama TV Series, Do Qadam Door Thay (2017) aka [Two Steps Away]. The Production Houses are Ironline Productions and KK Entertainment whereas its Distributor is Geo Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

  1. Directed & Produced by Mohsin Mirza
  2. Creative Director by Kashif Ahmed Butt
  3. Written by Kifayat Rodani
  4. Title Song by Nida Arab and Nabeel Shaukat Ali

 

 

+ Note
Do Qadam Door Thay aired on Geo Entertainment from 3rd Feb 2014 – 7th Apr 2014. In total it consists of 21 episodes. It is about selfishness, deceit and betrayal. The winner of Sur Kshetra, the singers of hit OSTs were Darmiyan, Shukk, Pachtawa and Zindagi Tere Bina while this OST is composed by Waqar Ali. This story is loosely based on the novel ‘Zan Zar Zameen’ by Wajeda Tabassum.

After the fame drama series Hum Safar, Do Qadam Door Thay gained the 2nd highest TRP and ran for couple of years more.

  

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Aiza Khan as Nayab Iqbal
  2. Sami Khan as Zohabuddeen/Zoab
  3. Alyy Khan as Dr. Salman
  4. Sana Khan as Neesha
  5. Faisal Naqvi as Zoab’s Close Friend
  6. Anum Aqeel as Nayab’s Close Friend

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Qavi Khan as Zohab’s Grandfather
  2. Azra Mohenuddin as Zohab’s Mother
  3. Fareeha Jabeen as Welfare’s Monitor
  4. Shahid Naqvi as Welfare’s Ward Head
  5. Ambar Arshad as Zoab’s Sister
  6. Kunwar Arsalan as Raza (Nayab’s Cousin)
  7. N/A (woman) as Beggar

 

 

 

+ Plot

To save Nayab’s life and her future, a random young guy, Zoab is kidnapped and forced to marry Nayyab by her cousin Raza. After marriage as soon as Zoab finds the chance, he ditches her in the middle of the road. After some time, Zoab feels guilty on his part and tries to find her. But the problem is, both of them did not saw each other faces nor remember their names.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Faisal Naqvi is a wonderful actor. I have watched and praised of his performance in the drama series Sangdil (2016) as well. And here too, he turned out to be a good choice too.

ii – Anum Aqeel’s performance is the first one I have watched and pleased by it. Other Honorable Mentions: Alyy Khan and N/A (woman who performed as a Beggar).

iii – Alyy Khan’s character was written better than the roles he is usually offered to do.

iv – I liked the writer’s move of comparison to show the behavior of maturity by Dr. Salman and immaturity by Zoab towards Nayyab.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – I find hard to agree with the story’s main plot.  Forceful marriage is NEVER considered as VALID / ACCEPTABLE marriage in terms of law and in the eyes of ANY respected religion.

ii – For a short story like this one, total 17 episodes are more than enough.

iii – Sami Khan … this guy simply cannot act. It’s a SERIOUS advice for him to concentrate and work hard on his acting skills.

iv – In the start of this drama series, anyone with right mind would know and act quickly in changing the bridal red dress before many curious people attentions are grabbed. However in this series, Nayyab acts upon it too late.

v – When Nayyab goes to meet an older guy at his ‘office’ and he quickly reveals his ill intentions for her. Its highly unrealistic to see that he actually waits for Nayyab to dial the caller and speak with him for few seconds before deciding to hang the phone down; means giving the chance to the caller of her panic situation and to know the dialed the number (which would reveal the location address too).
vi – Zoab and his close friend have nothing to talk about than of Zoab’s forced marriage & finding his wife.

vii – Nayab’s kidnapping part was totally unnecessary inserted in the story.

viii – Damn you PEMRA! It’s a great skill to understand the difference of normal and intimate scenes.

ix – Nayyab did not appeared or looked as beautiful as the way all other characters were reacting to her beauty.

 

 

+ Overall
When it comes to romantic-drama series, Do Qadam Door Thay stumbles down from its path mainly due to lack of interesting subplots and below average direction.

 

 

Rate: 1.0 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Josh: Independence through Unity (2013)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Thriller feature length film, Josh: Independence through Unity (2013). The Production Houses are Parveen Shah Productions & Twenty Nine Dash One Productions while its Distributor is ARY Films.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed, Story, Screenplay & Produced by Iram Parveen Bilal
  • Cinematography by Nausheen Dadabhoy
  • Co-Screenplay by Farah Usman
  • Edited by Jochen Kunstler
  • Co-Produced by Saad Bin Mujeeb & Kelly Thomas

 

 

 

+ Note

Josh world premiered at the Mumbai International Film Festival in October 2012. The film released in Pakistan on 12 August 2013. The Music is composed by Shahi Hasan & Andrew T. Mackay. The themes being tackled are class separation, feudalism, poverty, individual empowerment, and women’s rights.

This film received the 2012 Women in Film Finishing Grant, the 2013 Silent River Film Festival Best First Feature and Best Actress, the 2013 Filmfest Hamburg, Best Political Film Nomination. It also won the Best Screenplay Jury Prize and the Best Feature Film Audience Prize at the Washington, D.C. South Asian Film Festival 2014.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Aamina Sheikh as Fatima
  2. Mohib Mirza as Uzair
  3. Naveen Waqar as Ayla
  4. Khalid Malik as Adil
  5. Adnan Shah as Gulsher
  6. Khalid Ahmed as Khawaja
  7. Saleem Mairaj as Master Khalid
  8. Ali Rizvi as Ahmed
  9. Kiaser Khan Nizamani as Khan
  10. Nyla Jaffri as Nusrat Bi
  11. Parveen Akbar as Parveen
  12. Faizan Haqquee as Zeeshan

 

 

 

+ Plot

It is about Fatima, a dedicated school teacher, who is living a high cosmopolitan life in Karachi until one day her life shatters when her nanny Nusrat-bhi inexplicably disappears. Fatima then takes on the challenge to seek the dangerous truth in Nusrat’s feudal village.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Aamina Sheikh’s performance is very fascinating. She exceeded the expectations of the audience due her convincing performance.

ii – Mohib Mirza has a small supporting role in the film which came time to time. It’s known to everyone that Mohib is a wonderful actor and here too made a place in the film to remember him by with.

iii – Adnan Shah played a second-in-command bodyguard and a right-hand man to Kiaser Khan Nizamani. He is a great actor who never disappoints his fans and audience alike. Take my word for it that this is a very good film with great performances by everyone. Other Honorable Mentions: Saleem Mairaj, Nyla Jaffri and rest of the cast.

iv – Excellent direction by Iram Parveen Bilal. I am shocked to why I never heard of this director before or any praises from anyone on this film before? I remember when it was newly released in Pakistan but ran only few days at the cinema. This is a gem of our Pakistani film industry that should not be left forgotten.

v – The cinematography is very truthfully shot of our rural and urban areas.

vi – The story & screenplay are written so well that it helped the film to be very interesting to watch.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The film’s time length is short whereas the viewers wanted to see more of it.

 

 

 

+ Overall

Powerful film, thanks to landmark performances by the entire cast, Josh is a drama thriller film where its superb direction and screenplay would definitely boast up our Pakistani film industry to its new heights.

 

 

Rate: 4.25 out of 5 stars

 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Pani Jaisa Piyar (2011)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Serial, Pani Jaisa Piyar (2011) aka [Love Like Water]. Its Production House is Momal Production while its Distributor is Hum TV.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat.
  • Created by Salma Kanwal
  • Produced by Momina Duraid
  • Written by Moomal Shunaid
  • Theme Music Composed by Waqar Ali.

 

+ Note
Pani Jaisa Piyar aired on Hum TV from 27th Jan 2011 – 19th May 2011. It consists of total 17 episodes. The Title Song “Paani Jaisa Piyar Hai Tera” is performed by Sanam Marvi and Abu Mohammad.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Saba Qamar as Sana
  2. Mikaal Zulfiqar as Adarsh
  3. Samina Ahmad as Nuzhat
  4. Samina Peerzada as Arfa (Adarsh’s mother)

 
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+ Supportive Cast

  1. Juggan Kazim as Sasha
  2. Ahsan Khan as Saad
  3. Nausheen Shah as Dua
  4. Firdous Jamal as (Adarsh’s father)

 

 

 

+ Plot
It centers around Sana, who lives in a very conservative society with her small family. After getting involved in terrible incidents (separately) with Sana and her brother, yet she does come clean with her future in-laws of her past but would they are willing to accept her as their daughter-in-law or would Adarsh ever truly love her when he is already committed to Sasha, his childhood sweet heart?

 

+ High Points
I – The performances by Ahsan Khan, Firdous Jamal and Samina Ahmad were mild whereas Saba Qamer did a bold role of Sana.

ii – Good thing that there were total only 17 episodes which is a welcome for the viewers. Trust me, the less there is the better for this plot.

+ Low Points
i – How the character of Adarsh was portrayed on screen? It seemed very unrealistic as how he was behaving throughout with Sana. If the character has a spoiled personality or he always had quick temperament or a lay person then yes, his behavior with Sana would be logical and understandable. His manner with her appeared ‘Forced’.

ii – I find the story just okay as it was not as exciting to watch as the plot might seemed to be. It was really hard to think of high points for this drama. Either it was mild or not good to refer here. Yes, I am aware that this TV drama was very popular among viewers, which is a mystery for me. To be honest, I did not enjoy watching it.

iii – Adarsh’s lie to Sasha does not make any head or tail as she would have eventually found it out. So WHY LIE? The reason he gave in the end was so LAME, God please! Make it STOP ALREADY!

iv – Sasha is portrayed by Juggan Kazim who shouts so much that viewers would consider Sana over Adarsh’s wife at any time. …who would want Sasha as anyone’s wife if she is shouting all the time? Yikes!

v – The supporting character of Dua and her lover was so boring; hardly any interest that one would take in her side of the story. And to make the matter worse, we get to know who is her real mom is which was absolutely UNNECESSARY inserted in this story. I mean, REALLY?! The writer just did not know how to fill the gaps!

vi – Typically what we see that whenever there is an evil or devilish scheme of a person, there is a score played accordingly of that character to give a hint to the viewers that something really bad is about to happen. Yes, very, very BAD! OOOOOOOO!

vii – Although Samina Peerzada’s performance was alright but her continuous crying only reminded me of Julianne Moore’s crying.

viii – The number of times Sana fallen ill and was took to the (same) hospital repeatedly made the viewers’ wonder perhaps soon the management of the hospital would ask Sana’s in-laws to make their membership card so that the next time Sana falls ill and bought here, she would definitely get a good discount.

ix – There were few shock treatments shown (off-screen mostly) of violent assault is a good turning point of Sana, the domestic abuse and the outcome of her brother but their consequences did not grab the audience as it should have been. I was really looking forward to see its result but it left me completely unsatisfied. In its end, everything is just forgotten and forgiven! Huh? No confrontation of your sins with justice?? Forgive just like that! Wha… Are you KIDDING me??

x –The finale was better than its expectations but didn’t quite reach its mark of acceptance. The thing is that Pakistani TV drama serials have this habit of playing it safe. It is very rare that they would ever go to the length of being controversial or use the RISK factor. Here too they did the same thing.

 

 

+ Overall
While Pani Jaisa Pyar looks curious and conveys its portion of firm performances, it also suffers from bumpy storytelling and rarely unfathomable plotting and characterization.

 
Rate: 2.25 out of 5 stars

 

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on 3 Bahadur (2015) and 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam (2016) [Double Feature]

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Double Feature length Animated films, 3 Bahadur (2015) and 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam (2016). The Production Houses are Waadi Animations, SOC Films & ARY Films Productions while its Distributor is ARY Films.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed & Produced by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
  • Cinematography & Written by Kamran Khan
  • Edited by Husain Qaizar
  • Music by John Angier
  • Co-Produced by Salman Iqbal and Jerjees Seja

 

 

+Note

3 Bahadur is set in a fictional town called Roshan Basti (Town of light). Equipped with courage and super powers, they battle against the odds and stand up to injustice to restore peace and harmony in their once thriving community and live a very happy life. Hollywood actor, Jude Law voiced as Mangu in US.

Two times Academy award winner documentary film-maker, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has directed and produced both of these films. It became the highest-grossing animated film and 7th highest-grossing film of Pakistan at the local box office which grossed ₨6.63 crore (US$630,000) after 50 days of successful run in cinemas.

This time in 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam Saadi’s Mother is voiced by Sarwat Gilani and Teeli voiced by Ali Gul Pir. Zeba Shahnaz has first time voiced in an animated movie. Besides Sarwat, Fahad Mustafa, Ahmed Ali Butt and Salman Shahid also lend their voices in this sequel.

The sequel grossed over ₨6.75 crore in total.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast (of 3 Bahadur)

  1. Zuhab Khan as Saadi
  2. Muneeba Yaseen as Amna
  3. Hanzala Shahid as Kamil
  4. Nadir Siddiqui as Baba Balaam
  5. Behroze Sabzwari as Deenu Chacha
  6. Aly Khan as Young Mangu
  7. Khalid Ahmed as old Mangu
  8. Farhan Qureshi as Saadi’s father

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

 

+ Supporting Cast

  1. Abu Rashid Khan as Kamil’s father
  2. Kulsoom Aftab Ahmed as Saadi’s mother
  3. Mustafa Changazi as Tony
  4. Badar Qureshi as Sannata
  5. Wasif Arshad as Teeli
  6. Bassam Shazali as Pateeli/Chapta
  7. Hammad Siddiqui as Gutka/Shikra
  8. Joel Frenzer as Gabru

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

 

+ Main Cast (of 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam)

  1. Zuhab Khan as Saadi
  2. Arisha Razi as Amna
  3. Hanzala Shahid as Kamil
  4. Fahad Mustafa as Imran
  5. Fahim Khan as Baba Balaam
  6. Behroze Sabzwari as Deenu
  7. Ahmad Ali Butt as Gola

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

 

+ Supporting Cast

  1. Sarwat Gilani as Saadi’s Mother
  2. Zeba Shahnaz as Parrot
  3. Ali Gul Pir as Teeli / Lolly
  4. Hammad Siddiq as Ghutka / Shikra
  5. Bassam Shazli as Pateeli / Chatpa
  6. Qadim Sahm as Sr. Animator
  7. Mustafa Changazi as Tony

 

 

 

+ Plot (of 3 Bahadur)

Three extraordinary children rise from the most unlikely of places to save their town from the evil that plagues it.

 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

 

+ Plot (of 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam)

Three extraordinary children return with a task of defeating Baba Balaam who is rising again.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The level of animation produced by Pakistani animated industry, this is a good job done.

ii – The direction by Oscar winner, Sharmeen Obaid is cleverly presented.

iii – The cinematography shots are nicely executed.

iv – Good, talented work on voice acting by entire cast.

v – Effective work on its film editing.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The target audience is strictly for children. As for the adults / families, they most likely would not find it enjoyable.

ii – The plot is as mentioned before, childish… too simple for superhero kids’ film.

iii – Except for few, most of the characters are under developed.

iv – The songs were hardly memorable.

v – The entire film is too predictable including its end.

vi – There was no reason to change the existing actors who lend their voices in previous installment such as Kulsoom Aftab voiced for Saadi’s Mom. This time Sarwat Gilani was introduced for the same character. Similarly few characters’ voice actors were changed with well-known celebrities. It is only due to star power they were changed, otherwise a very satisfying performance was already given previously.

Clearly, Kulsoom is far better actress than Sarwat. I would give my lifetime money’s worth on her but here in our film industry, star popularity what really counts and is given more importance than to who can better perform. If we do not promote these (under rated) talented performers towards the limelight, then our film industry would always be left behind than to all other performing foreign film industries. There would never be truly any revival of our film industry and talented stars that still need a strong push out in the market to make name for themselves.

 

 

+ Overall

3 Bahadur & its sequel, 3 Bahadur – The Revenge of Baba Balaam are smart, funny and have dazzling special effects for the kids. Though, still has a long way to go to impress the family audience.

 

 

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Dead End (2019)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Black Comedy-Drama theatre play, Dead End (2019). Its Production is by Syna Productions.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Production Design, Written (Adapted) & Directed by Sunil Shanker
  • Makeup & Hair Stylist by Sikander
  • Costume Design by Cherries
  • Sound Mixing by N/A
  • Lighting by Masood-ur-Rehman

 

 

+ Note
Dead End is an adapted play, originally written by David Mamet, Glengarry Glenn Ross (1983). It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984. He also wrote its screenplay for the same name film in 1992. It starred ‘A’ graded star-actors, such as Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey. This play revolves around real estate agents who are trying to survive in a brutal and competitive market. The salesmen work at a real estate company called Dream Ambassadors, selling property. This is a crucial month and whoever makes the most sales will win a new car. The competition is on but events take a dramatic turn.

Sunil Shankar happens to be in one of the promising actors of this play as well. In his career as a director, he has executed a number of plays in brilliant fashion, such as Equus (2017), Qusoorwar (2016), Playlist (2019) and Chup (2017).

An important role was specifically written in the film for Alec Baldwin as the character Blake, who is sent by the real estate owners to ‘Motivate’ their salesmen. This is one of the best scenes of the film adaptation. However, Dead End is an adaptation of the original written play only.

+ Full Cast

  1. Saad Zameer Fareedi as Darioos Ghaaswala
  2. Ali Junejo as Malik Rohaan / Ronny
  3. Usman Javed as John Calderia
  4. Sunil Shanker as Baber Daud
  5. Samhan Ghazi as Ghreeb Nawaz
  6. Amir Naqvi as Dr. Taimor Mirza
  7. Ejaz-ul-Haq as Inspector Imran

 

 

  

+ Plot
A group of four salesmen are working some the same real estate company, whereas three of them are struggling hard to make big sales or be fired. In such desperate times, a robbery takes place.

 

+ High Points
i – Superb direction by Sunil Shanker. His brilliant plays, one after the another has definitely made me a true fan of his work. There a number of interesting scenes throughout the play. But the most interesting one for me would be of Daud & Nawaz share. It was an insight towards the play’s main plot and a study on salesmen’s human behavior when being cornered. There is no doubt that Sunil is one of the best directors of theatre world. I don’t think that I could ever think of missing any of his plays in near future too.

ii – Once again, a spectacular performance by Ali Hasan Junejo as Malik Rohan. Previously, I have watched perform in Equus and Qusoorwar. In this too, Ali has exceeded everyone expectations on playing a loud mouth, hard talking, smart salesman who uses his quick thinking, to win client’s trust by his charismatic personality to make the sale. A very good choice by the director to choose Ali for this role.

iii – Samhan Ghazi has improved a lot in the last 2 – 3 years. He has constantly worked hard to come to the limelight and has able to grab audience attention with realistic performances. This would be Samhan’s one of his memorable performances to date.

iv – Although, I am a big fan of the film, but I believe that a good effort is been made on its adaptation for this play. It’s the first I have seen in Urdu language, which is very close to original material. The entire play is about the power shifts of the main characters while making sales to undesired, unwilling people. Some of these characters’ powers remain the same till the end while some powers shift back and forth. Only a great writer could understand it properly.

v – Only a great actor like Saad Zameer Fareedi could have pulled it off splendidly as Darioos Ghaaswala. This role was no easy task, needed an actor who could show his character’s ups & downs throughout this two-act play. Saad’s great understanding of the role, had made him to perform it perfectly. Other Honorable Mentions: Sunil Shankar.

vi – A very decent production design was constructed, where three different scenarios are shared on the stage with ease.

 

 

+ Low Points
i – There were some of the performances which were disappointing. Either these actors didn’t understand their characters well or took a new interpretation, away from the original script. The performance by Usman who played the manager position, his acting seemed too stiff, expressionless. I understand that his character is cold & heartless but where a veteran actor as Kevin Spacey performed amazing on-screen, however as for the play, Usman fails to do so. Another performance I felt was weak, was of Amir. His character needed to be played as nervous, unsure character who is unable to stand up against his dominating wife. But in this play, he is shown be much more peaceful and relaxed character. For example, when he walks-in to Ronny’s office, Amir walks so calmly as though have nothing on his mind that is troubling him. I mean, we all know why he is here for. Then what’s the purpose for his calmness?

ii – The first scene of the play, which Usman & Saad have shared. I believe it was a bit longer than required. The message was crystal clear and so was Ghaaswala’s weak situation. For him to give in to John’s every greedy want had became predictable.

iii – Repeated vulgar, toilet dialogues were though intentionally spoken as written in the original content, were hilarious for some time only. But then soon, it was no longer funny or sad to hear it any more. Such words as ‘Crap’ or ‘Shit’ should had remained in English language (even if the play is in Urdu).

 

 

+ Overall
David Mamet’s play takes a new height of success when it is adapted by another genius and names it Dead End.

 

 

Rate: 3.50 out of 5

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Ready Steady No! (2019)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Rom-Com feature length film, Ready Steady No! (2019). The Production House is Obsessive Compulsive Dreamers while its Distributors are Hum Films and Eveready Films.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Written, Directed & Produced by Hisham Bin Munawwar
  • Cinematography by Fazal Ahmed and Muhammad Ali
  • Edited by Vasi Hassan
  • Music by Baqir Abbas and Hassan Badshah
  • Production Design by Hamna Zahid & Asma Zia

 

 

 

+ Note

Ready Steady No is a debut directorial by Hisham, who has also written his first script for a feature length film. This film was at first offered to super model turned actress, Iman Ali but the role initially went to Amna Ilyas.

According to the director, this film is based on real-life events.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Faisal Saif as Faisal
  2. Amna Ilyas as Razia
  3. Muneer Ahmed as Detective Muneer
  4. Marhoom Ahmad Bilal as Advocate Mazhar Fakhar
  5. Salman Shahid as Chaudhry Sahab
  6. Nargis Rasheed as Faisal’s Mother
  7. Ismail Tara as Faisal’s Father

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

+ Supporting Cast

  1. Zain Afzal as Maulana
  2. Nayyar Ejaz as a Palmist / Imam
  3. Ashraf Khan as Police SHO #1 (Cameo)
  4. Saleem Albela as Hotel Manager
  5. N/A as Mazhar’s Friend
  6. N/A as Police SHO #2
  7. N/A as Guard

 

 

+ Plot

A young couple decides to run away and do court marriage. But a number of hurdles make it almost impossible for them to come to their desired conclusion.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Faisal Saif as Faisal plays a mature, calm lover and confident son who unlike his father, if cornered, he would seek out the risky plan to have his way. Where some people have criticized on his acting skills, to bring in more feeling, I on the other hand would say that Faisal played his role really well. In fact, he performed the best in this film.

ii – Marhoom Ahmed Bilal’s performance turns out to be surprisingly good and happens to be the film’s main comic relief character. His interesting role with good performance bought a roar of laughter in the cinema hall. Other Honorable Mentions: Salman Shahid and Zain Afzal.

iii – The two songs, Dekho-Dekho and Nachee Ja are not only good but their cinematography is stunning to watch.

iv – The film has good humor, at times very funny. I loved the scene where Muneer is forced to read a letter and other Mazhar’s scenes are hilarious.

v – I liked the concept of the film. It is a bit different than the rom-com films that we are watching at the cinemas for quite some time now.

vi – The cameo played by Ashraf Khan as Police SHO #2, bought smiles on many people faces for his character’s great love & respect for singing.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The entire film is a one BIG drag. Ready Steady No could have ended within 90 minutes if it wanted to (without breaking the continuity or having jump shots). Yet, it keeps on dragging till you really want the film to end by now.

ii – I believe that there were many opportunities throughout the film where the writer/director could have made the film much more enjoyable than it was but missed it completely. Examples: A scene where Faisal is helping Razia to escape her house or the scene where the duplicates get to meet each other alone or when Faisal and Mazhar decide to pick CNIC from Razia’s home. The given situation in all these three scenes could have been much more hilarious than they actually were.

iii – The love triangle is such a bore! Some people would try defending it by saying ‘Hey, it’s a comedy film’. I am sorry, but irrespective, whether the film is comedy or any other genre, the chemistry between the actors should be interesting enough to watch & enjoy. Unfortunately in this film, it was clearly not so.

iv – At some places its production design gave the feel that I perhaps was watching a TV drama serial rather than a feature film; especially in those scenes which Nargis and Ismail have shared and of Muneer Ahmed.

v – Except for the songs’ cinematography, the entire film DOP seems to be handled by a different person altogether. Honestly, it is so-so.

vi – I don’t know what was going through the director’s head when it comes to the film’s editing. I know that Vasi is the man behind it. But since the director is the captain of the ship, he had to make sure that no scenes is longer than required, only to bring in a few more laughs. There was not one but many where I felt the cut should have been made but didn’t. Unnecessary extra footage with most of the scenes is shown, where the audience either didn’t laughed or just wanted the film to move on.

vii – Not only, there is no proper character building / development, the story is just too simple to watch and enjoy.

viii – Once more, a stereo type maulvi character that our eyes have grown tired of watching it on big screen.

ix – Repeated dialogues just made the script even worse to listen to. It was no longer funny.

 

  

+ Overall

Ready Steady No! tries hard to be new and different. But it loses the vision of being a bigger picture completely. To deal with the ‘com’, the ‘rom’ had to suffer.

 

 

Rate: 2.50 out of 5 stars