Month: November 2019

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Hamlet (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Shakespeare’s Adapted Pakistani Drama theatre play, Hamlet (2016). It was performed at NAPA.

 

+ Crew

  • Director is Zakiullah Khan

Music Team

  • Hamza Ali
  • Faryaal Khan
  • Ahsan Iqbal Khan
  • Yastoor Khan Ghouri
  • Elma Rauf
  • Nadeem Khokhar

 

 

 

+ Note

Hamlet is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. It is a tale of indecision, revenge, retribution, deception, ambition, loyalty and fate.

The director, Zakiullah Khan is one of the founders and CEO of ZAHRSSS Productions. He has been associated with and has performed in many Theatre festivals and Youth conferences. Zaki has performed in various plays like Baba Jaalinoos and Guria Ka Ghar.

 

 

 

+ Full Cast

1) Saad Zameer Fareedi as Hamlet

2) Syed Meesam Naqvi as Claudius / Ghost of the King

3) Marya Saad Fareedi as Getrude

4) Tehrim Shafiq as Ophelia

5) Kamal Hussain as Polonius

6) Nadir Hussain as Laertes

7) Arshad Malik as Rosencrantz / Grave Digger #1

8) Younus Khan as Guildenstern

9) Zakiullah Khan as Baptista / Player #1

10) Adnan Anis as Gonzago / Oscric / Grave Digger #2 / Player #2

11) Taha Khan as Lucianus / Player #3 /Priest

12) Cornelius Andrew as Horatio

 

 

 

+ Plot

Prince Hamlet mourns his father’s death and his mother, Queen Gertrude’s remarriage to her late husband’s brother, Claudius. The ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to him and tells him that Claudius has poisoned him. Hamlet swears revenge but cannot find himself to be up to it.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Syed Meesam Naqvi is a wonderful actor and never once he has ever disappointed the audience when he is on stage and performing. His roles as Claudius / Ghost of the King were admirably executed. This is the reason why the young theatre actors look up to him for advises.

ii – Zakiullah Khan as Baptista / Player #1 played his roles fabulously. When he did a cross-dressing scene, I kept looking & laughing at his facial expressions saying ‘What the hell is this guy’s doing’? Even after learning the king’s death, his (intentional) exaggerated gestures was very funny and enjoyable. Other Honorable Mentions: Younas Khan and Tehrim Shafiq.

iii – Saad Zameer Fareedi, has always been one of the favorite actors of the audience. He is usually chosen at NAPA plays for the lead roles due to his confident and worthy acting craftsmanship. In this play too, he was selected in the lead role as Hamlet and performed thriving on stage.

iv – The grave yard scene performed by Arshad Malik and Adnan Anis (as the grave diggers) was pleasant to watch.

v – The duel of swords fighting between Hamlet and Laertes was carefully constructed. Good work!

vi – The costumes of the characters were well suited accordingly to the play’s setting.

vii – Most of the credit of the play’s success would be given to Zakiullah for directing such a wonderful play in a very ideal manner. Thumbs up!

viii – Though the stage broke down from the center (after the graveyard scene) but the show kept going as it was handled by the actors who were already cautious of it. Great team work!

ix – The professional music team gave a big plus point to enjoy the play including sang some vocal songs in between.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Some of the names (of supporting roles) were hard to remember them.

ii – The set design to be honest was mild and manageable.

 

 

 

 

+ Overall

Hamlet is a majestic achievement!

 

 

 

Rate: 4.50 out of 5 stars

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Khuwabon Ke Musafir (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Radio-Drama theatre play, Khuwabon k Musafir AKA On A Dream Journey (2016). It was performed by NAPA.

 

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Zia Mohiyuddin
  • Written by Intizar Hussain

 

 
+ Note

Khuwabon Ke Musafir was written almost 50 years ago. It focuses on the behavior of the human condition. Not only does the play concerns on the social issues that the subcontinent’s Muslim families are involved in, but how people tend to bring the difference the changes that the migration has in a society.

 

 

 

+ Full Cast

  1. Saad Zameer Fareedi as Miyan Jaan
  2. Marya Saad as Kishwer
  3. Adnan Anis as Iffo
  4. Akber Ladhani as Bando
  5. Naz as Bari Bua
  6. Zakiullah Khan as Master Sahib
  7. Shumaila Taj as Buji
  8. Taha Khan as Shahid

 

 
+ Plot

An old married couple, Miyan Jaan and Buji who have a daughter named Kishwer. Buji often worries about getting Kishwer marriage. On the other hand, Miyan Jaan’s widowed sister Bari Bua’s son, Shahid’s education expenses are taken care by Miyan Jaan. Buji believes that Shahid would be the most suitable son-in-law.

However, Kishwer is interested in Iffo (one of Miyan Jaan’s nephews) who lives with them. Iffo also likes her but is an unemployed, easy going and a day dreamer.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The name of legendary Zia Mohiyuddin in the play’s direction was enough to invite fame celebrities, popular publishing houses and media channels to cover this event.

ii – The performance by Marya Saad was the most decent of them all. After a long time, I was able to attend her play where she did not disappoint. Other stars were fair in their acting.

iii – As the play progressed, there were several punch lines where the audience enjoyed.

iv – The set design looked spectacular. Surprising, really!

v – This play is for hardcore theatre fans only.

vi – This time Shumaila Taj performance was (to be very frank) okay. But there was improvement since her last performance. But she has way long road to go in the ranks of successful actors.

v – Good to see new face (Taha Khan) performance.

vi – I liked Naz’s effort in playing the role as Bari Bua. Although cannot pin point and say it’s exactly good but definitely worth of shot to watch her performance. She would be most likely the runner up just after Marya’s performance.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The quality of the play tells us that respected Zia Mohiyuddin gave all his attention on the voice delivery of the actors rather than focusing on their physical performance, their movement of body gesture and what was the limit of their blocking. If we look at a still picture, there you would see that there is no movement of the characters.

Similarly, here was the same case. The actors were more concerned on their voice performance and totally forgot where their body movement should be in.

ii – As the director himself did not even bothered to make an appearance for his play. Similarly, the direction itself happened to be missing in the play as well. Zia Mohiyuddin must have said ‘Direction ki kya zaroorat hai? Mera naam hi kaafi hai’ (There is no need of direction, my name is enough).

Since this was not just a radio play, therefore direction had to be taken care of. Just because one has a big name, does not give that person the right to excuse himself from their responsibility. But thankfully, that this play was on free entry.

iii – As the play started, about half an hour later I was still unsure and decided to ask a fellow colleague / theatre play fan (who happens to be sitting beside me) that ‘What’s happening in the play? What is the plot?’ The reply I got was ‘I am also trying it figure out’.

It means that ‘If’ you already read the story or have watched this play which happened back in the year 2010 and again earlier this year then only you can follow this play from the start. Otherwise, you have to give much proper time before you can make out to what is its synopsis.

iv – Even after watching the entire play, it is hard to say who exactly was the main protagonist? The father or the daughter or her lover?

v – Saad Fareedi is an actor, where one expects him to perform brilliantly on stage. This person does not need to be told what to do or how he could make his performance interesting or what his character’s want is. The number of times I have watched his performances, he comes up with genius level of ideas in order to play his character with in-depth. In this play, like the rest of the cast performed mildly only, which is actually a disappointment.

vi – If a certain dialogue is comical and an actor gives its punch line once… then yes, it is a joke and hilarious to listen. But once you have passed that and second or so on you gave exactly same dialogue / punch line, then it is no longer a joke but rather considered as a ‘Repeated line’. But this happened several times, to two or three punch lines kept repeating with some gap. Audience did not know how to react after listening to the same joke so they laughed lightly to keep themselves awake.

vii – Adnan Anis really needs to work hard as an actor, if he is serious to be one in future. He was the weakest of the lot. But I hope he does learn from his mistakes soon.

viii – When the play was about to start, a much greater number of audiences was present although the auditorium was still not full. But even before the interval came, some of the people already left the auditorium for good.

After the interval, some people remain seated while most of red-carpet guests left the premises. Only handful of people came back to watch the 2nd half of the play.

Since, I was not enjoying the play myself, I turned my head to see other people reactions. Although some were listening to the play very closely while others were literally sleeping in their seats.

 

 

+ Overall

One might have high expectations knowing that respected Zia Mohiyuddin has directed Khuwabon Ke Musafir. Though, if this is the quality of direction by him, then I would prefer to skip his further plays.

 

 

Rate: 1.50 out of 5 stars

 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Bin Roye (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani TV Rom-Drama Series, Bin Roye (2017) aka Without Crying. The Production House is MD Productions whereas its Distributor is Hum Network Limited.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Hassam Hussain, Shahzad Kashmiri & Momina Duraid (Produced)
  • Cinematography by Farhan Alam
  • Written by Farhat Ishtiaq
  • Edited by Syed Tanveer Alam & Faizan Saleem
  • Title Song “Bin Roye” by Shiraz Uppal

 

 

 

+ Note
Bin Roye aired on Hum TV from 2nd Oct 2016 – 22nd Jan 2017. It consists of total 17 episodes. Its screenplay is written by Muhammad Wasi-ud-din.

This series is the television adaptation of the 2015 film of the same name, which itself was based on the novel of the same name by Farhat Ishtiaq. All the original cast of the film have reprises their roles, including the main cast of the film, Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed and Armeena Khan.

The news at the start was Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Sanam Baloch, who were initially selected for the roles; however, according to the latest update on its official page, Fawad has been replaced by Humayun Saeed, while Armeena Khan will be playing the role that initially belonged to Sanam Baloch.

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Mahira Khan as Saba Shafiq
  2. Humayun Saeed as Irtaza
  3. Armeena Rana Khan as Saman Shafiq
  4. Javed Sheikh as Shafiq Rehmat Ali
  5. Zeba Bakhtiar as Maleeha Shafiq
  6. Azra Mansoor as Dadi
  7. Jahanzeb Khan as Zafar Shafiq
  8. Adnan Malik as Amir
  9. Junaid Khan as Safir

 

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Saima Kanwal as Safeer’s mother
  2. Shazia Naz as Sonia
  3. Rashid Khawaja as Ansar / Maleeha’s brother
  4. Aini Zaidi as Ansar’s wife
  5. Huma Nawab as Safeer’s mother (young)
  6. Arjumand Hussain as Javed (Cameo)
  7. Adeel Hussain as N/A (Cameo)
  8. Zaheen Tahira as Rehmat Bua (Cameo)
  9. Saman Ansari as Amir’s sister (Cameo)

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

Saba is in love with Irtaza since childhood days but Irtaza is unaware of this. He instead sees her as his best friend. But Saba’s life starts to shatter when Saman enters in Irtaza’s life.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Mahira Khan’s performance is WOW! Her character as Saba is of a young girl with 12 years age difference with Irtaza, who is unknown of her love feelings for him since her childhood days. Mahira performed with guilt ridden madness to its perfection.

ii – I consider this TV drama series as one of the best works of Humayun Saeed. He has performed this role with such enthusiastically and maturely that I can officially say Yes, Humayun is truly a great artist. Other Honorable Mentions: Armeena Khan, Junaid Khan and Azra Mansoor and Saima Kanwal.

iii – The writing has been superb by Farhat Ishtiaq and its screenplay by Muhammad Wasi-ud-din.

iv – Top notch production design while all its locations were very carefully chosen.

v – Nice job in its costumes designing.

vi – Admirable work in its makeup and hair styling.

vii – Surprising cameo appearance by respected Arjumand Hussain.

viii – Everyone’s performances are very good indeed. A great thanks to the director who made sure the performances came on top.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Some of the shots of direction of photography are vaguely handled.

 

 

+ Overall
Bin Roye is a rich and powerful TV drama series that without a trace of unrealism or the slightest hint of cultural supremacy, speaks expressively for the consequences of selfishness.

 

 

 

Rate: 5 out of 5 stars

 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Khuda Mera Bhi Hai (2016 – 17)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Series, Khuda Mera Bhi Hai (2016 – 17) aka God Belongs to Me Too. It’s Production and Distribution is done by ARY Digital.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Shahid Shafaat
  • Written by Asma Nabeel
  • DOP by Khalid Ahmed
  • Music by Waqar Ali and Wajid Saeed
  • Produced by Humayun Saeed, Shahzad Nasib, Samina Humayun Saeed, Tariq Shah & Sana Shahnawaz

 

 

 

+ Note
Khuda Mera Bhi Hai aired on ARY Digital from 22nd Oct 2016 to 10th Apr 2017. In total it consists of 26 episodes. This TV drama’s makeup & hair styling been done by Sajid Wahib and executive produced by Nadeem Baig. The production designers are Syed Jari Khushnood and Syed Danish Ali.

The theme is around after giving birth to an intersex child, one has to make a firm decision to either give it up to concerned group of people of intersex or be brave enough to face the society’s pressures where still today the acceptance of the third gender remains a taboo. This TV serial sheds light on the stereotypes, gender discrimination and marginalization that intersex people face within Pakistani society, and their identity crisis.

Khuda Mera Bhi Hai has received critical acclaim for its bold story line, and the “Important Questions” it raises regarding communal attitudes towards transgender people in Pakistan.

 

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Ayesha Khan as Mahagul
  2. Syed Jibran as Zain
  3. Furqan Qureshi as Noor
  4. Irsa Ghazal as Arshi / Zain’s Mother
  5. Mehmood Aslam as Hassan / Aij / Baabi / Zain’s Father
  6. Alyy Khan as Mikail

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Imran Ashraf as Zahir / Zain’s Brother
  2. Mariam Saleem as Sanam
  3. Hira Tareen as Kashmala
  4. Saba Hamid as Savera / Mahagul’s Mom
  5. Adnan Shah Tipu as Baban
  6. Faisal Naqvi as Sanam’s Former Husband (Cameo)

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

A happy married life is shattered once Mahagul gives birth to an intersex baby, Noor. Zain refuses to accept Noor to avoid facing society’s difficult questions. It’s up to Mahagul to either hand over the baby to intersex group of people or face extremely problematic challenges in life ahead to raise such child as own.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The writer came up with a great content / plot for this drama serial by thinking ‘Out of the Box’. It is a very sensitive subject to touch or discuss of, where unfortunately still considered a taboo by many people. Mainly for this reason, Khuda Mera Bhi Hai has able to grab people attention towards it.

ii – Irsa Ghazal as Arshi / Zain’s Mother has able to deliver such a cold woman, memorable performance on-screen, unlike she ever did before. Other Honorable Mentions: Adnan Shah Tipu, Ayesha Khan, Mehmood Aslam, Syed Jibran and Mariam Saleem.

iii – The frustration, embarrassment and being pressurized on how to face the society on upbringing such special child, can be evidently shows on Zain’s face.

iv – It was good addition to have Imran Ashraf in the cast. And a splendid choice to see Faisal Naqvi bought in but as a cameo. Both of these two performers are great actors and should be given bigger, interesting or lead roles to their projects ahead.

v – An emotional speech is given in the end for those especially who are the victims, their loved ones or simply those who do not accept them as normal and part of the society.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Most of the characters were not well written or had too many flaws. The characters such as Kashmala, Zain and Mikail were the weakest. Kashmala was your typical vamp character who wants to win her love instead of earns it.

Then we have Mikail, who plays an unrealistic character that has devoted his life in helping Noor / Mahagul’s son who is an intersex child. He does this mainly because that he is in love with Mahagul but has accepted his fate on not winning her ever. This guy has an orphanage type school that he runs for other special kids and has his business to look after but most of the time is never shown, how he manages to do this all?

As far as Zain is concerned belongs to respectable, rich and educated family background… cannot come up with any good, well thought decision ever. He is pushed around by his mom or advised by his father or sibling on what he should do. Taking advises or listening to their suggestions is no problem here; but the problem is that Zain is not an illiterate. He has good business firm with his father and matured enough to sometimes come up with good ideas by himself too which he doesn’t. He always needs his mommy by his side to tell him what to do, who to meet and many more; “Jub tak is ki chabi nahi ghumaao ge to jub tak ye kaam nahi karay ga”. These kinds of weak features do not suit to such a person.

ii – From 12th episode, this TV drama starts to lose its interest level. As a viewer, you would feel that perhaps it was better that they should have cut down to maximum 20 episodes. By now this TV series has slowly becoming to be a drag.

iii – A great plot to share & discuss but with a very uninteresting story to tell. After 11th episode, soon you would start to realize that it didn’t matter much as what was happening anymore.

iv – The cinematography is very poor and incompetent. There are many examples throughout the TV series to prove the quality of work in it. The most idiotically scene was shot when Mahagul is having a nightmare where her adult son is facing his father and grandparents for the first time to confront them for leaving him and his mom behind. In this scene, you would see that the shot where Noor, grandfather, his biological father are standing in darkness. Their faces including of Noor is being lit by a flash light / LED. Only the frame shot of Noor’s grandmother is done with proper lighting. Secondly, who takes so much hand held shots when the scene is not even intense?

v – They makeup & hair styling was not up to the mark, but rather disappointing. It’s shameful actually, when you have such good stardom cast but do not have enough budget, for production work and its technicalities.

vi – The voice controlling / accent used by Furqan Qureshi to portray the intersex character was unstable.

vii – The direction in this TV series is not something to be proud of. It was just average, on how the director moved the story forward.

viii – Predictable end followed with an unnecessary death.

 

 

 

+ Overall
Khuda Mera Bhi Hai has able to make people realize of their pain, suffering on facing such challenging difficulties throughout their lifetime. However on having so many technical issues, the weak supporting characters, below average sub plots and uninteresting story telling has made this TV series to be disappointing to many.

 

 

 

Rate: 2.0 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on The Killer (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Suspense – Action feature length film, The Killer (2017). The Production House is Haji Ali Sher Productions.

 

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by M. Shahzad Haider
  • Photography by Rizwan Ahmed and Jamshaid Iqbal (Still)
  • Written by Saleem Murad
  • Edited by Kawish Javaid
  • Produced by Haji Abdul Majeed and Haji Abdul Gafoor

 

 

 

 

+ Note

The Killer’s fight choreographer is Sher Khan. Its songs are sung by Naseebo Lal, Saima Jahan, Shafaq Ali, Kiran Taranum & Asad Islam. The music is designed by Imran Farooqi and Lyrics by Khalid Malik & Altaf Bajwa. Other crew members are the production head is Khadim Hussain, asst. directed by Gullam Hussain & Asif Rahman and make-up & hair styling by Asif Shah.

Shafqat Cheema is the lead hero who can be seen in different disguises throughout the film.

The Killer happens to be the worst film I have ever watched.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Shafqat Cheema as Kabeer
  2. N/A as Haider
  3. Nayyar Ejaz as Micheal
  4. N/A as Nawab

 

 

 

+ Plot

It is about a find an unknown serial killer who has already murdered many victims. The police is given 72 hours to track him down.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Two known faces that is Shafqat Cheema and Nayyar Ejaz are in the film.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – This film is the ugliest sight of ‘C’ grade Lollywood film making.

ii – I managed to watch this film properly till 30 minutes… in three days on a friend’s request/dare. The rest of the film was watched by skipping the scenes, especially the songs.

iii – Let’s say that The Killer is a clear sign that humanity’s doomsday is nigh.

iv – The film editing, the songs, the action scenes are just out of this world. Somewhere like in a ‘Black hole’.

v – If Shafqat Cheema is in a lead role, you know well where this film is heading to.

vi – After watching one-fourth of this film, I started to have suicidal thoughts.

 

 

 

+ Overall

The Killer is the worst of the worst… it’s horrible and unwatchable!

 

 

 

Rate: 0 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Verna (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani drama feature length film, Verna (2017). The Production House is Shoman Productions while its Distributor is Hum Films.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Music, Written, Directed & Produced by Shoaib Mansoor
  • Cinematography by Salman Razzaq and Khizer Idrees
  • Edited by Zohaib Mansoor
  • Production Design by Faiza Shah
  • Co-Music by Zebunnisa Bangash and Haroon Shahid

 

 

 

+ Note

Verna is a rape-revenge film. This is Shoaib Mansoor’s 3rd feature film as director. The costumes designing is been done by Zayan and makeup & hair styling by Maram Abroo.

A similar case occurred in real life here in Karachi last year where someone posted on Facebook regarding an unfortunate family who were forced to choose between their daughter and daughter-in-law to give up to two dark Pajero’s men. Whether or not, this incident was true but the film’s dark tone made me recall it immediately.

It is very unfortunate to tell you that I as audience was listening to continuous laughter and giggles by some men sitting in the same cinema hall while watching the abduction and rape scene. The tension how the family faces in her absence was shocking and dismay to most but really hilarious and amusing to people like these men in the hall. Their non-serious attitude made me realize how much illiterate and shameless we people are how easily we believe that rapes do not occur or rarely committed in our nation. These men were laughing as though it was a black comedy that we were watching. I am sorry but I didn’t see the joke between the lines. It is really disgraceful that we have these kinds of people in our society. How ignorant that they are.

For those who view rape as real and understands well that it does happens in our nation too, then only you would watch Verna as horror film rather than just a drama.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Mahira Khan as Sara
  2. Haroon Shahid as Aami
  3. Zarrar Khan as Sultan
  4. Naimal Khawar as Mahgul
  5. Rasheed Naz as Khanzada

 

  

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Salman Shaukat as Jamil
  2. Malik Ata Muhammad Khan as Raees
  3. Shahid Mir as Judge
  4. Iram Rehman as Jamil
  5. MNA Khawaja as Shehzad Mir
  6. Shahnaz Aftab as N/A

 

 

 

  

+ Plot

A happy life is shattered apart after the abduction and rape of Sara.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The tension and discomfort to watch through rape films had always been a tough task for me. ‘Dil pr pathr dekhnay wali baat hai’ but I have always appreciated and encouraged our film directors to come up with sensitive topics and portray them with a realistic solution/s than just showing up the issue. In this film too, the way they showed the tense, fear for the life of your missing loved one to ever see them again especially how to cope up with this issue and live a ‘Normal’ life again was depicted nicely. For addition, the royal spoiled family behavior with people, servants were ‘Cherry on Top’.

ii – The film is well directed by Shoaib Mansoor. Although cannot say that it’s his best work but really good job. Yes, I enjoyed the film.

iii – Mahira Khan’s performance as Sara has been superb. Naturally this is the main reason why she is often given a lead role. Someone who could pull the role as the script demands it to be. Her performance, plus her reactions to the accusations her husband makes at her are … praise worthy.

iv – Zarrar Khan played the main antagonist as Sultan, has performed strongly indeed. He is one of the few actors in this film who have performed next to best to Mahira’s performance. I would look forward to his upcoming work. Other Honorable Mentions: Rasheed Naz and Malik Ata Muhammad Khan.

v – I love how the court scenes were handled, some nice twists, turns here and there.

vi – The signature move of Shoaib Mansoor’s films, the voice towards the injustice of females, how our law, religion and religious clerics view them as is shown Khuda K Liye, Bol and now this film, all three films have in them.

vii – The production design was very pleasantly handled and represented. Good job!

viii – The real face is shown of our society, our police, our government, our system … everywhere corruption and injustice exist very openly in our nation. It is shameful to say but it’s true. Just because we do not talk about it, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The film was a bit lengthy than I was perceived it to be. It was around 2 hours and 35 minutes long. I believe 2 hours would have been enough.

ii – Songs didn’t do justice with the film. Well as a matter of fact, I believe they should not be part for these kinds of films in the first place. Though I do understand that it is our public demand to see them in the films

iii – Lack of star power and average performances by most of the cast is huge negative point here. Although I would not support commercial actors for such sensitive topic films but I would support strong performances. Yes, the lead actress Mahira Khan did an excellent job but what about others? They should have picked a solid performer for the Husband’s role.

 

 

 

 

+ Overall

Verna is a difficult film to watch and digest. Not because it is poorly shot but due to its horrifying experience to imagine in their place. This may not be Shoaib Mansoor’s best work but it is surely a work where some years from now public, film makers alike would cherish it as one of the most important films to be produced regarding injustice towards females.

 

 

 

Rate: 3.50 out of 5 stars

 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Daastan (2010)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Series, Daastan (2010) aka Tale. Its Production House is MD Productions while its Distributor is Hum Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Haissam Hussain
  • Cinematography by Farhan Alam
  • Written by Razia Butt (Novel) & Samira Fazal (Adapted)
  • Title Song “Aasmanon Se” by Sohail Haider
  • Produced by Momina Duraid

 

 

 

+ Note
Daastan aired on Hum TV from 26th Jun 2010 – 4th Dec 2010. It consists of total 23 episodes. It is based on the partition of the Indian Subcontinent and the resulting independence of Pakistan, and takes place between 1947 and 1956.

In this drama series, Bano, a girl from a close knit Muslim family living in Ludhiana (located in undivided Punjab) in the pre-1947 era. The story follows Bano and Hassan, as they face the repercussions caused by the 1947 independence.

It starts out at a neighborhood of Lahore, which was shown as Ludhiana, India. The locations changed with every couple of episodes as the story corresponds. Other locations include Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Kapurthala. Notable locations include the Islamia College and the famous, Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, as well as the Pakistan Railways Station.

Daastan ranks among one of the highest-rated Pakistani television series of all time.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Sanam Baloch as Bano
  2. Fawad Khan as Hassan
  3. Mehreen Raheel as Rabia
  4. Ahsan Khan as Saleem (Bano’s elder brother)
  5. Saba Qamar as Suraiyyah (Saleem’s Wife)
  6. Saba Hameed as Rasheeda (Hassan’s Mother)
  7. Babrik Shah as Basant Singh
  8. Affan Waheed as Nadir (Hassan’s Friend)

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Qavi Khan as Naseeb Bhai (Bano’s Father)
  2. Samina Peerzada as Saliha or “Bibi” (Bano’s Mother)
  3. Seemi Raheel as Sakeena (Hassan’s Maami)
  4. Asma Abbas as Sultana (Rabia’s Mother)
  5. Naeem Tahir as Rabia’s Father
  6. Daniyal Raheel as Faheem (Bano’s younger Brother)
  7. Anita Fatima Camphor as Jameela (Hassan’s Aunt)
  8. Humaira Abbasi as Kaamini
  9. Azra Mansoor as N/A

 

 

 

+ Plot

Bano and her fiance face the trials and tribulations that caused by the 1947 Indian partition.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Fawad Khan’s performance is always the top notch. He in the year 2010 had the ‘First Class’ looks and performed ‘A’ graded on-screen. No wonder why people love to see him perform.

ii – This is the first work I have watched of Sanam Baloch. Yes, I agree with others on her great performance in the main lead role ‘Bano’. She really captured the viewers’ attention by her realistic act. Other Honorable Mentions: Babrik Shah, Ahsan Khan, Mehreen Raheel and Saba Hameed.

iii – The first 11 episodes are very fascinating to watch.

iv – Asma Abbas reminded me very much of Bushra Ansari; the way she sounded and performed.

v – Praises to the director who made sure the performances came on top.

vi – The misconception of Pakistan which Bano has in her mind was greatly handled by both, the writer and the director.

vii – Ahsan Khan’s character as Saleem is well written.

viii – I would always praise Hum TV dramas to take the ‘Risk Factor’ where other entertainment channels just interested to play the ‘Safe Side’.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – I am not against tragic endings but I firmly don’t agree with this one, even if the novel carried the same / similar ending, even then. Still I can assure you that during the 17th episode, it was now very predictable how this TV drama series would come to its end. Pity!

ii – After so many years, when Bano finally has the chance to meet her fiancée… this scene was poorly directed and shot in most unconvincing manner.

iii – Rather to have political argument here, let’s just say that Daastan mainly focused on one perspective of the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. I agree to some extend as to why the writer chose this move however keeping it in our minds that our mass public is still unaware / unconcerned of what actually happened at a time like this.

iv – It seems that due to low budget constraints, the production design and shooting locations were very carefully selected.

v – Similarly it goes for costumes designing as well.

vi – Its strange to see that a small child is unable to react or cry in front of crazy, shouting mother.

 

 

+ Overall
Daastan has its moments, but it’s vaguely written and self-indulgent to justify for its slow chronicle theme.

 

 

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

 

TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Mann Ke Moti (2013 – 14)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani TV Drama Series, Mann Ke Moti (2013 – 14) aka Qismet Ke Khial. Its Production House is A & B Productions while its Distributor is Geo Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Nadeem Siddique & Ali Faizan
  • Written by Kifayat Rodini
  • Director of Photography by Saleem Abbas, Rehan Mirza & Adnan Bukhari
  • Score by Mohsin Allahditta
  • Produced by Asif Raza Mir and Babar Javed

 

 

+ Note
Mann Ke Moti aired on Geo Entertainment from 23rd Feb 2013 – 7th Dec 2014. In total it consists of 62 episodes (1 – 2 Seasons). Its associate director is Hassan Qureshi and assistant director is Azam Khan. The editing is done by Kashif Ahmed and its production design by Waqas Hassan Rizvi.

Nadeem Siddique directed the 1st Season while the 2nd Season was directed by Ali Faizan. In India, this drama series is known as ‘Qismet Ke Khial’.

This review may carry SPOILERS!

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Faisal Qureshi as Raheel
  2. Yasra Rizvi as Fariha
  3. Zuhab Khan as Guddu / Bablo
  4. Fiza Arif as Hina (Young)
  5. Sonia Kazmi as Falak (Young)
  6. Asma Abbas as Nasreen / Raheel’s Mother
  7. Waseem Abbas as Farhan
  8. Suddu Ali as Daniyal (Young)

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Sundas Tariq as Zara / Raheel’s Sister #1
  2. Minza Waqas as Maham / Raheel’s Sister #2
  3. Suhaee Abro as Hina (Adult)
  4. Faizan Khajawa as Daniyal (Adult)
  5. Mona Shah as Falak (Adult)
  6. Ali Sheikh as Sagheer / Falak’s Boyfriend
  7. Arisha Razi as Munni
  8. Arjumand Rahim as Bablo’s Mother

 

 

 xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Other Cast

  1. Aiman Khan as Sehrish / Maham’s Sister-in-Law #1
  2. Minal Khan as Kaavish / Maham’s Sister-in-Law #2
  3. Faizan Shaikh as Asfaq / Maham’s Husband
  4. Fareeha Jabeen as Maham’s Mother-in-law
  5. Sohail Khan as Maham’s Father-in-law
  6. Omer Shahzad as Zara’s Husband
  7. N/A as Nida / Falak’s Friend
  8. Malik Raza as Garbage Collector (Cameo)
  9. Salahuddin Tunio as Sagheer’s Father

 

 

 

+ Plot

Raheel feels it’s necessary for him to go abroad for work to earn a better living for his family. Although his family, including his mother is against to such decision as they would be alone without his presence. Soon, bad luck is struck upon Raheel’s family where they need to survive on their limited resources.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Zuhab Khan gave a superb performance as loud mouth, short temper son / brother as Guddu / Bablo who speaks out bluntly but is good at heart. It is rare to see such performance by a child star. Other Honorable Mentions: Yasra Rizvi, Asma Abbas, Faisal Qureshi, Waseem Abbas, Aiman & Minal Khan and Faizan Khajawa.

ii – The hardships to show how the family has to struggle in absence of Raheel and how their most closest ones starts to reject them from their lives is very realistically been shown to the audience.

iii – Though the performances by the entire cast is good but the child stars especially have done a fantastic job, such as Sonia Kazmi, Fiza Arif and Suddu Ali.

iv – It is interesting to watch as the story continues to progress without the lead actor; how Raheel’s family suffer mainly the children, is heart breaking to watch. It reminded me of the fame Bengal film, Pather Panchali (1955).

v – A sensitive, uncalled love relationship is shown of Hina & Daniyal and how the both families have to deal this situation including consulting the religious law over it.

vi – The direction of the 1st season by Nadeem Siddique is praise worthy. The collaboration with the writer, Kifayat Rodani has helped Nadeem to direct the first season is very intriguing manner.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Wait, hold on a second… you are telling me that Raheel’s both sisters are now living elsewhere (one is in Islamabad and other in Dubai) therefore it’s okay that they are not informed of their mother’s near death condition including falling in coma for such a long time and Raheel’s 12 years of absence return. What?!

ii – An embarrassing end to this ‘Once a Great’ TV drama series. This would happen only when one cannot take ‘No’ for an answer. Instead of having respectable, decent end which you did had in 44th episode. And yet, why go for the second season (45 – 62 episodes) came from the depths of hell which was highly unnecessary to show and the inclusion of mumbo, jumbo ‘Black Magic Baba’ with a tongue-in-cheek to watch and eventually make fun of yourself as to why watched this TV series in the first place for.

Mann K Moti’s 2nd season and its end, strongly reminded me of infamous TV series Mann Mayal (2016); a very similar ending to watch in it too.

iii – I am not sure if Arjumand Rahim was the best option to play Bablo’s mother. Same thing I would say for Fareeha Jabeen in a mother’s role. They both are best suitable for negative roles only. Yes, I know that here too they were used in somewhat negative light but would prefer some other good actresses in such characters.

iv – Just because your production team / writer was forced to end this drama series with 62nd as your last episode, therefore showing anything on-screen doesn’t do the job as effective as it needs to be. Example: Sagheer few episodes ago, was making fun of Falak & her father. And the next thing you know is that he is seriously begging Falak for forgiveness, make her accept him as once more as her ‘Loving, Caring’ husband!!  How does his character made such a sudden ‘Big Leap’ to change his flirt type nature to a ‘Mature’ one completely?

The reasons that they tried to show was that by living with his first wife he had realized of his mistakes (in such a short time) and wants to leave his lavish life so that he could be with Falak and her baby forever.

This is highly indigestible and unforgivable by the audience to accept such a big change in his negative character. If you had shown that his character was having changes slowly and gradually then yes, we as an audience would have no issue. But this is no Tamil Film!

 

 

 

+ Overall
Mann Ke Moti plays with your emotions well with good direction and strong performances by the child stars mainly but this only lasts till the first season.

 

 

 

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Double Feature: Mernay Se Phele Janat (2016) and Bhadshahat Ka Khatima (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on double feature Pakistani Rom-Drama theatre plays, Mernay Se Phele Janat (2016) and Bhadshahat Ka Khatima (2016). These two plays were conducted at NAPA.

 

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Khalid Ahmed
  • Written by Bee Gul (Mernay Se Phele Janat) and Saadat Hasan Manto (Bhadshahat Ka Khatima)

 

 

 

+ Note

Mernay Se Phele Janat is based on those parents whose children leave them in such fragile aged state all alone. As for Bhadshahat Ka Khatima, it revolves around on true friendship between a man (bum) and a woman (higher status) due to their loneliness.

The set design is basically the same for both the plays, only the wall barriers are put at different placements.

 

 

 

+ Full Cast (Mernay Se Phele Janat)

  1. Khalid Ahmed as Aba Jee
  2. Bakhtawar Mazhar as Janaat

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

It is about of an ailing aged man who is alone at his home with a maid. Therefore, he gains friendship with his maid who is the only one who cares for him.

 

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 
+ Full Cast (Bhadshahat Ka Khatima)

  1. Nazar Ul Hasan as Manmohan
  2. Kaif Ghaznavi as Khaatoon

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

Manmohan is a bum in his late 40s, who practically used to live on footpath but now recently started living at his friend’s abandoned office. One day, he receives a call by a woman by mistake at first. But then she somehow feels connected by him and draws nearer to him. Their true friendship continues on telephonic conversation only. Manmohan who has started to enjoy her companionship though never even bothered to ask her name.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The name ‘Nazar Ul Hasan’ is the meaning of ‘Outstanding Performance’. If you want to watch something really amazing, then simply watch him perform. He completely becomes that given character from the heart and soul.

ii – The performances by all four actors have been magnificent. They knew their lines as if spoken directly from the bottom of their hearts.

iii – The direction throughout the play was well taken care of such as when Janaat’s character turns her attention to face the imaginary person on the other end and gives her lines.

iv – Both the plays were very intriguing to watch while the performances by both of the actors is of the highest quality which made this play even more engaging.

v – Kaif Ghaznavi played her role in most compelling way. Her voice is charming as she sung few songs in the play.

vi – The light humor in these two plays was alluring to watch and thoroughly enjoyed.

vii – The set design was nicely designed and constructed till its requirement.

viii – The costume designs for the performers suited their characters perfectly.

ix – The ambiance that was created during the play especially how the flash back scenes were directed. Bravo!

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – Mernay Se Phele Janat ends with an ambiguous note… not that I’m complaining but many people were left with scratching their heads.

ii – Some technical issue regarding handling of lighting being focused during a performance.

 

 
+ Overall

Strong performances, excellent direction, beautiful scripts with workable set design is enough to consider Mernay Se Phele Janat and Bhadshahat Ka Khatima to be considered a ‘Masterpiece’ in the theatre world.

 

 

 

Rate: 5 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Moor (2015)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Drama feature length film, Moor (2015) aka Mother. The Production Houses are Azad Film Company & Mandviwalla Entertainment while its Distributor is Geo Films.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Written, Directed & Produced by Jami Mahmood
  • Cinematography Farhan Hafeez
  • Edited by Rizwan AQ
  • Music by Strings
  • Co-Produced by Nazira Ali and Nadeem Mandviwalla

 

 

 

+ Note

Moor, is a Pashto word meaning “Mother”. Moor was previously named as Morqaye. Film’s story depicts the railway system of Balochistan, especially the closure of Zhob valley railways in 1984. Partially the shooting took place in an area of Pakistan’s Balochistan province that was under the control of the Taliban militia. Despite their reputation for hard line fundamentalism, the local Taliban even allowed the crew to shoot in their own headquarters.

The soundtrack of this film is composed by the Pakistani band, Strings. Kothbiro by Ayub Ogada is featured in the trailer. The film bought the copyrights.

Moor took eight years from conception to release. Work on the script began in 2007, and the first teaser trailer appeared in 2013, two years before the film’s premiere.

It was selected to premiere at 20th Busan International Film Festival. The film was selected as the Pakistani entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Hameed Sheikh as Wahid
  2. Shaz Khan as Ehsaanullah Khan
  3. Samiya Mumtaz as Palwasha
  4. Abdul Qadir as Baggoo Baba
  5. Shabbir Rana as Zahir
  6. Sultan Hussain as Lalu
  7. Ayaz Samoo as Imtisal

 

xxxxxxx

 

+ Supportive Cast

  1. Nayyar Ejaz as Talat
  2. Soniya Hussain as Amber
  3. Eshita Mehboob Syed as Arzo
  4. Joshinder Chaggar as Sarah
  5. Omar as Asghar
  6. Zainullah as Dilawar

 

 

+ Plot

After the death of the family’s matriarch, her husband and son must confront not only the corruption in society around them but the corruption within themselves.

 

 

+ High Points

i – Sir Hameed Sheikh’s performance in a husband / father role is played out very well. His confusion and desperation of the funds for his family is shown brilliantly. His long lost love for his motherland is well put.

ii – Although Samiya Mumtaz has a small role in the film but one of the best in executing it. She is a wonderful actress and usually plays rural area righteous mother roles. Other Honorable Mentions: Shaz Khan, Abdul Qadir and Ayaz Samoo.

iii – A valuable story is shared through the medium of film making. A strong message is left for the audience.

iv – Farhan Hafeez did an amazing work in cinematography. This is a trademark of Jami’s films.

v – The locations of Balochistan are carefully chosen for great visual story telling.

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The film is at quite a slow pace. People may have hard time watching it.

ii – There is not much to watch or enjoy the film. Most of the critics get it confused to say that perhaps ‘I the film carries a strong message, it means it is a good film to watch’ which is not necessary! These two are completely different from each other.

 

 

 

+ Overall

In sum, Moor is a beautiful shot film — and one that gives viewers the momentum to choose their destiny in front of their honor and beliefs.

 

 

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars