TV series

Mr. Khan’s Review on Gul-e-Rana (2015 – 16)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Drama TV serial, Gul-e-Rana (2015 – 16). Its Production Houses are Six Sigma Plus Productions and MD Productions while its Distributor is Hum Entertainment.

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Farooq Rind
  • Written by Samra Bukhari
  • Created & Produced by Shehzad Naseeb, Humayun Saeed & Momina Duraid

 

 

 

+ Note

Gul-e-Rana aired on Hum TV from 07th Nov 2015 – 02nd Apr 2016. It consists of total 21 episodes. It is a story of emotions, trust, relations, sympathy and forgiveness.

This TV drama series is based on a novel titled, Hasti Ke Ahang.

In the last episode, people tweeted about ‘Gul-e-Rana’ so much, that it ranked on #1 spot within an hour. This TV series is known as one of the best dramas of Hum TV.

 

 

+ Main Cast

1) Sajal Ali as Gul-e-Rana

2) Feroze Khan as Adeel

3) Mehmood Akhtar as Kamal Ahmed

4) Sundas Tariq as Maria

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ Supportive Cast

5) Samina Ahmad as Jazba Aapi

6) Saleem Mairaj as Zaffri

7) Imran Ashraf as Ashar

8) Behroze Sabzwari as Abdul Aziz

 

 

 

+ Plot

A young girl, Gul-e-Rana is struck with a bad luck to lose her loving father too soon. She is left with her mom and younger sister who start living at her Kamal uncle’s home. There she meets his wealth inherited son, Adeel.

Unlike his father Adeel’s views on women, how to treat them goes against every belief and equality for women rights Gul-e-Rana trust in. Once Adeel enters her life, all her dreams and goals now seem to be shattered for eternity.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – I would rate Feroze Khan’s performance higher than Sajal primarily because he took a very risky role of antagonist. The lead actors who often do protagonist roles, they usually reject those roles where they have to appear as villains. You see, if the role is too dark, the viewers would have very difficult time to like the actor who is performing it but also that afterwards, that actor might lose the image of being ‘Hero’ for the viewers and may start getting ‘Villain’ roles instead.

One should have guts to accept a role like that and performed magnificently. Over here, Feroze Khan proved it.

ii – The exceptional performances given by the two main lead actors i.e. Feroze Khan & Sajal Ali, they have performed to the core of their characters. Other Honorable Mentions: Saleem Mairaj, Sundas Tariq and Mehmood Akhtar.

iii – I was very pleased to know that Saleem Mairaj was part of the supportive cast. He is a wonderful actor and should be given much meatier roles of TV & films.

iv – The supportive role of Imran Ashraf was mild, not too over dramatic.

v – The story one of the main themes was the cruelty on women. It was really hard to watch. But this choice stands out due to daring move by the team of this drama series.

vi – The locations were chosen to shoot are very beautiful scenic especially of Muree.

vii – The theme music composed by Waqar Ali while all the lyrics written by Sabir Zafar and the opening theme song “Man Maane Na” is nicely composed.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The silent behavior of Gul-e-Rana was totally unacceptable the cruelty against her by Adeel. She could have done so many things including at least had complained to her mom or his dad who is very caring person to her. She does not say a single word on many occasions. Though she does give a very lame reason in the end but it does not carry any weight.

I would like to tell you the real reason why she did not complain to anyone of it. It is because if she did, this drama series would have ended so soon. It would not even reach to its 10th episode even. Now the producers cannot have that, can they?

ii – The supportive story of Ashar and his family is dull and boring. However, in the much later episodes due to some reason, his father becomes nice to him. From that moment on wards it does become interesting. However, it’s too late as the drama series is about to be over soon.

iii – I have noted that in last three drama series of Hum TV (Mann Mayal, Humsafar and Gul-e-Rana) there is always the inclusion of Karachi and Hyderabad. The people of Hyderabad are shown common, middle class and loving people whereas the people of Karachi (majority of them) are rich, higher status, mean and selfish.

iv – In all these three dramas that I mentioned above including of ARY recent drama ‘Beshahram’ and A Plus drama ‘Takkabur’, they all have one thing in common. The marriage is done forcefully. Um, don’t we have happy arranged or love marriages anymore?

 

 

 

+ Overall

Honestly, I am not fond of Gul-e-Rana’s finale. Yet, it is safe to admit that I am pleased that they avoided a cliché ending. Both the lead stars are really good actors who gave a mind-blowing chemistry to watch.

 

 

 

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Mere Samne Wali Khirki Mein (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Rom-Com theatre play, Mere Samne Wali Khirki Mein aka A Window in Front of Me (2016). It was performed at NAPA.

 

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Uzma Sabeen
  • Written by Babar Jamal

 

 

 

 

+ Note
Mere Samne Wali Khirki Mein is one the first comic plays by the dynamic duo of Uzma and Babar’s combined team works.

Uzma has completed her masters in English Literature after which she joined NAPA for direction. She has worked as a lighting designer for such esteemed directors and personally directed a number of hit plays for the Academic and commercial reasons. Uzma Sabeen is an award winner of Pakistan Media Award in 2013 for Best Theatre Category. Presently, she is actively involved with NAPA in teaching and management capacities. As for the writer, Babar at first began his theatre career as an actor. Over the years, he has written such plays ‘Men Adakara Banu Gee’, ‘Sau Din Chor Kay’ and ‘Jungle Men Mangle Bazaar’.

I have attended Erum’s several plays before whereas Ahmer and Owais were new to me for their on-stage performance. Mere Samne Wali Khirki Mein is a family entertainment play where most the audience were laughing & clapping so loudly as though we were attending a ‘Laughing Competition’ instead.

Mere Samne Wali Khirki Mein is my first review that I had written under the pen name of Mr. Khan.

 

 
+ Full Cast

  1. Erum Bashir as Sophie
  2. Owais Mubashir as Qutbuddin
  3. Ahmer Hussain as Tameezuddin

 

 

 

 

+ Plot
Two guys living and working in one flat of an apartment. Qutbuddin owns the business of a gossiping magazine Gup-Shup while Tameezuddin works for him. Sophie is the new neighbor which can be seen walking by from their window. Tameezuddin falls in love with Sophie at first sight but she doesn’t share his feelings for her.

 

 

+ High Points
i – Brilliant direction by our dear Uzma Sabeen. Its no wonder why the hall was jam packed with vast number of audiences attending, desperately waiting for the play to get started.

ii – Babar did a fantastic job in writing such a wonderful comic play. This play is filled horrendous amount of laughter and almost infinite number of hilarious punchlines. Its no wonder why people were laughing like crazies in the auditorium.

iii – Erum played as ‘Sophie’, as usual performed really well on stage. She is truly a ‘Star Light’ when she is in her performance (no matter a drama or a comic role). Mostly people eyes are usually fixed on her (young or old generation) when she is performing.
iv – Ahmer was the main comic relief character which he played as ‘Tameezuddin’. Watching his performance reminded me of a resemblance of NAPA’s former ‘Star Actor’ Saqib Khan. Other Honorable Mentions: Owais Mubashir.

v – Some daring, bold moves were kept concealed, only to be executed by the director when the time is right. This was the wild trump card, Uzma had hidden up in her sleeve.

vi – Owais played as ‘Qutbuddin’, is surprisingly the new comer to the theatre world. It was difficult to intake, since his firm confidence level and sudden daring exposure of being left in just a bath towel during the Live performance on stage had shocked many people.

vii – The designing of the set was well constructed with a lot of room of space provided for the performers to extend their level of blocking.

 

 

 

+ Low Points
i – The inclusion of vocal songs / musical performers during the play can further improve its quality.

ii – This play can be performed at least 10 – 15 minutes longer.

iii – Some improvement towards handling of lighting certainly needed.

 

 

+ Overall
Mere Samne Wali Khirki Mein is certainly one of best comic plays ever written and directed at NAPA.

 
Rate: 3.50 out of 5

 

Theatre Plays

Mr. Khan’s Review on Horan Deke Paas Karo (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Drama Comic theatre play, Horan Deke Paas Karo (2016). It was performed at NAPA.

 

 

 

+ Crew

  • Directed by Ir Omar
  • Written by Neil Simon

 

 

 

+ Note

Horan Deke Paas Karo is an earlier work of theatre actor, Ir Omar.

 

 

 

+ Full Cast

  1. Ahmer Hussain as Ali
  2. Haris Khan as Tipu
  3. Najma Kifayat as Soni
  4. Irma Ali as Rani
  5. Owais Mubbashir as Abba
  6. Naz as Amma

 

 

 
+ Plot

Tipu, a young lad who is fed up living with his parents. His father wants him to look after the plastic factory as his successor. But Tipu wants to fulfill his dreams, be with beautiful girls just like the macho man / his older brother Ali. But Ali is himself having problems with his girlfriend Rani who wants to settle down with him but he is not taking marriage into consideration.

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – The performances by everyone except Irma’s were greatly executed. Haris Khan was easily being judged as the best performer for this play. He showed everyone that he has the chops to do a brilliant performance. Haris Khan, you proved me right in front of my friends.

ii – As for Ahmer Hussain, it seems that he was born to do comical roles. Such a confidence level by this actor when he is performing; there is saying for him ‘Acting to os k nus, nus meh behri hai’ (Acting is filled deep into his veins). He is the ‘Akshay Kumar of the Stage’.

iii – The characters of Najma Kifayat and Owais Mubbashir were not as interesting as their performances. Both of them performed very well and due to their performance, the audience attention was magically fixed on them. Even as the play had ended and curtains were closing in, Owais refused to come out from his character.

iv – Naz is a wonderful actress and I must say she is gem of the new comers. It’s really hard to ignore those plays when she is performing in them. Although all the plays that I have attended of hers, she has played an older aged character. I personally refuse to believe that she is unable to play younger roles. I would prefer if in next upcoming plays she takes a role which is not only challenging for her but of a younger age character. I as well as the audience would be very interested to see her in a new kind of role.

v – The director did a good job in directing this play. With restricted comical moments, he still able to bring smiles and laughter on audience faces.

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – This play had light touch of humor. The comical performances especially by Haris Khan took this play towards the success otherwise there were hilarious moments in some parts of the play.

ii – It is a mystery for me whether Irma Ali is unlucky for getting dull roles or that she is an under performed actress.

iii – The character written of Owais Mubbashir could have improved; written it as interesting as Amma character played by Zarqa Naz. His character was too serious for a play like this.

iv – The set design was mild yet could be improvised as it did not look like a house of a bachelor and playboy type personality.

v – The transformation of Haris Khan did not create the level of interest as everyone was waiting for and was for short time only.

 

 
+ Overall

Horan Deke Paas Karo created such hype but did not meet its high expectations. Although, it is a good play but felt short of humor. Most of the characters were not as interesting as it promised it to be. The writing definitely needs improvisation while the performances by many were almost perfect.

 

 

Rate: 3.0 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Oye Kuch Kar Guzar (2016)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

A review on Pakistani Online Comedy feature length film, Oye Kuch Kar Guzar (2016). The Production House is Djuice Pakistan while its Distributor is iD creations.

 

 

+ Crew

  1. Written & Directed by Harris Rasheed
  2. Edited by Imran Mushtaq
  3. Music by Jamal Rahman
  4. Produced by Syed Zaheer Uddin and Emad Ishaq Khan

 

 

 

+ Note

Oye Kuch Kar Guzar is the first Pakistani online film. It consists of 5 episodes where every episode (except the last) has 2 options to select online for the next episode. It was released on YouTube on 3rd Dec 2016.

This film was shot in Kallar Kahar (Chakwal), Katas Fort, Haveli Sardar Jawala Singh Sandu Padhana (Lahore) and Lahore Railway Station.

 

 

 

 

+ Main Cast

  1. Ali Safina as Shamsher Iqbaldin / Sherry
  2. Uzair Jaswal as Junaid Hafeez Sarhadi / Jango
  3. Ushna Shah as Zara Hayat Khan (Xara)
  4. Mahjabeen Habib as Shabnam Mushtaq Chaudary

 

 

 

 

+ Plot

Two guys randomly meet two young females at their train cabinet, where a number of mishaps take place.

 

 

 

 

+ High Points

i – Well, this is new… to see an online film with option provided to the viewer of selecting which outcome to choose for the story to progress.

ii – Then the main characters can interact with the narrator throughout the film by breaking the fourth wall to help them to ease up the situations.

iii – It is a mix reaction by the audience regarding the time length of the film. It’s less than 120 minutes which I believe is good for this film.

iv – The film edited is by Imran Mushtaq, who has done a decent job for such type of film.

v – Ushna Shah is the only star, the viewer might remember in this film. The main reason is that she is the only well-known celebrity in the main cast.

 

 

 

 

+ Low Points

i – The film is rushed quickly towards the next scene where the writer / director hardly gave any importance in first establishing the emotional link of the main characters with the viewers.

ii – Since the film is comic thus the viewer hardly felt any fear of losing them or to find them in a conflicting situation; knowingly nothing serious would happen to them anyway. Basically, I just didn’t care.

iii – No song is worth listening.

iv – Nor anyone’s performance was enjoyable or pleasant to watch.

 

 

 

+ Overall

Other than great concept, a little is done with Oye Kuch Kar Guzar, adding yet another film to the pile of forgettable comedies.

 

 

 

Rate: 1.75 out of 5 stars

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Chupan Chupai (2017)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

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

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ 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

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ 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

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Na Band, Na Baraati (2018)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

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

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

+ 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

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

+ 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

 

Feature Length Films

Mr. Khan’s Review on Bin Roye (2015)

Mr. Khan's Reviews

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 2nd 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

 

 

xxxxxxx

 

 

+ 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

 

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