Author: Mr. Khan's Reviews

Mr. Khan has completed his 1st Masters in Business Administration (Marketing) from Bahria University and 2nd Masters in TV Production from SZABIST. He has also done short course in Film Direction from SAAMPT (South Asian Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Television) and worked previously in many short, thesis films as an actor and writer.
Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Mom’ (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Bollywood crime thriller feature length film, ‘Mom’ (2017). The Production Houses are MAD Films and Third Eye Pictures while its Distributors are Zee Studio and Sridevi Productions.

 

+ Crew

  1. Written & Directed by Ravi Udyawar
  2. Cinematography by Anay Goswamy
  3. Co-Written by Girish Kohli (Screenplay & Story) & Kona Venkat Rao (Story)
  4. Edited by Monisha R. Baldawa
  5. Produced by Boney Kapoor, Sunil Manchanda, Naresh Agarwal, Mukesh Talreja & Gautam Jain

 

+Note

It is a rape-revenge thriller film. This film is inspired by Hollywood fame film ‘Eye for an Eye’ (1996) where Sally Field who plays the mom’s role in as protagonist. The first remake by Bollywood was ‘Dhusman’ (1998) of Kajol Devgan playing a double role.

It was announced in early 2016 that Sridevi would be starring next in Boney Kapoor’s woman-centric home-production titled Mom to be directed by Ravi Udyawar. Nawazuddin Siddiqui was cast in an important role in the film while the actor revealed that it was a dream, come true for him to work with Sridevi.

The Music is composed by AR Rahman. Mom marked Sridevi’s 300th film appearance.

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Sridevi as Devki Sabarwal
  2. Sajal Ali as Arya
  3. Abhimanyu Singh as Jagan
  4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Daya Shankar Kapoor / DK
  5. Akshaye Khanna as Mathew Francis

 

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+ Supportive Cast

  1. Vikas Verma as Charles Diwan
  2. Adarsh Gourav as Mohit
  3. Adnan Siddiqui as Anand
  4. Pitobash as Baburam

 

+ Plot

Devki Sabarwal (mother) acts as a vigilante, who sets out to avenge her daughter’s rapists.

 

+ High Points

i – Sridevi as Devki Sabarwal (mother’s role). After a long time, we as audience welcome her with love and support to see her give ‘A’ graded performance on big screen. She is truly a remarkable actress where the time stand stills when she is giving her performance. In fact, any praises would fall short on playing out her delicate, emotional character.

The key scene to watch her performance of top notch is when she visits the hospital and is informed of sexual assault of her daughter.

ii – Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a low earning, honest private detective. Such a wonderful actor he is where everyone in the audience anticipated him to perform up to their expectations which he did brilliantly. His off / on humor punch lines made people laugh all of a sudden. The audience simply loved to watch his scenes with keen interest.

iii – Able to shoot bold scenes without showing vulgarity; kept at bay for the people to use their imagination.

iv – The consequences after committing a heinous crime that is raping someone and to see the trauma, how the victim goes through it especially the victim’s family tries to cope up with the society they live in without getting any justice — we as audience see the behavior and the temperament of the victim in such cases and imagine it as to what if to be in their place.

v – Some of the dialogues are very well said, well written. Such as:

 

Devki: ‘DK shb, hur jaga khuda nahi hotha hai’

DK    : ‘Ha, jubi to usne Maa di hai’

Or

Arya: Usne kaha ‘Apni Maa ko bulaa’!

Or

DK: ‘Mard? Tu mard thori hai. Mard rape nahi khartha hai… Suaar khartha hai’.

 

+ Low Points

i – The story is actually very simple, rape-revenge thriller film. The suspense is quite low as the film is very straight forward with predictable outcomes, (mostly). I believe that if the film maker is able to achieve the primary objectives from his film then he could focus on achieving the secondary objectives as inserting bigger twists in a plot like this.

ii – A number of unconvincing scenes such as Devki so easily entering people homes, apartments to do her mischievous work while the victim is depending on his CCTV as only security option. She able to visit the patient at the hospital whereas no police / security is available outside the room as this is on-going police case.

iii – Its ending gave a typical Bollywood signature. All this time Mathew is looking for hard evidence to arrest the vigilante but now everything suddenly changes for him. Instead, now he encourages the culprit to … R-E-A-L-L-Y?!

iv – No / hardly any proper vocal songs available in the film.

 

+ Overall

At the start of the film, Mom is very uncomfortable to watch as it tends to be that way but then we see the consequences of committing such an act of evil in a desperate attempt with perfect performances, especially Sridevi and Nawazuddin who melted themselves entirely into their characters… physically and emotionally.

 

Rate: 3.50 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Hollywood Epic Space Opera feature length film, ‘Rogue One’ (2016). The Production House is Lucas film Ltd while it is Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

+ Crew
I. Directed by Gareth Edwards
II. Cinematography by Greig Fraser
III. Screenplay by Chris Weitz & Tony Gilroy
IV. Edited by John Gilroy, Colin Goudie & Jabez Olssen
V. Produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur & Simon Emanuel

+Note
Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O’Reilly, and Anthony Daniels reprise their roles from previous films as Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and C-3PO. Darth Vader physically portrayed by Spencer Wilding & Daniel Naprous while its voice done by James Earl Jones. Guy Henry physically played as Grand Moff Tarkin while CGI special effects are used to replicate the likenesses of Peter Cushing.

The story is written by John Knoll & Gary Whitta and the music is composed by Michael Giacchino (Original Star Wars themes composed by John Williams).

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso
  2. Diego Luna as Cassian Andor
  3. Ben Mendelssohn as Orson Krennic
  4. Donnie Yen as ChirrutÎmwe
  5. Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera
  6. Alan Tudyk as K-2SO
  7. Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook
  8. Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus
  9. Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso

+ Plot
The Rebel Alliance sends their trustworthy, efficient Cassian Andor (Rebel Alliance Intelligence Officer) with unreliable Jyn Erso, the daughter of the unwilling designer of the Galactic Empire’s super weapon, the Death Star, and her quest to retrieve his plans for destroying it.

+ High Points
i – Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso and Ben Mendelssohn as Orson Krennic are the real stars of this film. They have made a mark in the hearts of the viewers and fans alike. Ben Mendelssohn who appeared in TDKR as business tycoon nemesis of Bruce Wayne, here yet again delivered a spectacular performance as menacing shrewd lead villain in this film. Other Honorable Mentions: Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, Guy Henry (physical) as Grand Moff Tarkin and Spencer Wilding, Daniel Naprous (both physical) & James Earl Jones (voice) as Darth Vader.

ii – CGI special effects that are used to replicate the likenesses of Peter Cushing & (Special Easter Egg) are so realistic that you would almost believe that the film has some kind of a time machine that brought back the real faces of the stars from the original episodes.

iii – The overall visual effects and sound mixing / design throughout the film, is one of the best of this year’s films.

iv – The WRATH of Darth Vader! His scenes are absolutely awesome to watch, in fact more superior to the ones of the lead character of this film; and simply Why Not? After all this is THE Darth Vader we are talking about here! The director kept his best scene at the last of the film where I can assure you that you would NOT be disappointed!

v – There are so many Easter eggs in this film where some of them were really SURPRISING for me. Though I would NOT give away the spoilers but I do admit that I was very PLEASED to see them. If you are really a STAR WARS fan who have watched their episodes many times already (and know its ‘In & Outs’) then yes you would EASILY recognize these few seconds of Easter eggs that be shown to you.

+ Low Points
i – Just for your knowledge, there is no starting title crawl shown before the film actually begins nor duel of light sabers or appearances by Jedi Knights / Masters. This film is based on the event between episode III & IV. So it was hard for us viewers to overcome with this fact even if you knew this beforehand.

ii – Since this film is a standalone story with no sequels attached to it, which is why the supporting characters were hard to be connected with the viewers’ interest.

iii – Some people thought we might able to see more of Darth Vader scenes where in actual were quite few.

iv – Naturally the film would not have met expectations with the episodes’ saga. Those people were mostly disappointed who had high expectations from this film.

+ Overall
Star Wars’s latest installment is not exactly the one that audience are looking for, however Star Wars: Rogue One is still a warm welcome to the long running epic franchise.

Rate: 3.50 out of 5 stars

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Logan’ (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Hollywood feature length film, ‘Logan’ (2017). The Visuals Effects by Chas Jarrett & Image Engine (Co.) while it’s Distributor is 20th Century Fox.

+ Crew I

  • Screenplay, Written & Directed by James Mangold
  • Co-Screen Play by Scott Frank & Michael Green
  • Cinematography by John Mathieson
  • Edited by Michael McCusker & Dirk Westervelt
  • Music by Marco Beltrami
  • Produced by Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg & Lauren Shuler Donner

+ Crew II (Production Houses)

  • Marvel Entertainment
  • TSG Entertainment
  • Kinberg Genre
  • Hutch Parker Entertainment
  • The Donners’ Company

+Note

Mangold was hired to write a treatment that took inspiration from the graphic novel Old Man Logan, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. It influences on Logan included “visual reference points” of cinema: Shane (1953), The Cowboys (1972), Paper Moon (1973), The Gauntlet (1977), Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and The Wrestler (2008). The film story is somewhat similar to the film Children of Men (2006). Jackman signed on to star as Logan, in what is intended to be his final portrayal of the character, after having played the role for 17 years.

It has received high praises from many critics and fans worldwide by simply saying as ‘One of a kind super hero films ever’ while some critics calling it ‘The Best Film in the X-Men Series’ whereas others consider it to be the ‘The Best Super Hero film since The Dark Knight’.

+ Main Cast

  1. Hugh Jackman as James “Logan” Howlett / Wolverine & X-24
  2. Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X
  3. Dafne Keen as Laura / X-23
  4. Richard E. Grant as Zander Rice
  5. Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce
  6. Stephen Merchant as Caliban
  7. Jayson Genao as Rictor

+ Plot

In the near future, an old weak Logan cares for a bedridden Professor X who is suffering from a degenerative brain disease while living with another mutant in a secret hide out on the Mexican border. Though it does not stays that way for too long once a woman contacts Logan to safely cross border her with a ‘Special’ child.

+ High Points

i – Hugh Jackman’s performance is Oscar worthy to watch as Logan/Wolverine one final time. He gives out his best performance with a gritty, heartily performance in an intense yet emotional superhero action film that challenges genre resolutions.

ii – The child actress, Dafne Keen who plays the role Laura/X-23 has proved to us by her incredible performance that she is our promising & rising star. Other Honorable Mentions: Patrick Stewart and Boyd Holbrook.

iii – The story is well written (adapted by James Mangold also) with a combination of R rated violence and passionate drama that cuts deep.

iv – Its direction takes to the level where ‘Logan’ would always be a moral example for any studios to witness, what comic book films can actually do.

v – This franchise which is based on comics is not the superhero film what we as audience were expecting it to be. It is actually something where no film of this genre has ever directed and produced like, especially in such great manner!

vi – The film has properly used its R rating that is strong violence and language only where the script demanded it to be. No unnecessary blood / gore were shown due to its restricted rating.

vii – The visual effects is stunningly bold and filled with great fight sequences & its choreography.

viii – It clearly shows that the makeup & hair-styling was handled with ‘A’ graded professionals.

ix – There are one main and two supporting villains in the film who kept the interest level high. However, the film’s actual true villain/antagonist was the ‘Old Age’ of the protagonist. This is a very well thought move by writer/director James Mangold.

+ Low Points

i – Some people might find the film to be a somewhat slow due to its drama theme.

+ Overall

It is a landmark for superhero genre films where Logan has simply assured its place among the ranks of a masterpiece.

Rate: 4.50 out of 5 stars

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2’ (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Marvel Comics feature length film, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2’ (2017). The Production House is Marvel Studios while its Distributor is Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

+ Crew

  • Written & Directed by James Gunn
  • Cinematography by Craig Wood
  • Costumes Design by Judianna Makovsky
  • Production Designed by Scott Chambliss
  • Edited by Fred Raskin & Craig Wood
  • Music by Tyler Bates
  • Produced by Kevin Feige

+Note

There are several cameo appearances by Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex T’Naga, Ving Rhames as Charlie-27, and Michelle Yeoh as Stakar’s female counterpart Aleta Ogord. David Hasselhoff makes a special cameo appearance in addition to contributing to the film’s soundtrack, while Rob Zombie once again has a Ravager voice cameo. CG characters Krugarr and Mainframe, with the latter voiced, in an uncredited cameo, by Miley Cyrus.

Stan Lee’s key appearance confirms long popular fan-theory. Guardians of the Galaxy comics are written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning.

+ Main Cast

  1. Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord
  2. Kurt Russell as Ego
  3. Zoe Saldana as Gamora
  4. Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer
  5. Bradley Cooper as Rocket
  6. Vin Diesel as Baby Groot

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+ Supportive Cast

  1. Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta
  2. Karen Gillan as Nebula
  3. Pom Klementieff as Mantis
  4. Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha
  5. Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord
  6. Seth Green as the voice of Howard the Duck (Cameo)

+ Plot

It continues their unravel journey into deep space and opens backstory of Peter Quill’s parentage.

+ High Points

i – Marvel knows the formula what to do with its characters and how to present them well on-screen. Therefore their films are most interesting and lovable by majority.

ii – Big budget $200 m is well put in its superb production design.

iii – Baby Groot was really nice add-on in this multiple super hero characters film.

iv – Once again it was well written and directed by James Gunn. This time he was sole person behind this incredible story and introducing new comic characters onto the big screen.

v – Main villain as Ego was presented in much more convincing manner.

vi – The film had multiple good humor and was generally very hilarious.

vii – The visual effects is stunningly beautiful, filled with amazing fight sequences.

viii – Makeup & Hair styling was Top Notch. Two thumbs up!

ix – The story & screenplay was very engaging enough to pull the audience towards the film to watch with keen interest.

x – Several cameo appearances by many stars and different comic characters.

xi – There are at least 4 – 5 special endings during and post credits.

+ Low Points

i – Although Kurt Russell performed well as Ego but he did not looked threatening enough as did Ronan (previous film main villain).

+ Overall

Superb as it is, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 is handled by incredibly skilled director – as much exciting as its predecessor.

Rate: 4.50 out of 5 stars

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Dil Ki Awaaz Suno’ (2018)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Public Message Drama theatre play ‘Dil Ki Awaaz Suno’ (2018). Its Production House is Tehrik-e-Niswan while SIUT foundation participated in distribution of organ donation forms & leaflets.

 

+ Crew

  • Lighting, Written & Directed by Anwer Jafri
  • Vocal (with Harmonium) by Daniel Wilayat
  • Music (with Tabla) by Zulfiqar Ali

 

 

+ Note
Dil Ki Awaaz Suno is a play organized by Pakistan Medical Association (Karachi) at 3rd Literary Festival [Arts Council; Karachi], which is based on ‘Organs Donation’ as public message. The opening poetry was taken from Nazeer Akerabadi ‘s ‘Banjaranama’. The poem ‘Maen Mar Ke Amar Ho Jaounga’ is part of Sardar Jafri’s poetry.

We have familiar faces on stage including Sheema Kermani, Haris Khan, Imran Khan and Anwer Uddin along with the fame director, Anwer Jafri.

Although it was not mentioned in its poster but the play is partially musical.

 

+ Full Cast:

  1. Haris Khan as Dildar
  2. Sheema Kermani as Doctor
  3. Shazia Adnan as Ammi
  4. Imran Khan as Mamu
  5. Ayesha Pervaiz as Fiancée
  6. Iram Pervaiz as Friend #1
  7. Bushra as Friend #2
  8. Adnan Haroon as Friend #3
  9. Anwar Uddin as Friend #4

 

+ Plot
Dildar is a dear friend to his fellow colleagues. One day he falls ill and announced as brain dead at the hospital. There in such tragic scenario, his family are suggested to donate their son’s organs.

 

+ High Points
i – The public message was conveyed to the audience perfectly. I believe that there would not be any kind of misconceptions or misunderstandings or any type of questions left regarding this subject matter.

ii – The addition of musical performance was a good move, to bring the audience closer to its sensitive topic.

 

+ Low Points
i – Where was the play? It should have been a combined teamwork of two elements here: The Play and the Public message. Both should had worked hand to hand. You gave so much importance in delivering the core message that you clearly forgot what essentials are needed to conduct a play and execute it successfully to the audience. If anyone did remember something there, it would be the public message your team had provided but not the play itself. If this is how ‘Public Message Plays’ started to be presented then I guess, anyone can make a play then.

ii – Almost, no story to watch. Though its acceptable that Anwer sb decided to have this play by ‘Breaking the fourth wall’, or ‘Acknowledgement of having themselves to be a part of a play’. Yet still a proper good story was required with the lead characters to have brief backstory (at least) was very much needed.

iii – There was no production design. No really, there was absolutely nothing there except for black wall. No props, just complete emptiness.

iv – As for the lighting is concerned, when Dildar started to speak while facing the audience, although the spot light was fixed on him but the entire stage should have been in ‘Complete Darkness’ or ‘Very Dimly Lit’. This way, the only focus would be on him and no one else. But that was not the case here. Only thing they did correctly was having the other characters being freeze with their actions as Dildar spoke.
v – No heed was given to costume designing as well, except for the lead stars.

vi – During the musical performance, we had Shazia Adnan on the left side (just next to), Sheema Kermani (in the lead) as they faced the audience. But then in the next two other group musical performance, we had Imran Khan in Shazia’s position without any reason given why? I can understand that the audience don’t care to see such details or really care. But for a team of professional performers, these things do count and are observed closely.

 

+ Overall
Dil Ki Awaaz Suno is one of those plays where the public message behind it turns out to be much more interesting than the play itself.

 
Rate: 1.50 out of 5

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Jasoosi Dunya’ (2018)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Mystery Comedy theatre play ‘Jasoosi Dunya’ (2018). The assistant director is Shahjahan Narejo while its stage manager is Fraz Chottani.

 

+ Crew

  1. Written (Adaptation) & Directed by Khalid Ahmed
  2. Lighting by Uzma Sabeen and Masood-ur-Rehman
  3. Costumes Design by Pervaiz Iqbal and Mahrukh
  4. Set Design by Jameel Afridi
  5. Makeup & Hair Styling by Farzana Naz

 

+ Note
Jasoosi Dunya is an adaptation of The Psychic (2010) by Sam Bobrick, an Edgar Award winning play in 2011. The play is a hilarious murder mystery which follows the chaotic life of Adam Webster: a down-on-his-luck writer who is making ends meet through psychic readings.

Ammad Rehman and Afsheen Hayat are behind the play’s music whereas Ashraf Bhatti is responsible for its sound effects. This review may contain SPOILERS!

+ Full Cast

  • Hassan Raza as Adam Webster
  • Saman Ansari as Salma Anwer
  • Nazar ul Hasan as Johnny Jaanbaaz
  • Bazelah Mustafa as Sabeena / Saibi
  • Farhan Alam as Anwer Sulemaan
  • Samhan Ghazi as Col. Zahid Kamal Afandi

 

+ Plot
It revolves around a mystery writer, Adam Webster who needs money to cover his bills. One day he is visited by a young beautiful lady, Salma Anwer to his home for psychic readings.

 

+ High Points
i – Exceptional writing and adaptation by Khalid sb. The script is very cleverly written as there were times where poor choice of words spoken by the stars or sometimes the dialogues were repeated. I remember saying to myself at first, ‘What happened to Khalid Sb’s writing? Is this the best he could come up with’? But then I saw what was actually happening in the play as there were few small hints given away in the first half. My confusion had turned into a very delightful surprise. Good stuff!

ii – Remarkable performance by the multi-talented star, Bazelah Mustafa as Sabeena / Saibi. She showed everyone that how ‘Easy’ it is to perform Live on-stage and bought new life to the play. Her perfect timing for comical punchlines, flirtish behavior and hilarious reactions had instantly made the audience fall in love with her character.

iii – NAPA’s veteran actor, Nazar ul Hasan as Johnny Jaanbaaz has once again acted very brilliantly. If you give him sober or a comic relief character to play, Nazar would make sure that the audience leave the hall with great pleasure. Other Honorable Mentions: Farhan Alam and Samhan Ghazi.

iv – Superb production design, high quality set was constructed to give a much closer mood for realism.

v – The two comic relief characters Johnny Jaanbaaz and Sabeena / Saibi were the most interesting and enjoyable to watch.

vi – Once again, good direction by respected Khalid Ahmed. His vast experience as an actor and writer, has always given an edge for the performers to be part of his directorial plays. Even for myself, it’s highly unlikely that I would ever miss his theatre work.

vii – Effective work behind its design and handling of lighting by Uzma and Masood.

viii – In costume designing, the characters fitted well with the wardrobe given to them.

ix – Saman Ansari as Salma looked very elegant and glamorous; all thanks to makeup & hair styling.  

 

+ Low Points
i – Hassan Raza as Adam Webster performance was … average at best in front of his fellow stars and weak as the lead star. Although, I am pleased that NAPA is giving chance to other cast members as well to perform in lead roles. Yet still, we cannot ignore the fact that the lead star should have at least given ONE of the strongest performances, If not THE strongest performance than the rest of the cast.

ii – It’s highly unlikely that most people had predicted the twist before it was suggested by one of the characters. Though, I saw it long before it reached the interval. There are many reasons attached to it. First of all, I, myself have already watched many, many suspense, thriller films and TV series with bizarre twists and endings. Secondly, there were several hints given during the play (which is a good move btw). For example, the exact same murder location where the crime had taken place, the clothes of other characters remained the same and a rich beautiful lady having devoted love for him. But the biggest hint of them all was when Adam had everything written down in this book before he forgets. His desperation to write it quickly and being delighted to come up with such great ideas was the moment when the play gave away their twist.

iii – I felt that the play was longer than required and its time length should be reduced by 15 – 20 minutes.

iv – Speaking of costume designing as above, there was however only one small issue, ‘Anwer’s shoes’. They were totally mismatched with the color of suit he was wearing. My eyes (unintentionally) kept looking at his shoes than to enjoy his performance.

 

+ Overall
Khalid Ahmed’s adaptation as Jasoosi Dunya is yet another addition as souvenir in the world of theatre.

 

Rate: 4.0 out of 5

 

Short Films & Documentaries

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Beyond Quarters’ (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on a Pakistani Short Documentary Film, ‘Beyond Quarters’ (2016).

 

+ Crew

i – DOP, Directed & Produced by Amna Tariq

 

+ Note

This short documentary film is based on Afghani people (i.e. from rural areas), who come to big cities such as Karachi; Pakistan to find work but have to face harassment issues regarding being a foreigner, unregistered as refugee or card blockage temporary resident. In this documentary, we are informed at the start that an Afghani man Sharafdeen, who came to Karachi with his sons in late 90s. Since then he and his sons have been working as a watchmen for a private residential building.

There are few people such as Imran Sherwani [Journalist & Media Activist], Taimur Ahmad Suri [Academic] & Zia Ur Rehman [Journalist & Author] who input their views on the problem the Pakistani govt. is facing by having them (Afghani refuges) and discuss on what to do in reducing the problem which would be beneficial for both the parties. In 15 minutes of documentary, we see how these unregistered refugees live after finding work (which does not necessarily require skill for it).

It is uploaded on YouTube. Search for ‘Beyond Quarters’.

 

+ Plot

We have ‘Babdeen’ & ‘Burhan’ who share their story and living pattern in very limited resources and rights that they have as a human being.

 

+ High Points

i – It is how it is filmed. The way a professional documentary should be shot and handled is done here properly.

ii – By having two different certified journalists and an academic personality on board, we understand the dispute from their angles also.

iii – Most of the main relevant information is made known in the limited documentary that we have.

 

+ Low Points

i – The subtitles. If one is willing to show his/her film on screen or upload on internet then it means you know well that your product is complete. Yet we have white subtitles with no shade or any other dark color used for the documentary. Yes, it distorted in most places with the background and was hard to understand. But thankfully, this time it is not in foreign language (i.e. for Urdu speakers). Still, if any language subtitles is to be included in the film — it should be EASILY readable.

ii – There were times where one cannot understand the accent of the person who is speaking (even if you understand the language but do not understand clearly what that person is saying) and that is when you need the subtitles to clear that out.

iii – Anyways, the second thing that I felt was the lack of emotional link between with the lead person and the viewer. To me, it did not as such connect as it should have been. Before the bond could be made, the documentary ended.

 

+ Overall

Well, there you have it. I would say it is a decent short documentary. Most of the short documentaries that I have watched which were directed & produced by film graduates are not good. I would prefer that I don’t watch them since they have lots of technical issues especially with amateur cinematography and that they make it too much dramatize like a typical fictional film. Here I can safely say it is not anywhere near it but good effort to watch. ‘Practice Makes Perfect’, that I sincerely believe in. For the director, I would say is ‘Good Effort’.

 

Rate: 2.75 out of 5 stars

 

Short Films & Documentaries

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Behnaam Gour: The Unmarked Grave’ (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on a Pakistani Short Film, ‘Behnaam Gour: The Unmarked Grave’ (2016).

 

+ Crew:

  1. Written & Directed by Meer Farhad Jamali
  2. Co-written by Ahmar Anwar
  3. Director of Photography is Faiz M. Qazi

+ Note:

This is a drama film (where the story is inspired by several true incidents). The story revolves around Balochi people, their present life styles at their home town and how they are unfairly treated by city’s strangers especially to those who are unfamiliar with metropolitan negativism. The first 10 – 15 minutes of the film, it is in Balochi language where we can watch & understand the film via English subtitles.

Ms. Mehernisa Baloch who happens to be a Sindhi actress and has past working experience at PTV channel. She performed her role really like a true loving mother. Syed M. Jameel has working experience as theatre actor. This was his first experience in main supporting role in a film. He has played his character well as ‘Amaanullah’ the taxi driver.

 

 

+ Main Cast:

  1. Bilal Baloch as Bahraam
  2. Mehernisa as Amma
  3. Syed M. Jameel as Amaanullah

 

 

+ Plot:

At Nalient; Kolaanch, area of Balochistan, a family lives there. The mother of Bahraam is unwell. The local doctor recommends him to go to big city where Bahraam can admit his mother to a much better hospital and bypass her with kidney transplant. Since he has never been outside his home town, the kind of mishaps and troubles he has to face is the real challenge which lies ahead of him.

 

+ High Points:  

i – The lead actor Bilal Baloch who performed role of ‘Bahraam’ is a newly inducted diploma student of NAPA who has only completed his first year. This actor is although an unknown face in the media line still he performed so magnificently that I was truly AMAZED by his realistic performance. My first thought was ‘Who is he? Where he is from? Is he working in some channel / drama’?

ii – The locations that the director chooses to shoot of Balochistan are astonishing and beautiful. The Director of Photography is done in such a manner that the film itself (besides its excellent narration and the incredible performances), the scenery shots are utter Stunning and Memorable!

iii – The realistic theme narration that we see throughout the film,

iv – The praise worthy performances by the main actors especially by Bilal Baloch & respected Ms. Mehernisa Baloch.

v – The makeup that was done on the actor was so accurate that the passersby during the shoot were totally convinced and took it literally.

vi – In many places I was wondering, how the film crew was able to shoot such intense, complex scenes. The team shot the film as if they have much experience on their hands.

vii – The director did this job in most spectacular effort.

viii – We have several cameo appearances & minor roles performed by young actors. Police Inspector role was done very nice by the lead person, Saad Memon (who is himself a theatre director and an actor) did a good job as receptionist, a surprising cameo appearance by a great actor Mohammad Rouhan Siddiqui and a secret cameo appearance by Cyrus Karanjia (where I later came to know, which specific role was that).

 

+ Low Points:  

i – The subtitles that were used are in white with no shade; it distorted with the brightly lit background and was hard to understand (since the first quarter of the film is in Balochi language).

ii – In some scenes, particularly in the end I felt that there is a plot hole which had to be filled in to reach to its conclusion. It was more like an ‘Open Ended’ between the ending and epilogue.

iii – In addition, the editing is done (shockingly) by five different people STILL I felt that it could have been better.

 

+ Overall:

After many praises by friends and colleagues alike, I finally decided to watch the film. And I must say it is a fantastic view. At the screening, most of the people gave a HUGE round of applause for the director and its film crew on their effort and passion behind its making. One would admit that, not everyone has guts to make a film on these kinds of realistic issues and receive a standing ovation in return. For this film, it truly deserves a ‘Thumb’s Up’.

Rate: 4.50 out of 5 stars

 

Short Films & Documentaries

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Allah K Naam Pe’ (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Short Film, ‘Allah K Naam Pe’ (2016); its Production House is Laal Series.

 

+ Crew:

  1. Directed by Natasha Beyg
  2. Written by Naeem Ud Din
  3. Director of Photography by Mariam Iqbal Desai
  4. Produced, Edited & Story by Hassan Ali Effendi

 

+ Note:

The concept behind this story is (yet again) not new but still uncommon. Some of the films are made in very similar or close to this concept. There is a fame Hollywood film of Al Pacino who used this concept too. I won’t name it otherwise it would ruin the film as STRONG Spoiler.

The name ‘Allah K Naam Pe’ is in Urdu language words, which means ‘In the Name of God’.

 

+ Main Cast:

1) Quaid Ahmed as ‘Shop Keeper’

2) N/A as ‘Beggar’

3) N/A as ‘Friend #1’

4) N/A as ‘Friend #2’

 

+ Plot:

It centers on a common shop keeper who gets very tormented by a beggar who on daily basis consistently begs him in the ‘Name’ of God. Every day the beggar begs to him and every day he scram him off. One day, the shop keeper asks the beggar causally to give him ‘Something’ instead in the Name of God. And from that moment on, the life of shop keeper completely changes.

 

+ High Points:

i – The lead actor Quaid Ahmed acted well in the film.

ii – The sound track is good to listen to that is Vocals by Ahsan Bari & Dreen Baloch and Music Direction by Ahsan Bari is promising.

iii – The direction is decently handled.

iv – The ending leads you to spellbinding.

v – Good thing is there were no blunders in editing this time.

 

+ Low Points:

i – The supportive cast members acting is quite weak. There were hardly any expressions on their faces for giving us (viewers) reaction to the action / want.

ii – The costume of the lead actor till the Act III still seemed new… more deterioration of his physical transformation was required.

iii – In the credits, we still see no characters’ names with actors’ names as who played what. Only the lead actor name is mentioned.

iv – Avoid general public eye contact / their smiling faces by either in the edit process or blurring their presence by focusing on your subject. In the background, in some scenes their smiley faces towards the lead actor did work as he remained in his character while in some scenes it did not… as the people in distance were looking towards the camera. It breaks the fourth wall.

v – The fast track of time passage is overly used by young film makers. Either do it with a different style or try avoiding it.

vi – The cinematography is mediocre. I would prefer something new and interesting to watch. Either change your DOP or upgrade your work.

 

+ Overall: Well, this film does have its merits towards positivism of film making. Do Learn from your mistakes and work on its improvisations for your upcoming future projects. Anyone who wants to learn sincerely would learn with time with their experiences. I believe that you would too.

 

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

 

Short Films & Documentaries

Mr. Khan’s Review on ‘Mirror of a Mad Man’ (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Short Film, ‘Mirror of a Mad Man’ (2016). The Lighting was done by Haris Ahmed. This film is been nominated at these — & — festivals while won for best short film at IBOM.

 

+ Crew
I. Directed, Cinematography & Screenplay by Dostain Baloch.
II. Asst. Director & Sound Design by Junaid Brohi.
III. Produced & Written by EinRay Gumnam Huzefa.
IV. Art Direction by Samad Baloch.

V. Set Design by Bilal Baloch.

 

+ Note
The actor who played the role of Mad Man in real is a poet and a writer. This is his first film where he acted as well. The film budget was of PKR 4,000/- only. The location which was chose to shot is the beach of Balochistan. This film is similar to Inger Bergman and Fellini’s style of direction.

 

+ Cast
1) EinRay Gumnam Huzefa as Mad Man

+ Plot

Due to harsh environment and selfish needs of the society and the state, this man turns out to be the lone survivor of the war ridden home. After losing everyone who he ever knew and loved are long gone, perished by humanity’s dark side ugliness… he questions Earth, God and finally himself if the sanity ever existed in this evil cruel world?

 

+ High Points
i – EinRay Gumnam Huzefa is although a non-professional actor but performed very well in his debut film. His performance is one of the key reasons to why this film intriguing to watch.

ii – The location is well chosen for the Mad Man conversation with the Earth and God.

iii – The story is very effective in able to support its screenplay and logic shown behind the lead performer’s actions.

iv– The screenplay is well thought written.

v – One can watch the film with inverse view as to perhaps the Mad Man is actually the one who is sane while the world is insane and corrupt all along. This is reason why he tells the animals to stay away from humans or would be converted to likewise evil.

 
+ Low Points
i – The cinematography needs improvement for better visual story telling.

ii – It is not everyone’s cup of tea to watch or understand the film clearly.

 

+ Overall
This definitely a work of Art of Meson Sine which should not be missed.

 

Rate: 4.0 out of 5 stars