Some mini reviews

While thinking about the next post I realized that I don't need to go to the cinema and watch a film. There are several mini-reviews of films that I liked, loved or hated and before doing blogging on regular basis I used to write those as status updates.

And considering that a few of you have shown interest in these, therefore why not reshare with all of you right here. Here they are: Some of the reviews I wrote over the last few years. Enjoy. And do comment on the blog. Cheers.       :)

 

When New Year came 2 months earlier

Last night I had the utmost privilege to attend first day first show of the musical extravaganza which is called Happy New Year!!!!  I am still speechless. This was a movie where everything and everyone kept shining during the entire 180 minutes or so of its run time. 

But I'm digressing. Let's get some things in order:

• Happy New Year is NOT Ocean's Eleven or Twelve or whatever our dear Shaan Shahid has been calling it. Yes, it is a heist film but in reality it is much more than just that. For me, the movie in those 3 hours became so much more than just a story about a gang of thieves planning to steal some diamonds. It also contained love between father & son, an amazing lead pair in terms of SRK-Deepika Chemistry, some great supporting cast members and a lot of soul. 
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• These days, Hollywood has seen a revival of the musical genre as well. I remember a few years back when Glee came, suddenly every TV Show wanted to do a musical episode. Some of the latest movies like Step-up, Mamma Mia, Broadway plays like Hedwig etc have further strengthened the belief that if the script is well woven and songs or dance numbers don't act as roadblocks then these grand musical numbers are definitely justified. 

• If someone were to ask me what Happy New Year really is all about I would have to say its a movie which celebrates music and dance. And that was obvious considering the fact that Farah Khan was sitting at the Director's seat and was finally fulfilling her dream of making a film which unabashedly expresses its love for music and dance. 
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• From the first scene to the last one, every single minute has been so well executed that all you can do is stare and the big screen and be dumbfounded. The scale on which HNY has been mounted is breathtaking. The location of Atlantis Dubai, the arena where SRK fights and even the dance bar of Deepika has all been designed and crafted with utmost sincerity and conviction so that the viewer doesn't feel cheated. 

• The script is the king. That is what I have always heard and remembered. HNY boasts of a very ordinary script which has been converted into an extraordinary screenplay. The lengths to which the team has gone to cover up all the loopholes tells me that there was a master storyteller hiding inside Farah Khan who has finally come out of her shell.  
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• Instead of spoiling the movie for everyone I would like to mention some things which were very well planned and scripted. The fact that HNY stars 6 leading cast members itself is amazing. And when the team decides to give every single person in the cast gigantic roles, larger than life emotions then all you can do is clap and whistle. 
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• It would be unwise to end a movie review without discussing SRK. One thing which kept coming back to my mind was the fact that SRK has finally grown up. He realizes that as producer of a film not every scene needs to be about him, but when he does come on screen then every eye in the auditorium HAS to be on him and him alone. Hopefully, this will continue for his future ventures as well. 

• Do go and watch Happy New Year (i.e. if you are lucky enough to get tickets) but this one is surely a film to be seen on the big screen. FULL PAISA VASOOL.  

Na Maloom Afraad: They came, they saw and they pretty much conquered

So its been more than a year since my last post (just in case anyone of you actually is reading). Thankfully the lack of posts was not due to scarce activity on the local cinema front but it was rather my lazy attitude, coupled with a few personal and professional changes that kept me a bit pre-occupied. Yet I have not lost touch with the happening events in our budding film industry.

Before coming to my main topic, I would first like to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to a few amazing, understated and well conceived feature films released by Pakistani film-makers over the last year since Waar happened. Tammana, The System, Dukhtar and a few others were all a step or maybe even several steps forward towards a level where our makers can release at least 50-60 films every year and make significant money on them as well. I feel extremely proud of everyone who is doing their tiniest bit to revive the local films. We will continue to make mistakes but soon there will come a project which will not only outshine others but will surpass all expectations.

This aptly brings me to the main topic at hand. Na Maloom Afraad!!!! The first time when I heard this title I was instantly intrigued. Here was a movie which was being made by people belonging to the creative advertising agencies, all based in Karachi and they were calling it NMA. I was hooked. And then came out the first trailer and the social media went nuts over it. People started sharing and re-sharing the 2 minute trailer because for the first time since Khuda Ke Liye, Bol and Waar here was a local film that boasted of international quality filmmaking, yet had songs, was a funny and thoughtful piece of cinema and was being shot using brilliant camerawork and set designs. I knew in my gut that NMA will become a game changer and thank god I turned out correct. 

Today the film has almost crossed the first week business done by O21 (which not to forget stars Shaan) and has surpassed Bang Bang collections by a wide margin. Moreover, next weekend shows of the movie are already houseful in several cinemas of Karachi so much so that 3 people in my office have tried to get movie tickets but they were unsuccessful. So clearly from box office point of view NMA is already a winner. 

Instead of actually dissecting the pros and cons of the movie (something that an actual film critic would do so much better than I ever will) I would just like to focus on a few things that the team of NMA did which created this magic on the screen and set the cash registers burning. 

The first thing NMA did was create a kickass trailer. Its said that "Agar picture ke trailer mein jaan ho tou picture mein definitely jaan hoti hai". NMA's trailer offered something for everyone. It had the rib-tickling humor, the glimpse of Mehwish Hayat's hot jhutkas, a beautiful Urwa, and obviously my dear city Karachi which was portrayed in such an amazing and captivating manner that made burning cars and torched buildings a treat for the social media junkie to savor. So the hook had been created. And this was less than 6 months back from today.

Next, the team of NMA put sincere amount of planning and scheduling into the process of making a feature length film. This shows from the fact that NMA is the sole film of recent times which was not only announced in 2014, but it released its first trailer within the same year, launched an extensive marketing plan for the screening and eventually was put on air right on the date committed at the beginning. There were no delays, no mishaps, no tantrums and ironically "no halaat karab hogaye hain rona" made by the makers. They promised fans a movie before the year ended and they knew that the fans will eventually forget their kickass trailer unless they time the release of NMA well in advance. 

A film is meant for big screen. This means that using smaller cameras, tiny sets or cheap costumes can and will cut costs but it will lead to the film being labelled as a tele-film instead of a full length feature. NMA team (Nabeel and Fizza) knew all this and they mounted it on a grand scale, showcasing Karachi's best locales using high definition cameras and combining it with sets that portrayed a true picture of small houses and yet when they went big they went "Mout ka Kouan" (Well of Death???)  big and trust me Mehwish Hayat truly deserved such a grand setting for Billi. 

Amir Khan is touted in Bollywood as a marketing genius but in our case I would crown Fizza, Nabeel, Fahad and Mohsin with the same title or at least something in kind. The team of NMA did something very pragmatic: they produced an above average product but they marketed it in a spectacular manner. The distinctive poster designs, the burnt car placed in cinemas, the media overload on Facebook, Hum, 8XM, radio channels etc..... the BTL activations in places like Iqra and CBM did wonders in producing positive word of mouth for NMA. Infact ever since the film has released and gotten huge acceptance by Pakistani "awaam" the marketing of NMA has been notched up even further. Using gimmicks like more University visits, special screenings, co-branding has helped the team of NMA ensure a successful 2nd week run at the box office in Pakistan.     

   

Last but not the least I am an ardent believer of one thing. And I really can't put it better than Vidya Balan herself. "Filmein sirf teen cheezon ki wajah se chalti hain Entertainment, Entertainment aur SIRF Entertainment." (Films work only because of 3 things: Entertainment, Entertainment and ONLY Entertainment). NMA thankfully had oodles of it. Instead of tackling a social issue, or terrorism or even a love between mother and daughter NMA went all bonkers and used the best bits of Bollywood humor which maybe crass and silly but it sure is entertaining as anything, combined it with local flavor, took on board a brilliant cast of seasoned and new actors, created some amazing musical numbers and voila!!! The stage was set for a hit. At last producers in Pakistan have realized or they should now realize that audiences will not only come if you try a "hatke" or a "socially relevant" venture. What this industry needs right now is business and business will come from single screens, from small towns and villages where people still like to watch Maula Jatt or Chennai Express or even Dirty Picture. Combining sensible cinema with the right amount of commercialism may just be the key which will make our films reach out to a wider audience all over the world. 

Therefore, I would just like to reiterate the fact that if any of you (here "you" means anyone who is actually reading this stuff since I doubt people are actually interested in my humble ravings) has still not gone and invested your 300 or 500 rupees in either NMA or O21 I would tell you to please not wait any longer and go for NMA. Watch it, criticize it, love it or hate it but give our budding film-makers a chance so that one day you can proudly say that YES, Pakistan has a film industry and we CAN and we do produce content which is comparable to any global standards. 

IMHO the future of Pakistani films is going to be bright and dazzling.  

The enigma behind WAAR

I think we first heard the name of Waar long time back. It was somewhere in 2010 that the media picked up a news story regarding the making of a Lollywood movie with international standards. At that time its claim to fame for was that it was the first Pakistani movie being made under the banner of Warner Brothers. This truly excited me and just like everyone I also started anticipating its release with bated breath.

As time went by there was a trickle of information regarding the project and slowly and gradually the movie became bigger and bigger. The Likes of Meesha Shafi, Ali Azmat among others only added fire to the excitement. Expectations were very high for the movie since it was being directed by a guy who had worked on the mega-hit Khuda Ke Liye with Shoaib Mansoor himself i.e. Bilal Lashari. 

By this time we had entered into the late 2011 and Bol had been declared a hit at the local Box Office. In November of the same year the first teaser of the film was launched with much fanfare on Youtube and it went onto cross more than 1 million views within a week. Media hype again picked up for the movie and it was expected that within a month or two the movie would be released all over cinemas. 

Sadly, the viewers still had a long time to wait. As 2012 began reports started pouring in that the director was not happy with the Final cut of the movie and wanted to re-shoot major portions all over again. This being Pakistan people simply thought the movie had been shelved and will not see the light of the day. By this time my fervor and enthusiasm for the movie had pretty much dissipated. 

A movie starring Shaan in the lead role and that too in a role that was being touted as one of the best getting delayed every few months was not a good sign. 2012 was an extremely bad year for the local film industry as no Urdu film was released in the entire year. Had Waar been released at that opportune time its makers would have reaped maximum benefits? 

2013 started on a positive note for the industry with ARY stepping in as a major film distributor. Waar is now all over the news again. Its trailer can be seen on several channels and cinemas across Pakistan with a "Coming Soon" subtitle. After 4 long years it seems that the movie may finally see the light of day but nothing is guaranteed as yet. Just a few days back Mr. Lashari himself posted that after watching the Final cut during a screening all he wanted to do was to re-shoot the movie all over again. This attitude of a film maker tells me that he is making films either to pass time or just to prove a point. Cinema is not perfect and no single movie can be declared perfect. It should be the responsibility of a film maker to do best under the circumstances and then leave the final verdict to the audience.

Here is hoping Waar actually manages to get released this year because I distinctly fear that if this does not happen it will be a final nail in the coffin. Cine-goers all across Pakistan are super excited and they should be given a chance to enjoy this magnum opus before its expiry date. 

Zinda Bhaag: A Tale of 1 city and 3 boys

4 years. Whew. That is a long time since I last wrote here. Now you might be thinking what prompted me to venture into the "precarious" world of blogging all over again. Simply put cinema and that too Pakistani Cinema. The year 2013 has seen a significant number of quality films being produced locally and this brings me to the task at hand. 

When I first heard the name of Zinda Bhaag (and this was way back I think late 2011 or early 2012) I felt excited. Not only was the title an instant hook but it also raised humongous number of questions. The first one being "Pakistan se Zinda Bhaag?" Having seen the movie just two days back I started thinking how apt the title really is. Yes, the story does revolve around three very normal, average looking guys who are essentially trying to run away from their native homeland but then as Mr. Naseeruddin Shah rightly points out "Qismat se Ziada nahi aur Waqt se pehle nahi." Now the focal word here is "Bhaag or Qismat." This I felt was why the movie was captioned to perfection.

But I am digressing. Let me now start officially with my review of the movie. The movie as everyone in Pakistan knows stars Naseeruddin Shah, Amna Ilyas and three newcomers Khurram Patras, Salman Ahmad Khan and Zohaib in pivotal roles. The story revolves around the three guys and their day to day trials. Circumstances compel them to keep finding legal and in most cases illegal means to escape from Pakistan. In the meantime they find some moments to relish new love, get thrashed by parents and be munchkins to the Mafia.

The film celebrates many things but the thing it celebrates the best is LAHORE. It is truly a movie that showcases the real Lahore to everyone. You can see the old station, the dhabbas, the winding roads and of course the language. Even though I can speak only Urdu and English I was able to comprehend almost all of the film's Punjabi or should I say Lahori content. That maybe due to the fact that the filmmakers have intentionally made the language viewer friendly and this certainly deserves an applause. The overall mood of the film gels in wonderfully with the mood of the city. For instance a scene depicting the rise and fall of a young man who was a genius at playing "flash" showcases a dark alley with just the right amount of lighting. I must say the Cinematography and the Editing of the overall film is superb. The scenes flow flawlessly and are intertwined within the narrative in such a way that the audience never confuses the past with the present. One more Lahori thing that the movie celebrates is Lollywood. And this it does with pure elegance. The return to Paani Ka Bulbula, song and dance sequences, the witty one liners are all there. And the best bit about it all is that this being an independent film has actually told modern Pakistani filmmakers (who love to blame Lollywood for all their woes) that one can use the heritage and mould it to suit the narrative so justifiably.

That does not mean the film is flawless. To be very frank the two characters who feel being pushed over and above their usage were those played by Amna Ilyas and Naseeruddin Shah. Amna is definitely a looker but her character was secondary to the storyline and even though she sure has acting chops but one feels that had the marketing of the film been less centered around her there would have been lower expectations. Mr. Shah is great to watch but his scenes are too similar and too many. After watching the film one friend of mine said that had the role been given to someone less popular like Firdous Jamal the number of scenes would have been way low. Moreover, the finale comes as a surprise and maybe too subtle for local cine-goers to appreciate.    

Best part of the entire movie are the 3 newcomers. Khurram, Salman and Zohaib are so good that after a while you forget they are complete novices. The filmmakers' decision to have 3 ordinary people play these roles was truly a brave one and it seems to have paid off in spades. Out of the 3 I feel Zohaib has the most charismatic screen presence but the other two have far higher acting capabilities. I truly hope all of them have successful careers in media.

A review of Pakistani film cannot be written if one does not mention the music and Zinda Bhaag's music truly deserves an appreciative listening. There are seven tracks in the album and music composer Sahir Ali Bagga has done a tremendous job. Noteworthy mentions are Rahat Fatheh Ali Khan's Qawwali "Pata Yaar Da" and Arif Lofar & Saleem Jawad's "Paar Chana." The best part about the music is that baring a song or two all the remaining ones have been wonderfully woven into the script.  

If Pakistani cinema is really going to try and rise then Zinda Bhaag is a movie that can teach the filmmakers some very fine lessons. The movie is built on a sensible budget and I feel its a given that it will prove a massive success at the Box Office. Sadly the same cannot be said for another recently released local movie "Main Hoon Shahid Afridi." 

If "Saving Faces" had to win an Oscar just to pave the way for "Zinda Bhaag" then I completely accept its win. Now lets bring a true Lahori Oscar home.

The New Wave

So today I thought why not try to disect the Bollywood industry especially of the recent times. At one end there are some great movies like A Wednesday, Page 3, Corporate, Fashion,
Rock On and some very differnt upcoming films like Delhi 6, Dev D, Luck by Chance among others.

You'll notice that most of these films are made by same directors but all are very differnt from each other and certainly are completely differnt from the usual masala fare that the industry churns out most of the time.

Does this mean that Bollywood is finally changing? Does it mean that the days of Shahrukh Khan swinging by the trees with sari clad heroines is finally over?

Not really. You can still see Mr. SRK aka King Khan doing the same thing in his recent movie Rab ne Bana Di jodi. Also the upcoming Billu Barber is following the same path with SRK hoping to remain young for some more years so that he can completely go naked one day and copete with the likes of newcomers like Farhan Akhtar and Ranbir Kapoor.

Moreover I recently saw the much hyped Ghajini (whcih by the way is being shown all over in Pakistan in cinemas) and seriously I finally was able to capture what is wrong with the industry. The people still believe in the maxim of "masala, action, nudity, cheap songs and some tears."

If the industry and the attitude of the audience was really changing how come Ghajini has become the biggest hit in India.

So you see my point? Just because a few small films are getting noticed these days it does not mean that the days of latka jhatka are over. Small films with strong messages were always there (remember Mother India). It will take another decade or so for the industry to finally get rid of this trend because the new breed of directors like Madhur Bhandharkar, Zoya Akhtar alongwith actors like Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar are certainly not the kind who would follow Aamir, Salman or even Shahrukh for stardom.

I hope I am able to witness the day the change arrives.

And The Winner Is.........

Since I am someone who is extremely interested in music, film and literature so it goes without saying that the award season is something I look forward to a lot.

Recently I saw the Golden Globe Awards where "Slumdog Millionare" swept up everything while the television industry was ruled by HBO. All I can think at this point is the fact that usually these award shows end up being biased towards certain things more than others. For instance let's take the case of Slumdog, it might be a great film but that doesn't mean its great in all different aspects. Moreover due to this reason many great films like the amazing "Benjamin Button" get ignored.

On the other hand there are the Oscars. But here also currently I see lots of monopoly or rather Oligopoly of three film including:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 13 nominations
Slumdog Millionare 10 nominations
Milk 8 nominations

So again I forse a rather one-sided approach. In my opinion such practices end up tarnishing the overall image of Hollywood.

What do you think?