A review on Pakistani comedy feature length film, Chupan Chupai (2017). The Production House is Huzu Productions while its Distributor is Hum Films.

 

 

+ Crew

• Written & Directed by Mohsin Ali
• Co-Written by Zeeshan Haider
• Cinematography by Jeffery Fountain
• Edited by Ehtesham Khan, Waqas Ali Khan, Faheem Ahmed & Salman Tehzeeb
• Produced by Ray Khan & Zayed Sheikh

 

 

 

+ Note

Chupan Chupai is the debut movie of stars such as Faizan Khwaja, Neelam Muneer and Sakina Samo. This movie is a Pakistani remake of 2013 Indian Tamil language movie Soodhu Kavvum (2013). It has been remade in Telugu as Gaddam Gang (2015). The Production Designers are Jari Khushnood Naqwi & Bazey Khan while its Makeup & Hairstylists are Hasan Shabbir & Alam Hakim’s. The Music is composed by Asrar.

There is a huge cast of cameos which are mostly performed by NAPA actors and faculty members. Such as Inzamam Jalal (an Actor, Director, DOP and Editor), Maaz Ahmed (very Skillful Cinematographer), Zain Ahmed and Khalid Ahmed (Faculty Members, TV artist, Writer and Director), Saad Zameer and Erum Bashir (one of the leading performers of NAPA), Akber, Hammad, Ahmer, Muneeb, Najma, Roohi and Kaleem are good performers of NAPA. Arisha is a TV artist and Zeeshan Haider (an Actor, Faculty Member, Writer, Director and a Mentor).

 

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Ahsan Khan as Babu
2. Neelam Munir as Pari
3. Faizan Khawaja as Bobby
4. Vajdaan Shah as Teli
5. Zayad Sheikh as Feddy
6. Ali Rizvi as Koki
7. Talat Hussain as Aijaz Durrani

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

1. Adnan Jaffar as Chaudhry
2. Rehan Sheikh as Khan
3. Sakina Samo as Bobby’s Mother
4. Javed Sheikh as Chief Minister
5. Saife Hassan as Kidnapped Girl’s Father
6. Nazar-ul-Hassan as Police Constable
7. Arshad Mehmud as DIG

 

 

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+ Cameo

1. Zeeshan Haider as Drone Controller
2. Arisha Razi as Kidnap Girl
3. Kaleem Ghouri as Guy with Bizarre Haircut
4. Khalid Ahmed as Kidnap Girl’s Father
5. Inzamam Jalal as Minister’s Attendant
6. Erum Bashir as Lady with Veges
7. Saad Zameer Fareedi as Lawyer
8. Zain Ahmed as Interviewer
9. Akber Ladhani as Stranger #1
10. Ahmer Hussain as Stranger #2
11. Muneeb Baig as Stranger #3
12. Roohi Ahmed as Minister’s Wife Attendant
13. Maaz Ahmed as Thug
14. Najma Kifayat as Girl with fast food
15. Hammad Siddiq as Thug in Hospital

 

 

 

+ Plot

A group of three friends Feddy, Koki and Teli who happens to meet Babu by chance and decides to team up with him & his girlfriend Pari to earn big in much easier (riskier) way.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Ali Rizvi as Koki has performed as a memorable character. He greatly reminded me of the fame comic relief characters in the 70s were mostly performed by John Belushi (deceased). Ali has able to bring many people attention towards him of not just because his character was most interestingly written but very well performed as well. Other Honorable Mentions: Ahsan Khan and Faizan Khawaja.

ii – The comedy of Chupan Chupai is good on some occasions although mostly, light humor is provided (which by the way worked out quite sound for the film). The key comic relief character of Koki is mainly responsible for this.

iii – Makeup & hair styling did a good job; glamorous looks by Neelum Muneer, Ahsan Khan and Faizan Khawaja.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – This film has more (plot) holes than a Swiss cheese has. There is no / proper explanation given to anything. Such as why Chaudhry decides to change his gun at the last minute, no Pari’s backstory is provided, why and how the bizarre haircut guy is teamed up with Babu, how Koki ends up with the same woman in the film? At some places, one may be able to defend themselves but not on all. I am sorry to say but this is a Novice level of writing and I am very shocked to see talented name in the writing dept. No seriously, what went wrong?  Is this a case of creative differences?

ii – Forgettable songs! The audience can take a serious snore nap here.

iii – Still not satisfied to see a petty role given to such a great actor, Nazar-ul-Hassan. You have no idea, what this guy can do if a good, interesting role is given to him.

iv – It is shameful to say that most of these cameos were given to perform useless, unmemorable roles. Only one or two roles have some importance to remember them by otherwise almost all of them are those roles which are given to extras. Only thing these actors could say is that ‘Yes, I … am in Chupan Chupai’.

v – No proper / good message is given to the audience to learn in the end. So basically, we should take the easier way out? We should not struggle and work on righteous path but do exactly what they did in the film? Nice.

 

 

 

 

+ Overall

It’s hard to say Chupan Chupai is a good comedy film but its constant humor and sparkling performances especially by Ali Rizvi, did their best to uplift the film’s second half from its mixture of farce spaghetti from becoming any other ‘Cat and Mouse’ chase. Yet, their best was not good enough to save the film from being a misfire.

 

 

 

Rate: 1.50 out of 5 stars

A review on Pakistani Rom-Com feature length film, Na Band, Na Baraati (2018). The Production House is Zashko Entertainment while its Distributor is Hum Films.

 

 

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Mahmood Akhtar
• Written by Harish Kumar Patel
• Cinematography by Shezad Pasha
• Edited by David Van
• Produced by Zain Farooqui

 

 

 

 

+ Note

Na Band, Na Baraati is Mikaal Zulfiqar first film with Shayan Khan Anzhelika Tahir and Komal Farooqui. It is also the directorial debut of veteran TV actor Mahmood Akhtar who is also playing an important role. The music is composed by Sahir Ali Bagga.

It revolves around two brothers and the struggle of a desi family settled abroad.

Na Band, Na Baraati’s shooting was completed in 2016. Almost the whole movie has been shot in Canada and was released on Eid-ul-Fitr.

 

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Mikaal Zulfiqar as Shahid
2. Shayan Khan as Zahid
3. Nayab Khan as Zoya
4. Anzhelika Rublevska Tahir as Ayesha
5. Ali Kazmi as Ustad the Mechanic

 

 

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+ Supporting Cast

1. Qavi Khan as Shahid’s & Zahid’s Father
2. Mahmood Akthar as Ayesha’s Father
3. Azra Mohiuddin as Shahid’s & Zahid’s Mother
4. Atiqa Odho as Zoya’s Mother
5. Komal Farooqi as Shahid’s & Zahid’s sister

 

 

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+ Minor Cast

1. Saram Jaffery as Super Mario / Bholu
2. Kashif Ahmed as Co-mechanic
3. Zuhair Jaffery as Guru

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

A typical Pakistani family living in Toronto, are dropped a bomb when they are told that one of their sons had a runaway marriage.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Mikaal Zulfiqar as Shahid was the real star of this film and gave a terrific performance with other few selective co-stars to bring in the interest level, to watch the film till the end.

ii – Surprisingly, Qavi Khan as Shahid’s & Zahid’s Father turned out to be very hilarious comic relief character. His repeated comic dialogue throughout the film was ‘Cheeni Khao! Jaan Banao!’ fun to listen to. I don’t remember that I ever enjoyed his performance so much (including of TV projects) as in this film. Other Honorable Mentions: Komal Farooqui, Saram Jaffery, Zuhair Jaffery and Kashif Ahmed.

iii – There were some few good laughs in the film such as Zahid tries to pick his glasses from the pavement and running into a gay with crashing sound of bowling pins.

iv – Beautiful costume designing, suited really well with the cast.

v – Fantastic job on the makeup & hair styling; made the stars look very glamour, beautiful on-screen.

vi – A couple of songs were nice with such singers Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Sahir Ali Bagga and Aima Baig.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The new lead star, Shayan Khan needs to work really hard on his voice to sound like a mature person on-screen. I’m afraid that he sounded more like child, which gave a very bad impression to the audience and critics alike. To be in the ranks of ‘A’ graded stars, one has to his best efforts to be standing with them. There’s already fierce competition in the market and thus it is advised to work on your voice and acting classes.

Having good looks with a great muscular physique does not make one a great performer. These are secondary features which can be focused later, rather work on your primary features i.e. improvement in your acting and voice. Try to listen to yourself first by performing in front of the camera, see why people are criticizing your voice for.

Even today, if we bring Bollywood Super Star Shahrukh Khan in his place and change his voice as his, he (Shahrukh) too would be rejected by the market. Good voice does make a great difference, though being a great performer would come with practice and experience. By chance, only yesterday I randomly chose to watch a Bollywood film ‘Shamitabth’ (2015) where a homeless guy (Amitabh) lends his voice to new comer actor (Dhanush) to make a name for himself.

ii – The film editing needs great improvement. There were many scenes in the film where there should have been cut while the technique of using montage in a motion frame is really an old fashioned. It didn’t look good for the songs.

iii – Anzhelika Rublevska Tahir gave a wooden performance while Ali Kazmi’s performance was highly over acting. He tried very hard to make people laugh on his endless (boring) punch lines. Don’t get me wrong, I like Ali Kazmi’s acting in his TV and film projects previously but here he was misused.

As soon as Ayesha gets married, Ali’s character becomes useless for the audience to watch and bear him on-screen. The writer should have come up with new conflict in his story, to make his scenes interesting but were not so.

iv – The cinematography is below average and needs a lot of improvement.

v – The directorial debut by Mahmood Akthar was very weak indeed; the film would have been executed much differently and effectively if it was given to a well-known director.

vi – Most of the time, the actors would say their punch lines in such a way thinking perhaps the audience would surely laugh now. But all we would do is just stare at the screen for few more seconds before confirming “I’m sorry. Was that a punch line? Is he trying to make us laugh”?

vii – Need a good professional dance choreographer for their songs.

viii – The film dragged unnecessarily on and on. The two sons could have told everything to their parents regardless of their father’s warning as we all knew that he would eventually accept them but no! That didn’t happen and had to watch more than 2 hours of film.

ix – The BTS team should had work out on which scenes to keep, which ones to delete and how to make the film interesting in the phase of three acts.

x – Lips sync of Shayan Khan’s songs in comparison to his actual voice in the film didn’t suit at all.

xi – Poor acting by smaller role performers. They hardly had any expressions during their performance or scene sharing.

 

 

 

+ Overall

Na Band, Na Baraati fails to make its mark in the hearts of audience or critics alike with weak performances, lackluster of wittiness and many technical issues.

 

 

 

 

Rate: 1.75 out of 5 stars

 

A review on Pakistani Drama feature length film, Bin Roye (2015) aka Without Crying. The Production House is MD Films while its Distributors are Hum Films (Pakistan Release) and B4U Films (International Release).

 

 

 

+ Crew

• Directed by Shahzad Kashmiri & Momina Duraid (Produced)
• Cinematography by Farhan Alam
• Written by Farhat Ishtiaq
• Edited by Syed Tanveer Alam
• Music by Mazhar Cheema, Shani Arshad & Waqar Ali

 

 

 

 

+ Note

Bin Roye’s two songs in the film have been directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, Asim Raza and Haissam Hussain.

This film is based on the original novel Bin Roye Ansoo by Farhat Ishtiaq. It is the 3rd highest-grossing Pakistani film of all time behind Waar and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani.

Bin Roye was later adapted into a television series with the same name, that premiered on Hum TV on 2^nd Oct 2016.

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

1. Mahira Khan as Saba Shafiq
2. Humayun Saeed as Irtaza
3. Armeena Khan as Saman Shafiq
4. Adnan Malik as Shehzad
5. Zeba Bakhtiar as Saba & Saman’s mother
6. Javed Sheikh as Saba & Saman’s father

 

 

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+ Supportive Cast

1. Azra Mansoor as Dadi
2. Junaid Khan as Safir / Saba’s husband
3. Adeel Hussain as N/A (Cameo)
4. Mujtaba Khan as Irtaza (Child)
5. Mehreen Bari as Saba (Child)
6. Jahanzeb Khan as Zafar / Saba’s brother

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

A young woman is conflicted when she falls in love with a man who courts her friend.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Mahira Khan performance like always is the best. Her character was of an immature young girl who is head over heels in love with her cousin, Irtaza. Later on she has guilt ridden madness over the close one death.

ii – I have watched last three to four projects of Humayun Saeed where he has performed very decently and sensibly. I am confident enough to say that he is truly a great actor where he has able to play this mature, caring character of Irtaza greatly on-screen. Other Honorable Mentions: Armeena Khan and Azra Mansoor.

iii – The action sequences are very admirable and of high standards in the ranks of our film industry.

iv – The production design did a creditable work while its locations are very well chosen.

v – The costumes designing dept. did an impressive job.

vi – Good work guys responsible for makeup and hair-styling.

vii – The third act is shown in great detail where Irtaza handles traumatic Saba due to the enigmatic reason. This act was the most important one of the three and was very professionally handled.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The film editing is so bad that if I was the producer of this project, I would had made sure that this person would get lifetime ban to work as film editor ever again. It ruined the film beat completely.

ii – A couple of the supporting cast members were wasted due to less or namesake screen time such as Junaid Khan and Jahanzeb Khan while the inclusion of Adeel Hussain in a song is the first example in a Pakistani film (or that I am aware of that) that it’s a first male star item song.

iii – The director decided to give no importance whatsoever to the second act, where everything just rushed to the last act of the film.

 

 

  

+ Overall

Even though the performances are unforgettable, particularly by Mahira Khan, still Bin Roye lost its magic in the mid and made us realize that the supporting cast or sub plot does not carry any value.

 

 

 

Rate: 2.50 out of 5 stars

 

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

 

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 3^rd 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

 

  

 

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+ 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