Robin Williams- when I hear that name I think of my childhood. Watching Robin portray amazing characters like in the filmJack, a young soul trapped in an old man’s body or being stuck in a board game in the movieJumanji.
When you watched him on the screen, it did not feel like you were watching a comedy legend, it felt like you were watching a kid, just like yourself, going through these extraordinary obstacles. He was never an old man trying to act young in a family comedy film, like most of the actors you see nowadays. He owned every character he played.
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When I got to my teens, I discovered the world of stand up comedy. A hall full of people, one microphone and a person comes on stage and makes people laugh for an hour. It was the Holy Grail for a teenage class clown and I would ask myself,
“Would people actually pay to come, sit and watch one person tell them jokes?”
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During my journey into the stand up comedy scene, I came across greats like George Carlin, whose act was socio-politically charged, Jerry Seinfeld, whose observation about the most mundane things in life was so detailed that it was utter genius and then I saw ‘Jack’, my childhood buddy from the big screen, Robin Williams perform stand up comedy. He was sensational; his energy and stage presence, characters within an act, delivery of the jokes and the filthiness were all amazing to watch. I couldn’t believe I was watching this feel-good-family-film actor joke,
“Cocaine is God’s way of saying, ‘you are making too much money’.”
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Then I went to college and learnt the art of improvisational comedy in a course. It was the most satisfying form of performance art for me, so I decided to learn more about it and start performing.
During my years of performing Urdu and English improvisation on television and theatre, I realised that my current comedy heroes like Will Ferell and Conan O’ Brian were both great improvisers. But not only that, I saw Robin Williams star in the American television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? as a guest improviser and he owned it! He dominated the entire episode with great laughter from his performance. It was amazing!
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Reuters[/caption]
The point I am trying to make here is that as a performer, I grew with Robin Williams by my side the entire time. Every stage of life I went into, Robin was there greeting me and showing me how versatile an artist can be. He was not just the best stand up, improviser and comedian, but he could also do an Oscar winning performance in a drama film like Good Will Hunting just to show you how vast his widen his scope.
The last hallmark of my journey with Robin Williams was when I saw him in New York, where he performed and spoke about his life. It was unreal to see him up-close; I remember being so nervous that it was embarrassing.
I couldn’t help it – that is the affect a legend has on you; someone who brought happiness to so many people for so long.
I guess it’s like Robin said,
“Death is nature’s way of saying, ‘your table is ready’.”
Imagine being paraded in a procession of singing men and women on a high slab with nothing on your body except neem leaves as soon as you hit puberty, and being ‘deflowered’ when you don’t even know the reality of what just happened to you.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="595"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Catherine Rubin Kermorgant, taken from official website of the author.[/caption]
Imagine being dedicated to a temple at the age of six years and wearing a beaded necklace for the rest of your life. Imagine being a mother of two at the age of 15 (or even less). Imagine never being able to marry because:
“You’re attached to the temple for the holy duty you have been assigned.”
Imagine a life of a forced sex worker, of poverty, of never being able to provide for your kids. And imagine all this while being (or called) an ‘untouchable’.
Servants of the Goddess is Catherine Rubin Kermorgant’s debut book which came out in February, 2014. It describes the lives and sufferings of modern devadasis in a small village in India.
Kermorgant, in her book ‘Servants of the Goddess’ states that, after conducting research, in Paris, about the life of a devadasis, she set out for a small village called Kalyana in India in order to learn more about truths and myths regarding the devadasi system in India. She may also make a documentary sponsored by BBC on her findings. Along with her interpreter, Vani, Catherine learns about the heart-wrenching tales of devadasis; their stories of being dedicated by their families against their will and when they did not even have any knowledge of why they were being ‘beaded’ at a certain age.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Catherine Rubin Kermorgant, taken from official website of the author.[/caption]
Etymologically, devadasisare courtesans or dancing girls attached to temples. However, the public more or less calls them prostitutes as they are bound by this profession to grant such favours to the visitors of the temple (or anyone else for that matter) in return for money. And hence, it becomes a thread of survival for them. These devadasis are mostly untouchables dedicated to the temple at very young age (mostly before puberty) by their family and live their whole life providing sexual services in the name of religion.
The more Catherine comes closer to devadasis of Kalyana, the more she realises the misery of these women: there’s poverty, kids at a very young age and never being able to marry (they can take a ‘Jhoolva’ husband who may or may not decide to leave them after actually getting married). They also have to earn money to support their whole family, even bearing the responsibility of marrying off their brothers. So it hardly comes as a surprise to Catherine when she learns that devadasis mostly die young, in their fifties at maximum, by either committing suicide or living the latter part of their lives as alcoholics or becoming severely depressed.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Catherine Rubin Kermorgant, taken from official website of the author.[/caption]
The book is divided into three parts: the first part discloses Catherine’s field research where she develops life-long bonds of friendship and love with the devadasis of Kalyana, reassuring them that she would share their story of oppression and destitution with the world. The second part of the book portrays her journey back to Kalyana along with her film team and the co-director, Dillip, a pretentious high caste Brahman Hindu who is of the opinion that devadasi system is more of an old Indian cultural tradition than exploitation of poor women. He is adamant on emphasising upon the pros of the system, such as financial stability etcetera. She is all set to document the lives of young devadasis in the hope that it might bring a positive change in their lives by being noticed internationally.
Moreover, the second part of the book also pours light on the caste and class differences, where Catherine experiences first-hand the treatment of low caste, untouchables, by the high caste film crew. It is almost astonishing for the author to witness such cruel treatment of one human being by another just because one was born in a less fortunate household than the other.
The last part of the book, I think, is basically why Catherine decided to write a book in the first place. Although the devadasis had been filmed for weeks in their village and made to tell their woeful stories in front of strangers, Dillip was resolute on showing devadasis in the light of nothing but a glamorous culture of Hindu religion.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Catherine Rubin Kermorgant, taken from official website of the author.[/caption]
The way Catherine describes her experiences with class differences, are shocking for her but not so much for either her film crew (the upper caste Hindus) or the devadasis (untouchables) of the village. This only made me realise how we, too, have categorised, either consciously or unconsciously, ourselves into classes on the basis of religion, language and ethnicities, and are consistently persecuting their rights only to make ourselves feel secure.
For our part of the world, where young women are sexually abused frequently or are economically forced to provide sexual services, the book is even more relatable. It reminds you of how, after all those years of partition, we lag behind in empowering women. A certain class of women can rise as high as becoming the premier of a nation, while the poor women continue to be exploited to the core, without a voice.
One has to read the book to know whether Catherine wins her battle of truthfully depicting the lives of devadasis or Dillip succeeds in manipulating the producer in changing the whole story of the film. The author has nevertheless kept the reader fascinated and captivated throughout the book; one laughs when the girls of goddess laugh and cries at the injustices that engulf their daily lives. The book might be based in an Indian village but it hits home every time.
Average rating: 4/5
French writer cum director Luc Besson, whose work includes The Fifth Element, The Lady, The Professional, La Femme Nikita and Taken, is back to captivate the moviegoers with a high-concept hypothetical thriller – Lucy. It is a compelling hybrid, graced by volatility and lots of violence, intermingled by surreal bedlam that will challenge you intellectually.
The creative inspiration of Lucy is based on a philosophical point of view that humans use merely 10 percent of their brain capacity, and if someone unlocks the rest of this cerebral capability, they will ultimately develop superpowers.
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Lucy is a story of an American woman, Lucy, played by Scarlett Johansson, studying in Taiwan, who is forced to be a drug mule in Taipei for a drug smuggler, Choi Min-sik. A small bag of the crystalline drug CPH4 is surgically implanted into her abdomen, but the bag ruptures and the drug spreads in to her bloodstream. As a result, she develops implausible superhuman mental abilities.
The rest of the plot involves Lucy’s revenge, her struggle with her superpowers and the help of a renowned neuroscientist professor Samuel Norman, played by Morgan Freeman, who convinces her to transfer her cerebral capability on to a computer.
Sounds quiet familiar?
Yes, the central idea would remind you of Johnny Depp’s Transcendence and A Space Odyssey.
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Doesn’t the story of Lucy progress and end similar to the movie Transcendence? Let’s leave these questions for you to find out. Here, I will only add the ending narration which says,
“Life has been given to us a billion years ago, now you know what to do with it.”
Luc Besson’s Lucy is a bizarre story with lots of fierce fighting scenes, nonsensical car stunts and abundance of odd metaphors. The sci-fi features are artistically presented, for instance, the surreal images of Times Square, New York City, from modern times to history and from prehistory to the instigation of time are marvellously highlighted.
However, the same degree of care is not applied to other significant things, such as justification for her capability to learn several languages and the logic behind her spontaneous changing physical appearances. The screenplay also fluctuates a lot and lacks consequential reasoning in script, for example the philosophical narrations of the movie say,
“Time, it is not only a unit of measurement, without time we do not exist.”
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Besson’s leading ladies always personified femininity as well as the strength of a woman. Johansson is an astounding combination of both these qualities for which Besson selected her. Lucy is Johansson’s third sci-fi in a row. First she voiced the role of the operating system, Samantha, in Her and then inUnder the Skin as a mysterious alien.
Her charisma is captivating as a leading lady’s should be. Her character shines particularly as a naïve girl caught in dreadful circumstances and petrified during the drug leakage in her bloodstream before changing into the shrewd, more or less robotic sort of a stranger. Johansson is proving herself to be a remarkable choice for action movies.
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The unfailing Morgan Freeman plays, more or less, the same limited character as he did in Transcendence. His acting skills are quite wasted in both films. The only positive thing is his convincing tone which provides some credibility to the scientific research on which the Lucy’s anecdote is based.
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Overall, Lucy is an exhilarating 90 minutes journey for those spectators who love to enjoy fast-paced, action thrillers based on outlandish subjects with lots of special effects – dangerously low on rationalisation.
On the contrary, Lucy is not made for serious moviegoers; it doesn’t make any logical connotation and lacks intriguing ideas like Transcendence had in favour of artificial intelligence. So, for a Transcendence admirer, Lucy is an absolutely tasteless dessert.
There has to be something about a movie where a Pakistani audience sits silently in cinemas, where mobile texting and chatting during a movie is the norm otherwise, and watch two lead characters dominate the story in a single location for 83 minutes. Billed as Pakistan’s first ‘Film Noir’, Tamanna is definitely in a league of its own in the context of Pakistani cinema. Prominent film critic Taran Adarsh raised an important point upon release of the film Barfi!,
“You don’t formulate movies (like Barfi!) targeting its box-office potential or its commercial prospects. You create such films for its passion of cinema.”
This statement applies to Tamanna as well; which takes several brave strides. It fulfils what it sets out to do and keeps you hooked and guessing all the while.
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Based on a well-known Anthony Shaffer play, Sleuth, the film incorporates elements of dark humour, melodrama, crime, passion and revenge. This is the fourth adaption of the play on screen, the first one starring Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine in 1972, followed by a remake starring Michael Caine and Jude Law in 2007 and a made-for-TV West Bengali adaptation.
The film’s hero is Rizwan Ahmed (Omair Rana), a struggling actor who meets Mian Tariq Ali (Salman Shahid), a relic of the once-thriving film industry. The struggling actor, Rizwan, is there to convince Ali to divorce his wife, played by Mehreen Raheal. A contest of male dominance between the two men ensues; starting quite reasonably, playfully even, but eventually turning angry and violent.
Director Steven Moore has made a mature and evenly paced film, detailed with layers. The film keeps you interested, attentive and anxious to learn about what will unfold. While most thrillers only work well if someone gets caught, here, the story sails through even after you have figured it all out. I especially enjoyed the scene with the police character, Faisal Khan; the director made clever use of a load-shedding blackout to conceal the policeman’s identity and build the anticipation. Also, the viewer needs to savour Salman Shahid and Omair Rana’s brilliant performances; one of the strengths of the movie.
Another important aspect of the film is the stunning cinematography, complimented by the film’s original background score and songs by local artists.
The second half of the film relaxes, where it could be tauter. One grouse would be that the sub-plots in the story are likely to test your patience at some points, as the narrative deviates from the pure treatment, with a lot of twists and turns. However, thankfully, ‘Tamanna’ doesn’t come unhinged. The first rate performances, especially of Salman Shahid, under Moore’s direction, help steer it to shore.
What does ‘Tamanna’ mean for new Pakistani cinema?
Content is king in movies, where a new age of realism and portrayal of reality onscreen has become a common film-making practice, as opposed to showing a larger than life drama. The set formula used earlier, of a big star cast, exotic locations and song and dance, is at risk of falling flat without a solid script and concept. The internet generation is becoming more aware of world cinema and content quality.
In terms of cinema, one must distinguish between ‘popular’ and ‘important’. Popular, or mainstream, cinema means remaining within the expectation of the audience and the dominant ideology of society from which it arises. Whereas ‘important’ refers to cinema with ideas that are not yet fully realised or discussed, or are generally under-represented by the mainstream. In the conventional sense, these films were considered ‘Art Cinema’ or ‘Parallel Cinema’. This means that these films are intelligent and they are meant for a niche audience (read: poor box office).
This no longer applies, as we see how Indian commercial cinema (in spite of mainstream Bollywood) has taken a different route of late, entertaining its viewers with the blend of auteur and new age cinematic realism.
This is evident from the selection of ‘Barfi’ for an Oscar consideration or the official selection of ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ at Cannes. With directors, such as Anurag Kashyap, Madhur Bhandrakar, Dibakar Banerjee, Vishal Bhadwaraj, Imtiaz Ali, Nagesh Kuknoor, Santosh Sivan and Srijit Mukherjee amongst others, and their individualistic approaches, it is clear that Indian cinema now takes the art more seriously.
With all the talk of the revival of Pakistani cinema, or a new age of film emerging, are we going straight to this situation of having both the commercial and art cinema, not wasting time catching up like the Indian cinema did over 20 or 30 years? Time will tell. ButTamanna, with its postmodern stance towards style, is certainly a step in the right direction.
When you think of movies under the Sanjay Leela Bhansali banner, you think of epic romances, of the colours blue, grey, and black, of love and passion, and women dancing in the most extravagant of lehngas.
But the last thing you would expect from a Bhansali movie is a story about a young girl trying her luck in the patriarchal field of sports. This is why the movie Mary Kom was pleasantly surprising.
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But Mary Kom coming from a big production house is not why I liked it. I liked it because of the following reasons:
1) It is a biopic. This kind of cinema is really inspirational and it gives the masses something to watch other than the mainstream Bollywood love stories, family drama and masala.
2) The protagonist is a female and this just goes to show that Indian movies have come a long way and have matured in terms of gender equality and giving a voice to the female population.
3) Despite it being an Indian movie, it’s not completely ‘Indian’. They have not tried to ‘Indianise’ the movie and have done justice to the local language, culture and mannerisms of the people of Manipur. Although Manipur is a part of India, it is very different from mainstream India which we always come across in movies.
All the actors seem to be of Manipuri origin, except for Priyanka Chopra of course, and this makes the story seem original and believable. They have also highlighted the discrimination the people of Manipur face at the hands of Central Indians.
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4) Priyanka Chopra. I don’t think this movie would’ve created such an impact without Priyanka’s award worthy acting. Though at first I was a bit sceptical because she signifies beauty and glamour, whereas the real Mary Kom is simple and athletic, but the filmmakers did a great job with Priyanka’s costumes and make up. They also made her skin look like that of the people of Manipuri. But apart from her appearance, Priyanka became Mary Kom in a way that nobody probably expected her to be. Her performance was very powerful and any young girl striving to achieve her dreams would be able to relate to her.
Perhaps the best thing about Mary Kom is that it narrates not only the story of MC Mary Kom, the boxer, but also gives us an idea of the thousands of girls living in male-dominated societies that are too conservative and too rigid to let them follow their dreams.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Mary Kom. Photo: Mary Kom official Facebook page[/caption]
While watching the movie, I thought of Maria Toorpakai from Waziristan, Pakistan, who had to disguise herself as a boy just so that she could play the sport she loved. After winning competitions, she received threats and so had to practice in her room but continued to pursue her ambition without giving up in the face of adversity.
There are an innumerable amount of girls who do not get to do what they love just because their family, culture, society and religion say it’s not ‘appropriate’.
This makes you think, because of backwardness, of how much talent Pakistan has lost? Our youth has a lot of potential but it is being wasted because we don’t have proper channels to nurture it, groom the talent and allow it to grow. Instead we suffocate it and keep it buried in our backyard and, in the case of girls, in our kitchens.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Mary Kom official Facebook page[/caption]
Even though Mary Komdidn’t do so well at the box office, I am glad that Bollywood made this movie and hopefully, one day, Pakistan will also make movies about inspiring people like Maria Toorpakai and others who struggled but made it, with no help from their country or society.
Maybe such a movie won’t be allowed to screen in Pakistan, the same way Mary Kom has not been allowed to screen in Manipur, but when has banning something ever stopped people from seeing it? People will watch it, nonetheless, and it might help in fixing certain distorted, unfair perspectives. This film will help people open up their minds a little, and make them understand the importance of coming out of their shell of bigotry and valuing talent irrespective of gender.
Jutt and Bond was where most of us first saw Fawad Afzal Khan. He was a skinny, lanky, clean shaven guy with bangs. Soon after, we were surprised to see him as the lead singer of Entity Paradigm (EP), a Pakistani nu metal band, with his husky, soulful voice and that pained musician look. That was when we, the female population of Pakistan, said to one another,
“Hey, this guy’s not bad looking.”
But little did we know that he would soon be making waves and creating magic on TV and the big screen. By frequently featuring in commercials, a few songs and TV serials here and there, Fawad was slowly climbing the ladder of fame. His first film, Khuda Kay Liye, earned him critical acclaim for his role of a confused young man who falls into the claws of religious fundamentalists.
Then one fine day in 2011, Fawad became Asher Hussain. That was when girls in Pakistan, and many older women too, kind of lost it. Then it was all Asher this and Asher that. Fawad not only played this character, in the TV serial Humsafar, he became the character.
He was a compassionate, arrogant, loyal and absolutely beautiful man who loved his wife to the core. He befitted the definition of a ‘perfect man’ and we fell head-over-heels at every word he uttered from that gorgeously crooked mouth.
Our love for Fawad followed to his next romantic drama, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, where again he played a stubborn, soulful and heart-meltingly adorable guy who is just the right amount of romantic.
When the news of this hunk starring in a Bollywood movie reached our ears, our reaction was,
“Woah”
And that word or no words perhaps, will be good enough to describe the exhilaration we feel over Fawad crossing the border and acting in a movie that is surely a blockbuster and is giving him the global fame he surely deserves.
Why? Well, of course, because this man is undeniably beautiful! But that’s not all.
Here are 10 reasons why I think Fawad is so unquestionably yummy:
1. His eyes
That piercing look he gives you – that could just make you cry... with joy.
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2. His music
The way he plays the guitar and sings like his life depended on it. *melting*
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3. His boy-next-door smile
The way he looks down shyly, right before he looks up at you and flashes that dreamy smile.
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4. The way he blinks
I bet you never thought blinking could look so seductive, did you? Well, look for yourself!
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5. The ideal son-in-law
He is the perfect guy to take home to your parents; with his honest, believable face and that ‘I’d do anything for you’ demeanour, I guarantee he would have your family bewitched. Yup, he’d totally burn his hand with hot chai to keep you safe.
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6. That stubble!
OMG! OMG! OMG! That beard of his! How can facial hair look so incredibly stunning?
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7. That swagger
How he puts the entire screen on fire the minute he enters. Did I mention the suave beard?
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8. The throaty chuckle
The way he squints his eyes, breaks into a dashing smile and surprises you further with a hearty chuckle. Yup, we’re dying.
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9. What he wears
Whether he wears a suit, a waistcoat or a sherwani, he always looks dapper as hell, with impeccably styled hair. Though I still prefer him in a sherwani. Yup, anyday.
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10.His modesty
Though he’s taken over social media, and the hearts of all the girls in both Pakistan and India, Fawad remains humble and blushes every time he is praised. It’s adorable!
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So, now you know why we’re hopelessly, helplessly and irrevocably smitten by him and his Greek god looks. Girls are dying to just be in the same room as him and boys (0bviously) want to be him. All of us counted the hours, minutes and seconds for his new movie... just to be able to look at him some more.
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After watching Khoobsurat, first day first show, I reacted to it, just as all the women in the cinema hall reacted to it, with a huge and heartfelt,
“Hayeee”
Although the movie has the stunning Bollywood actress, Sonam Kapoor, as the protagonist, it is Mr Khan that befits the title of the movie in every sense possible.
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Is the movie worth watching? Yes, definitely!
But is it the best movie ever? No, not even close!
The story is clichéd and annoyingly predictable. When you are introduced to all the characters, you can easily guess what each will do in the movie and how they'll end up.
The plot revolves around a clumsy Dr Mili Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor) and her many endeavors, as she takes up a project to treat a Rajasthan royal by the name of Shekhar Rathore (Aamir Raza). The Rathore family live in huge mansion and every thing about their lifestyle and mannerism signifies royalty. There is a lot of discipline in their house, administered by the royal wife Rani Nirmala (Ratna Pathak), and Dr Mili just can't seem to adjust to all the rules. Then she meets the prince, Yuvraj Vikram Rathore (Fawad Khan), and that's when things start to get interesting.
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In the beginning, the pace was really fast and, personally, I think both Fawad and Sonam deserved a spicier entry (it is a Bollywood chick flick after all). Also, the scene where both their characters meet for the first time is abrupt. Had it been a stronger and funner meeting, their relationship would've seemed more interesting.
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Another fun character was Dr Mili's mother Manju (Kiron Kher). As always, Kher plays a typically loud and overprotective Punjabi mother but she does the role justice and adds humour to the storyline.
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Sonam's character was cute and her acting was pretty likeable this time round. While she was full of energy, Fawad's character was intense and sombre, which he played perfectly.
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Many reviews say that Fawad overshadowed Sonam. Perhaps this is because Fawad's acting is different than a typical Bollywood actor's. Sonam is not a bad actress but her performance was not as natural and easy as Fawad made it his seem.
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If you compare Fawad to Ali Zafar, who has also been trying his luck across the border, Fawad remains real on screen while Ali, although very talented, seems like he is trying to hard to impress the Indian audience and ends up crossing the line to ‘overacting’. This is why Ali Zafar would do well in comical roles whereas Fawad would excel in roles that highlight his raw and strong expressions.
Popular Indian film critic Anupama Chopra described the movie,
“Khoobsurat is sweet, benign, and bland.”
The ending of Khoobsurat was typical, mediocre and, for a lack of a better word, lazy. Fawad is the saving grace of the movie and, all in all, money well spent. I’d surely recommend everyone to watch it.
Here are five of my favourite moments from the film:
1. Fawad is as royal as a prince can be and, throughout the movie, Sonam shoves him around. It’s incredibly cute because he’s so skinny and often looks shaken when she shoves him. This is during a phase when he really doesn't like her; hence, his expressions are priceless.
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2. When Sonam confesses out loud to having dirty thoughts about him and he confesses the same to himself (in his head). They both are drunk, this scene is extremely adorable!
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3. When he sees Sonam dancing in her pjs and is shocked by her craziness. Engine ki seeti is one of the best songs of the movie.
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4. How throughout the movie he hates that she wears short clothes and sits ‘inappropriately’.
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5. The kisses – I like how they didn't make it gross and kept it adorably decent. As a random aunty sitting behind me in the cinema perfectly explained it,
“He didn't do real kissing because he is Pakistani.”
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="245"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Tumblr[/caption]
For me, he is what will sell Khoobsurat to the viewers. I don’t about you guys, but I think Fawad has made this country, and us girls in particular, really proud. So make sure you watch this movie and get smitten by the beautiful phenomenon that is Fawad Khan.
Outlawed in Pakistan won an Emmy this year for Pakistan and this is a triumph that must be celebrated on many levels. Pulitzer Centre grantees Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann spent five years in making this 45-minute-long short film, exposing the inherently flawed justice system of Pakistan.
It’s another addition to the success spree of alternate filmmaking in Pakistan, two years after Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won an Academy award for her documentary. It’s also an endeavour to bring forth the severe violation of women rights and how women, from extremely opposite social and economic backgrounds, work together to empower women all over and making them heard. The short film also talked about the crucifixion of the oppressed in a sexual crime – especially if the oppressed is a woman.
[embed width="620"]http://vimeo.com/53191285[/embed]
Unfortunately, only the trailer of the short film can be accessed right now in Pakistan but, nonetheless, the fleeting glimpse reveals its essence. It starts with a telltale flute playing in the background and the scene is of a barren Sindh desert and dingy town streets. The alleged crime is as rotten as the sewerage system of the street shown, which can no longer be upgraded – like the lives of its dwellers.
However, there’s a spark of hope still evident in alleged rape victim Kainat’s eyes, despite the tiresome seven years of trial and tragic loss of her brother in the fight. The most daring thing about Kainat is that she comes on camera and tells her story without covering her face. She looks into the viewers eyes and tells them that it’s not her who has to be ashamed and hidden; it’s her persecutors.
By facing the atrocity without any victim’s guilt and shame, she has challenged the power paradigms and gender hypocrisy of our society. The moment a rape victim starts pursuing her case, the greatest trauma she has to go through is social shaming and trial for being besharam (shameless) and outspoken for our culture and values. Since when did we start associating a women’s body with a man’s honour is a mind boggling question indeed but it’s a sad fact that, alongside men, even women take an equally excruciating part in stigmatising other women.
The stigma of hushing and quieting women exists on many levels. We come across this every day, on various personal and social levels. If a boy is staring at you, following you, making cat calls, or groping you in public transport or crowded public places, you are always advised by your family to stay quiet and ignore it as it would be the only respectful way. The logic goes that by denying its existing and sticking your head in the sand, the problem would go away itself – simply cease to exist.
This behaviour exists equally in all social strata; we have seen our parliamentarians defend the practise of burying women alive in Balochistan. We’ve heard General Pervez Musharraf condemn Mukhtaran Mai for speaking up and causing national ‘shame’. We’ve seen it all. That’s exactly the reason why most of the rape cases go unreported in Pakistan as the family wants to protect its own ‘honour’, rather than the dignity and mental health of the victim.
It catapults a vicious cycle where the victim starts feeling guilty and responsible for bringing this curse upon herself. It becomes fateful in a society where no medical or emotional support is available for the victim. Reprimanding in the name of ‘honour’ is what we hear from the alleged rapists in the short film as they conveniently say that she should have remained quiet had she been respectful and her speaking out alone confirms her ‘characterless-ness’. Kainat challenged this stereotype at the age of 13, and she was lucky that her family supported her in this regard.
Cladding a worn out slipper, she is shown climbing the lawyer’s chamber/human right activist’s office and the image becomes quite symbolic of the deeply tattered justice system of Pakistan. The short film comes across as a balanced endeavour as the makers have tried to present both points of view.
The film revolves around Kainat’s struggle to relocate in Karachi, face constant pressure and threats, pursue her case in the court and start working with War Against Rape and how, during this journey, the brave girl shows remarkable courage and resilience. Kainat’s story also questions our norms that are often used as weapons to persecute women and relax punishment against their oppressors.
Kainat was declared ‘karo kari’ (black female) after being raped; in other words, she was sentenced to death for being impure and her brother was killed for not complying by this sham tradition. Women in Pakistan have always been exploited and silenced in the name of culture, values and traditions.
Every woman in Pakistan can relate to Kainat’s story at some level. We have all been repressed and, instead of being helped, were asked to silence our voices. Change can only come when we start accepting and listening to the victims without any taboos and that’s what Outlawed in Pakistan has done.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about O21is that it was made at all. Aside from the fact that this bi-lingual Pakistani film boasts a talented cast of both Pakistani and foreign actors, and is helmed by filmmakerJamshed Mahmood Raza, aka Jami – who here has directed his first feature length film – O21 also takes a risk by featuring a narrative that avoids all the cliché-ridden trappings of a Pakistani film.
A bigger risk, however, is the pacing of the film, which at times is so slow that it makes the deliberately paced cinematic Steven Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey seem like Usain Bolt running on angel dust by comparison.
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I have been dismayed by the many published Pakistani film reviews terming O21 as an ‘intelligent’ film simply because it takes its time. Certainly, there seems to be some confusion where reviewers are apparently identifying slowness as a sign of smartness. In fact, it has been amusing to note that plenty of O21 fans have been dumb-shamed into liking the film. Anyone who doesn’t like the film is told that they aren’t grasping the finer points of O21’s filmmaking and can’t appreciate how captivatingly it moves, as if it were some beautifully slow ballerina rather than a limping horse that should have been shot after the first act.
Wonderfully engrossing films that reward patience such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris, The Godfather, Zodiac, Lawrence of Arabiaand the likes, aren’t cinematic masterpieces simply because they are slow. If sluggish pacing had been the only benchmark, then any filmmaker could capture paint drying and win the hearts of critics and fans alike. No, there has to be some method to the madness. For example, the long iconic scene in Lawrence of Arabia where we scan the dry landscape for a sign of life until we finally see a dot in the distance, which slowly but surely reveals itself to be a man approaching on a camel, is a piece of filmmaking where every second was used effectively.
That’s not to say that O21 fails to use any of its relaxed speed without effect. For my money, the first half of the film is as gripping as any film I’ve seen. It certainly takes a lot of talent to evoke tension without resorting to gratuitous violence, and in various ways I was reminded of Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic as well as Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, with what certainly was edge-of-the-seat stuff. I also enjoyed the time gimmick that may have been inspired by the TV show, 24. Clearly, Jami is one of the most talented filmmakers in the nation.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="397"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Jamshed Mahmood Raza. Photo: Operation O21 Facebook Page[/caption]
But like a roller-coaster that keeps climbing without a payoff, O21 fails to bring its foreplay to a satisfying conclusion. Eventually, O21 begins to resemble a South Park episode parodying the spy genre. When the climax does come, it is desperately disappointing. Here, the house of Kashif Siddiqui (Shaan Shahid) is attacked in an action sequence which is atrociously edited.
It is quite evident from O21 and Waar that Pakistani filmmakers are competent at shooting drama, but lack any skill whatsoever at directing action sequences. Sadly, the over produced action sequences in O21 are comically bad, where the characters are magically teleporting between shots from one corner to another.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Operation O21 Facebook Page[/caption]
The poor and rather unintelligent second half of the film also weighs down the fairly interesting narrative. O21’s examination of the spy network between Pakistan and Afghanistan is quite absorbing, where most of the players are motivated by personal objectives rather than nationalism. The characterisation of Pakistani spy Kashif is a mixed bag however. On one hand I enjoyed how Kashif wasn’t presented as a squeaky clean military man, but on the other was disappointed that Shaan – for the umpteenth time – was playing a character weighed down by the guilt of a dead wife. This is just a lazy piece of writing designed to evoke empathy. Ladies, he may look good in a suit, but that’s too many dead spouses.
O21 suffers from other flaws as well. The cinematography is quite dull, and the grainy muddy camerawork does little justice to what should have been gorgeous backdrops. On the other hand, the performances, though at times uneven, are generally quite good, especially from veteran actor Ayub Khoso (Abdullah).
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Ayub Khoso. Photo: Operation O21 Facebook Page[/caption]
Despite the glaring imperfections,O21 is an important instalment in Pakistan’s woeful cinematic history. It might not be a smart entry on the silver screen but it certainly raises the average intelligence level of Pakistani films by several notches, and is hopefully paving the road for great films.
A muttering, foetalKatniss Everdeenconfronts us from within the dark underbelly of District 13 in the opening shots of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I catapulting us into an unequivocal new era for The Hunger Games saga.
From these first scenes, the tone is set for a grittier exploration into the dirty tactics of war and the casualties suffered by those unwillingly swept up in its path. Set predominantly in the subterranean world of District 13 – once thought to have been annihilated by the Capitol – now the nucleus of Panem rebel activity, Mockingjay Part I is quite literally a world apart from the pageantry and spectacle of the two previous instalments.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: The Hunger Games Official Facebook Page[/caption]
Spearheading the rebel effort in 13 is President Alma Coin (a measured, charismatic Julianne Moore) whose district has weaponed up and hunkered down, ready and waiting to be led into battle by their returning Mockingjay. But once rescued by Coin, along with tribute Finnick (Sam Claflin) and formerly flamboyant chaperone Effie (Elizabeth Banks), Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) struggles to fulfil her role as the poster child of a war she never intended on waging.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: The Hunger Games Official Facebook Page[/caption]
It is only the revelation that Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) is still alive and being used for propaganda in the Capitol’s media campaign, combined with a trip to the decimated District 12, that sets Katniss off on a journey of self-rediscovery. There follow some exquisite, at times darkly humorous scenes that address the manipulation of the media and its darlings by both sides – a theme touched upon in previous films – but this time eschewing the easy markers of good and evil by bringing the focus on the individual instead.
Now that the Games have been committed to memory by the fateful trajectory of Katniss’s arrow in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, there is understandably a dearth of heightened life or death tension that inherently propelled the earlier films forward. While this element is initially replaced by a call-to-action for our reluctant heroine Katniss, it is unceremoniously diminished as her leadership qualities seem only really spurred on by witnessing atrocities (insert dramatic but contrived scenes portraying the beastliness of the Capitol) and this can come across as false.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: The Hunger Games Official Facebook Page[/caption]
Despite this, there are several great action sequences involving a dam, bomber planes, a rescue mission and an animal-based danger point that our modern audience can relate to, at least more so than the concept of the Quarter Quells. Beautifully shot, you cannot fault these sequences on the CGI, which is great across the board – from the movements of hovering jet planes right down to the harrowing scenes of death and destruction in the districts ravaged by the rule of President Snow (a welcome return by the legendary Donald Sutherland).
The build up of the film certainly owes a lot to its older cast members. The late great Philip Seymour Hoffman reprises his role as the avuncular yet shrewd Plutarch Heavensbee – who, along with Jennifer Lawrence, gives these films a solid grounding and without whom there would be a distinct lack of gravitas in key scenes.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: The Hunger Games Official Facebook Page[/caption]
In the grand scheme of young-adult fiction film franchises, critics tend to abhor the customary hacking of the final book into two lucrative films as a cynical studio money-making scam, ultimately scorning part I as a dragged out, superfluous affair while fans, on the whole, relish the chance to eke out their enjoyment as long as possible.
[embed width="620"]http://vimeo.com/110983424[/embed]
As someone who is definitely not in the target demographic for these films, I cannot claim to be a diehard fan but, in my mind, this is the best film yet and possibly of all these young adult franchises, ever.
Saif Ali Khan’s re-entry was a success back in the early 2000s. The hero who had fallen flat in the 90s was seen in a completely new light in movies like Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum, Salam Namaste, Kal Ho Na Ho, Raceand Love Aaj Kal etcetera. And in movies like Omkaraand the likes, he overshadowed anyone else who may have been in the film with him. Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Unfortunately, nowadays I feel Saif Ali Khan’s performance is a bleak reminder of the hero he was in the 90s – none of the movies he is doing have any nostalgic value or cinematic value nor have they brought in good business; examples being Humshakals and Bullet Raja.
On the contrary, Govinda, who was seen in a negative role in Kill Dil recently, has re-launched himself with a bang, with critics applauding his work. This time, in the movie Happy Ending, Govinda is all set to play for the front-row audience. After all, he’s the king of comedy. Let’s see if they both, Govinda and Saif, got their share of brownies this time!
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Happy Ending is based on the life of a writer called Yudi (Saif Ali Khan), who published his last book five and a half years ago which turned out to be a major hit. Unfortunately, after that, he couldn’t publish any book and making ends meet became a task. His stardom, as a writer, starts to fade away and then enters a new romantic author in the limelight of the literary world called Aanchal (Ileana D’Cruz). Aanchal gets everything that Yudi once had as an upcoming writer.
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Soon after, Armaan (Govinda) comes into Yudi’s life. Armaan is the superstar of Bollywood and wants Yudi to write a fresh script (copy of multiple Hollywood blockbusters) for him. Having no other choice, Yudi accepts his offer and starts to alter his lifestyle and terms. The rest of the movie is the journey of how Yudi, as a writer and a person, learns how to end some things and start new things.
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Performances wise, Saif stands tall and delivers a dependable performance. One can easily recall the comfort he had in the movies Cocktail and Love Aaj Kal.
Govinda, as always, is hilarious and owns every scene he is featured in.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Nachcho Saaray G Phaar Kay is a song of the film that provided the perfect entertainment to the audience and credit for that goes solely to Govinda. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that if given a good script and the opportunity of outdoing himself, Govinda can still be in the race of the most entertaining actors in the industry. Kalki Koechlin is a revelation, she looks adorable, highly irritating and fits her role perfectly. Ileana is okay too; in fact, she is improving as an actress and is able to handle serious roles quite well.
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Ranvir Shorey, who plays Saif’s best friend, delivered some good performance. Some of his scenes are truly amazing, especially, (spoiler alert) the scene where his wife tells him that she’s pregnant. There are some surprise packages in the movie like appearances by Kareena Kapoor and Preity Zinta. Preity has an extended role and she looks good but the fact that she is ageing is pretty obvious.
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The dialogues are fresh, some of which require reading between the lines, but they go along with the mood of the movie. Content wise, Happy Ending will make you feel ‘happy’ at the ‘end’ of the movie. It’s an entertaining romantic comedy with a few hummable songs.
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I would rate it a 3.5 out of five on the basis of decent performances, a good script, nice music and lightness of the theme.
And no, it’s not based on the American TV show, Californication, which most people think it is.
PKhas undeniably been the most anticipated movie for the last few years. Apart from Aamir Khan’s fans, even film critics have been waiting to see producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s and director Rajkumar Hirani’s combination of magic.
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PK revolves around a wide-eyed, rebellious yet innocent stranger in a city who goes by the initials of PK (Aamir) and the people he meets whilst exploring the new city. His journey starts from the middle of Rajasthan where he befriends a man named Bhairon Singh (Sanjay Dutt). Bhairon makes PK feel right at home but eventually, PK has to move on with his journey and so he moves to Delhi where he meets a journalist named Jagat Janani/Jaggu (Anushka Sharma) who is in love with a Pakistani guy named Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput). What happens next is what PK is all about.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="536"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="539"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
PK is actually a satire on old myths and rituals. Contrary to popular belief, the movie or characters, by no means, mock religion or God – all PK does is ask questions no one has asked before. He is seen as a voice of wisdom and reason. The movie does, however, raise generic questions on religion with an added satirical element to it.
Aamir shines like the star that he is. He proves, yet again, why he has been bestowed with the title “Ace Khan”. This is by far the most atypical, tricky and inquisitive performance and no one else in Bollywood would be able to do justice to such a role. To me, he has carried the entire movie on his shoulders with immense gusto.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="536"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
In her previous productions, Anushka Sharma came across as very… typical, bordering on stale, but with this film she has added a whole set of different elements to her performance; the result is mesmerising! Her performance was easily at par with Aamirs’ in some of the most intricate and difficult scenes. Her performance is definitely worth a hearty applause.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="538"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
The movie is filled with cameos or more like, extended cameos. Sanjay is a delight to watch each time, and you can tell that, with Hirani and Chopra making him perform and excel, he was perfectly set in his own comfort zone.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="536"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
Saurabh Shukla and Boman Irani gave some extraordinary performances as well, while Sushant is as lovable as ever with all his intense scenes coming across as very strong. Last but definitely not the least, was the surprise package in PK – Ranbir Kapoor! Watch out for his surprise appearance – as usual, the audience kept asking for more.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="536"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="536"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: PK The Film Facebook page[/caption]
The screenplay, by Hirani and Abhijit Joshi, deserves applause on its own. The dialogues were witty, meaningful and provoked the audience to ponder upon multiple things. The direction, as expected, delivered as promised – first-rate.
Everyone who watched PK, has fallen in love with the movie. Exceptional performances, the thought-provoking storyline, brilliant camera work, the locations and other such factors are what make PK a must-watch for everyone, especially those who prefer performance and quality cinema.
PK is not just a one-time watch; it’s one of those films movie buffs would be proud to have in their libraries. Based on the captivating screenplay, worthy performances and overall entertainment, I am forced to give it a 4.5 out of 5 rating.
Good Morning Karachi, for Pakistani cinema, is amongst the few unconventional, path-breaking movies that we’ve come across in recent years. The reason is very simple; Good Morning Karachi is a female-oriented film with a female protagonist. Unfortunately, except for this bit, there is little else that is extraordinary about this film.
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So far, the movie has received mixed responses based on different factors. Perhaps an exploration of this movie is required. Before we begin, however, let me clarify that this film is not the Pakistani version of Bollywood’s Priyanka Chopra-starrer Fashion (as many may insinuate).
The entire movie is based on Rafina (Amna Ilyas), who belongs to a lower-middle class family and wants to become a fashion model. How she accomplishes her ultimate goal is what the movie is all about.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Good Morning Karachi Official Facebook Page[/caption]
The movie has its highs and lows.
For instance, keeping the fashion world of Pakistan in mind, the dresses and wardrobes selected for the movie are disappointingly below-average. Even the Lux Style Awards showcases celebrities in some truly amazing outfits compared to the wardrobes presented in this particular movie.
The relationship depicted between Amna and Yasir Aqueel comes off as kind of forced; it does not provide any justification to the plot. Why would a man be interested in marrying a woman who lives and breathes to become a celebrity, whereas he, himself, can’t bear to stand the idea of it? The characters don’t have the psychological edge that most other Pakistani movies do.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="299"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Good Morning Karachi Official Facebook Page[/caption]
The only support system in Rafina’s life is Rosie (Beo Raana Zafar) and her character, in my opinion, has just not been developed properly; I think perhaps had she been given a few more scenes, the treatment of her character would seem more logical in the film. Saba Hameed (who plays Ammi), on the contrary, is actually a talent wasted in such a role – any other average female actress could have carried off this role.
Performance wise, Amna excels and boasts one of her finest performances, undoubtedly. She acts naturally, without making it complicated. Whether it is her sweet-girl avatar or the rising-model-in-the-industry persona, she carries it off flawlessly.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="312"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Good Morning Karachi Official Facebook Page[/caption]
There are a few surprise appearances as well, but I won’t disclose names; watch the film to find out. The music of the movie is nothing special. Had Sabiha Sumar spent a little more time building her characters, I believe the movie could have done very well. Many sequences in the movie could have been dealt with better, in terms of direction and execution.
If you are looking for a true depiction of the fashion world in Pakistan, don’t watch Good Morning Karachi. As a supporter of the revival of Pakistani cinema, the movie is a good watch. Yes, it had some great performances but remained unsurprising overall.
I do not feel the need to give it more than 2.5/5.
For quite a few years now, young viewers, and adults alike, have been playing Angry Birds on smartphones - crashing wacky birds in buildings and killing the green-coloured pigs. So you can just imagine how the excitement obviously doubles up when a movie based on their all-time favourite video game comes out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qJzWrq7les
I watched The Angry Birds Movie with the same enthusiasm with which I score points in the Angry Birds game and it did not disappoint me. The movie does have all the elements depicted in the game and once having played the game, one can easily relate to the movie.
Brought to the big screen are all angry birds that are featured in the game including Red, Chuck, Bomb, Matilda, The Mighty Eagle, Leonard, Stella, Terence, pigs, and others. Produced by Rovio Entertainment and Sony Pictures Imageworks, the animation brings to life the beautiful and colourful natural habitat of the island where the angry birds live. Although the birds are not angry by nature, it is the sudden influx of the pigs that brings out their aggressive side.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Chuck, Red and Bomb Photo: IMDb[/caption]
The vibrancy of the film keeps viewers glued to the screen the entire time. Children will love the side-splitting humour in most of the scenes. Lending their voices to the movie are Jason Sudeikis (Red), Josh Gad (Chuck), Danny McBride (Bomb), Maya Rudolph (Matilda), Bill Hader (Leonard), Peter Dinklage (the Mighty Eagle), Kate McKinnon (Stella) and Sean Penn (Terence) among others. The voice characterisation is done according to the persona of the birds that further adds value to the story.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Red - Jason Sudeikis Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Chuck - Josh Gad Photo: Pinterest[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Bomb - Danny McBride Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Matilda - Maya Rudolph Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Stella - Kate McKinnon Photo: The Angry Birds Movie Official Facebook[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Terence - Sean Penn. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. The Mighty Eagle - Peter Dinklage. Photo: The Angry Birds Movie Wikia[/caption]
While the game focused on all birds, The Angry Birds Movie, however, shows the story from the perspective of Red. His bushy eyebrows make him the centre of public attention and make him especially amusing for the kids. Moreover, he is popular in the island for having a short temper, a personality trait that relates to the game. The elders send Red to an anger management class so he can develop a pleasant personality. There, he befriends other birds who are facing similar issues. However, Red also has a suspicious personality which, for a short time, makes him an unpopular bird.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFYqzAYTDkN?
The happy lives of these birds take a drastic turn when pigs arrive at the island to steal something very important to the birds. This is where the conflict begins. The movie shows the life of these birds who generally keep their cool despite being angry. They eventually embrace the angry side of their personality to take revenge from the pigs. The birds, therefore, devise a plan to infiltrate the pigs’ homes situated on another island. They do so by shooting themselves in the air with a slingshot because no bird can fly – and the fun begins.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFb04gLTDgI?
Do you remember the special powers which some of the birds had in the game? The birds in the movie find their special powers only when they are flying in the air. This makes the movie relatable with the game and adds fun to the narrative.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. The movie has all the characters shown in the game; Red, Chuck, Bomb, Matilda, The Mighty Eagle, Leonard, Stella, Terence, pigs, and others. Photo: IMDb[/caption]
However, with so many positives in the movie, there is one negative.
In the game, the angry birds appear as having comical personalities, however, in the movie, the same characters were not given distinguishable personalities except for their special powers. Perhaps if there is a sequel to The Angry Birds Movie then the directors and screenplay writers can add more depth to the birds’ personalities. Moreover, the storytelling of The Angry Birds Movie is not as smooth or enchanting as that of Pixar or Disney, nevertheless, the story is capable of retaining the viewer’s attention throughout; mainly because of the plot, the conflict between the birds and the pigs, and the individuality of these birds.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Chuck and Red Photo: IMDb[/caption]
The Mighty Eagle, the same bird that users call when in dire need to crash the pigs in the game, also makes an appearance in the movie. How the birds summon the Mighty Eagle is another interesting story and revealing it would be major spoiler. The scene introducing the Mighty Eagle is the one you do not want to miss.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFYKZ6OzDor?
The transition of The Angry Birds from smartphones to the big screen is commendable. Directors, Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis, producers, John Cohen and Catherine Winder, and writer, Jon Vitti should be applauded for retaining the essence of the game into the movie and for devising a plot akin to that of the game. The dialogues are easy to understand, especially for kids, while the humour is right on the money. Watch The Angry Birds Movie and you will find the kid inside you loving it the most. A must watch for children, especially those who have played the game!
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A friend of mine, along with being a self-proclaimed ‘Love Guru’ is a huge fan of horror flicks. According to him, with no endorsement from my side whatsoever, this particular genre should be your numero uno pick if you plan on ‘Netflix and chilling’. In his opinion, all those jump-scare moments that are pretty much the bread and butter for this format of films, are tremendously conducive in creating a situation which could lure even the shyest of women to seek refuge in one’s arms.
So imagine the frustration of my mate and all his casanovian disciples when they found out that 1920 London – the third instalment of the 1920 spook franchise and hopefully the last one, is anything but scary.
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Sometimes laughter in the middle of a horror film is a sign of its epic-ness. I distinctly remember how I let out an extended nervous cackle while watching The Exorcist (1973). This exceedingly edgy laugh was simply the manifestation of my internal defence mechanism trying to come to grips with how freaked out I actually was watching the voice of Satan coming out of a 12-year-old girl.
But in the case of 1920 London, hilarity is simply a by-product of corny dialogues, sappy acting and an extreme mind-numb of a convoluted plot.
Speaking of the plot, how about we cut to the chase.
The narration set in 1920, is the story of Princess Shivangi (Meera Chopra), who is happily married and settled in London with her husband Veer Singh (Vishal Karwal).
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Meera Chopra Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Everything is all hunky-dory in their lives until a gift from their hometown makes its way into their home and all hell breaks loose. The present in question is an intricately designed necklace that has been put under a black magic spell and soon a witch possesses Veer’s body.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Vishal Karwal. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
A scared Shivangi returns home to Rajasthan to seek help. There she is told that only one person in this whole wide world can save her demonically-possessed hubby and that is, wait for it… her former lover, Jai (Sharman Joshi) who oh-so-conveniently is now an exorcist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2FJlLkmIbs
You just got to love B-Town for all its unpredictable narrative twists and turns. Touché, if you think I am a mean sarcastic schmuck, mocking your beloved Bollywood with ironic condescension.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Vishal Karwal. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Anyhow, in spite of having been dumped and serving jail term because of Shivangi’s betrayal, Jai being a nauseatingly archetypal B’wood protagonist, decides to help, and saddled with unrequited love, travels to London to save Veer.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Sharman Joshi. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Huh! As if we were expecting anything but.
How Shivangi and the scorned Jai, extricate the ‘daayan’ (evil), forms the rest of the tale.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Vishal Karwal. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
And since it is a typical Indian horror movie, there is no prize for guessing what happens in the end.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Meera Chopra Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
1920 London is very similar to the first instalment in the franchise. While in the first film we had the hubby darling saving his wife from an evil spirit, this time it’s the wifey who comes to the rescue of her better half, only with a zero scare quotient.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Lacking anything even remotely redeeming for the seasoned fright fan, the filmmaker resorts to cheap chill gimmicks in rocking chairs, haunted mansion, creaking doors and blood dripping from the ceiling to elicit shivers out of the audience, but the only reaction they got out of yours truly was that of cringe.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Vishal Karwal. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
It beggars belief how these over-sold elements are still used by 1920 London even in the year 2016. Perhaps the title of the film is to be blamed for the confusion in the head of our poor little director.
Long story short, this is a film that uses every clichéd trick in the book but sill fails to inevitably scare you.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Don’t let the trailer, poster or premise fool you! 1920 London was one rib-tickling, side-splitting hilariously funny movie. The problem? It wasn’t supposed to be a comedy.
The best thing that can be said about 1920 London is that it could have been marginally better had it been promoted as a comedy.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The script was at best laughable. There were numerous times throughout the film where the dialogue was just so ridiculous, I began to write it off as comic relief only to find out a few seconds later that it wasn’t.
A good horror film is supposed to get under your skin, but by the end of this head-scratch of a fare you’re left mouth agape and mind utterly befuddled.
And Sharman Joshi?
Sigh!
Is he still the same actor who gave us such powerhouse performances in films like Rang De Basanti (2006) and 3 Idiots (2009)?
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Sharman Joshi. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
After the erotic mess that was Hate Story 3 (2015) this is another step in the wrong direction for the already gone astray Sharman.
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The rest of the cast is so random that I wouldn’t even trouble myself talking about them.
Bottom line, don’t bother travelling back in time and give 1920 London a skip, unless you have a bizarre fetish for unintentionally hilarious movies. As for my lovemeister buddy and anyone else who endorses his views; tsk tsk tsk … guys! This one won’t do the trick, better luck next time!
Actress, screenwriter-cum-directorNia Vardalos, (famous for one of the highest-grossing romantic comedy films, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)) is back in Tinsel-town after almost 14 years with a sequel;My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Nia Vardalos. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Director Krik Jones, along with Vardalos, tried a similar recipe consisting of an ethnic extended family household in order to tickle the taste buds and catch the attention of spectators. However, this time, the storyline is nothing great. It’s the same eccentric Greek family with lots of dog-tired jokes and all this is downright unappealing. The plot ends up draining the audience with the inclusion of obnoxious folks and unbearably boring characters. It disrupts the flow of the anecdote, drowning the expected laughter-promising film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ-1Ts3BChM
The story takes us back to the Chicago based happy-go-lucky Portokalos family from Greece. Toula, played by none other than Vardalos herself, is apparently living a normal married life with her non-Greek husband Ian (John Corbett).
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. John Corbett and Nia Vardalos. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Their teenage daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris), reveals her wish to attend a faraway university out of nowhere, just to evade the drolly overbearing fat Greek family including her aged grandparents, Gus and Maria, played by Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Elena Kampouris. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Andrea Martin and Nia Vardalos. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
In the meantime, her grandparents begin quarrelling about their 50-year-old marriage certificate. Apparently it was not signed by the priest, thus leaving them with an unmarried status. This pushes the Greek household members to meddle in each other’s daily affairs in order to plan a wedding for the old couple and legitimise their relationship. The rest of the plot revolves around stick-your-nose in others’ business like situation. However, they stand calm and unified for a big Greek wedding.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Joey Fatone, Gia Carides, Michael Constantine, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan, Stavroula Logothettis, Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin, Bess Meisler, and Nia Vardalos. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Lainie Kazan and Louis Mandylor. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The film is purposefully stocked with lots of female characters searching for their significance in the midst of clumsy and unintelligent menfolk. The pressure on 17-year-old Paris to select a Greek man to settle down and have Greek babies, highlights gender stereotypes, attributes and differences in the Greek culture.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Joey Fatone, Gia Carides, Ian Gomez, Bruce Gray, Stavroula Logothettis, Louis Mandylor, Andrea Martin, Bess Meisler, Gerry Mendicino, Fiona Reid, Peter Tharos, and Elena Kampouris. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The story tries to hook the viewers, but the overwhelming phoney wit and unnatural slapstick comedy makes the dramatic aspect of the plot indistinguishable. The screenplay focuses way too much on a big and bossy household set in line with old-fashioned customs and beliefs.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Bess Meisler and Elena Kampouris. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The director of My Big Fat Greek Wedding added an insubstantial side story about Toula and Ian’s marital issues, which really was not needed.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. John Corbett and Nia Vardalos. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
All the hyperactive characters of this big family were supposed to be a source for humour and entertainment. On the contrary, the mighty funny men served as an element of dullness and tiresomeness. Situations that were supposed to be hilarious were merely odd and mind-numbing. From the warm romance to the idiosyncratic characters, the essence of the original My Big Fat Greek Wedding is missing in the sequel.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Joey Fatone, Gia Carides, Stavroula Logothettis, and Louis Mandylor. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
All in all, this sequel is not everyone’s cup of tea. It will only attract loyal fans who do not want to forget Toula and Ian’s compelling chemistry. The same old characters, monotonous gibes and plenty of irrelevant laughs will only be enjoyable for the movie’s old enthusiasts.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Alex Wolff and Elena Kampouris. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The rest of the moviegoers will be left disappointed because of its loosely tied plot, repetitive wit, countless hollow characters and no surprising ingredient. It may give them a few laughs but the end product will remain an unpleasant one hour thirty minute journey.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.[poll id="567"]
I wanted this to be good, oh, I so badly wanted this to be good. I even made good on my promise to never ever waste my money on another lousy, solely-there-to-make-money superhero flick by skipping out on Captain America: Civil War(heard it’s not that bad though) and Batman v Superman. But this was X-Men, this was the exception, this was the same franchise that gave us First Class (2011) and Days of Future Past (2014)but Apocalypse, much to my sorrow, turned out to be decidedly third class. Sigh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COvnHv42T-A
The ninth outing in the ever-expanding mutant universe, but just third in its current hugely impressive until-now-prequel-incarnation, X-Men: Apocalypse lacks the fun, chemistry and emotional stakes of its predecessors in the origins trilogy.
Oscar Isaac plays the titular character Apocalypse who is the first and most powerful mutant of all time.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Apocaluypse (Oscar Isaac ) Photo: IMDb[/caption]
Now this blue-skinned Ancient Egyptian nutjob with a God complex wakes up from a hibernation of thousands of years and is disillusioned with the world as he finds it.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
He then sets about recruiting a group of super-mutants including a vengeful Magneto (Michael Fassbender), a young Storm (Alexandra Shipp), winged warrior Angel (Ben Hardy), and Amazonian battle cat Psylocke (Olivia Munn), to help him destroy mankind and create a new world order.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Magneto (Michael Fassbender) Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Psylocke (Olivia Munn) Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Storm (Alexandra Shipp) Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Angel (Ben Hardy) Photo: IMDb[/caption]
With the fate of the planet in the balance, Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and the enigmatic Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) must spearhead a band of their most gifted followers to stop their archenemy from completely obliterating humanity.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Jennifer Lawrence, Sophie Turner, and Tye Sheridan Photo: IMDb[/caption]
Considering his seemingly unlimited power, it's a wonder why Apocalypse even needs his four Horsemen to carry out his evil bidding and doesn't just take care of things alone. Not to mention, the quartet’s dubious motivation to help this guy purge the earth.
Luckily, where the plot lacks, the principal characters (and actors who play them) continue to not only save the world but heroically try to save the movie too.
McAvoy and Fassbender are super impressive with the latter being truly magnetic (pun intended) as the angsty mutant, still trying to find its place on planet earth, and the former ever charming as an eternal optimist.
But the show stealer, for second movie in a row is undoubtedly the fan favourite Quicksilver (Evan Peters) with yet another brilliantly choreographed slo-mo sequence set to Eurythmics’s Sweet Dreams.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Quicksilver (Evan Peters) Photo: IMDb[/caption]
Also the scene that lets a particular mutant out of its confinement for a dazzling cameo is worth a shout.
As for the other support characters, they are overwhelmed by the scale and are largely devoid of motivation or purpose.
The first two parts largely succeeded because of the incredible interplay between the three main leads (McAvoy, Fassbender and Lawrence) and the complex relationships shared by their characters. Sadly, Apocalypse gives the trio very little screen time together, leaving a void that isn’t quite filled by the next generation of mutants.
The climax is also typical for its genre. By the time the day of reckoning finally approaches, it feels more exhausting than horrifying. When it all kicks off in the end I couldn’t even remember why everyone was in trouble in the first place.
Like a lot of other third instalments in a host of film trilogies, Apocalypse bites off way more than it can chew. The X-Men comic books are all about a bunch of outcasts but regrettably the current movie version tries to fit in with the mainstream and we all are now left to rue the irony!
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The geopolitical tension between India and Pakistan has resulted in numerous cinematic potboilers that have all the ingredients of tragedy, jingoism, xenophobia and grief.Sarbjitis no different.
The movie is based on the real-life account of the ill-fated Sarabjit Singh who was arrested by Pakistani police on the Wagah Border in 1990. This unfortunate Indian or dumb scout (as some conspiracy theorists allege him to be) was accused of being an Indian spy who had orchestrated terrorist activities in Lahore and Faisalabad. He was eventually thrown into prison.
In between the capricious rapport shared by these two countries along with cross-border political stiffness,Sarbjit is an extremely dramatic tragedy. Charged with heated radical debates and peace lectures, the movie depicts the struggle of a sister trying to save her brother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1kYpWU7apI
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Randeep Hooda Photo: IMDb[/caption]
Sarbjit (Randeep Hooda) is a happy-go-lucky man and a family-oriented farmer. He is very attached to his sister, Dalbir (Aishwarya Rai) and his wife Sukhpreit (Richa Chadha). One day Sarbjit crosses the India-Pakistan border in a drunken state and gets arrested by the Pakistani forces. They end up putting him behind bars, charging him on account of five planned bomb blasts in Pakistan.
The real drama kicks off when his sister Dalbir starts a relentless campaign to free her innocent brother from Pakistani prison. Consumed by love for her brother, she tirelessly campaigns for him, along with jarring the corridors of power and preaching peace to people.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Randeep Hooda with Omung Kumar Photo: IMDb[/caption]
A helpless family foiled by decades-old heinous animosity between two countries, moves the viewers to tears. This movie is all about a woman being challenged and rising against destiny to fight for her family.
The plot does have its fair share of anti-Pakistan sentiment but showing that people help Sarabjit on our side of the border provides a buffer against the bitterness.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Aishwarya Rai Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
As Sarbjit, Randeep Hooda was phenomenal. He actually transformed his entire look, stature and accent for Sarbjit. This was his most prominent role by far. Sarbjit offered pitch perfect performances by Hooda.
As Dalbir, Aishwarya was commendable. She was brilliant from the word go. Sarbjit, performance wise, is a career-defining film for Aishwarya. She breathed life and fire into the character of Dalbir and impressed in almost every scene. The accent, however, sounded a bit out of place, and thus gave her away in places.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Randeep Hoods and Aishwarya Rai Photo: Twitter[/caption]
Richa Chadha was more occupied passing out at any opportune moment. She had very few dialogues in the movie, but it was her silence that made her presence felt. This is very rare quality and Chadha is definitely gifted with it. Darshan Kumar (as Owais Sheikh) was laudable. His acting came as a surprise and was different from what he showcased in Mary Kom (2014) and NH10 (2015). He is an optimistic, full-of-hope individual, despite unavoidable misfortunes.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Richa Chadha Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Richa Chadha Photo: IMDb[/caption]
Sarbjit is Omung Kumar’s second movie and he proved yet again that his film-making style is based on reality checks. Whether it’s Mary Kom or Sarbjit, he manages to display minute elements of distress and joy with utmost ease and impact. There are numerous scenes where viewers become extremely emotional because of the way scenes are filmed. They are highly emotive and touching.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Aishwarya Rai Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The dialogues of Sarbjit are written smartly; are simple and easy to understand, which makes it an impressive watch. Screenplay and dialogues are worth a standing ovation.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Randeep Hooda Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Aishwarya Rai Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
On the basis of engaging content, intense performances, amazing music and top-notch direction, Sarbjit can easily be ranked amongst the top movies of the year.
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Aksbandh, Lollywood’s first-of-a-kind horror movie, which has been inspired by the found-footage format inAmerican supernatural horror movie series Paranormal Activity, hit cinemas on May 20, 2016.The movie, whichis also similar to the Final Destination series, was made in partnership with Hum TV, Urdu1 and Express News, and has been directed by Emram Hussain and co-written by Ayaz Samoo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYzGKZFF7CE
The story revolves around a group of amateur college-going film-makers who wish to make a movie of their own. To shoot their project, they decide to go to the Mangrove forests of Larkana (Sindh). The group starts its adventure in a frenzy of excitement. However, as they go further onto their expedition, their fervour begins to waver.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Facebook[/caption]
The movie starts with the main characters, Ayaan (Daniyal Afzal Khan), Saadia (Shehzeen Rahat), Alia (Mahrukh Rizvi), Raheel (Bilal Yousufzai), Shehzad (Saud Imtiaz) and Sunny (Ayaz Samoo), introducing themselves on camera.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Ayaan and Saadia are the directors of the project; Alia and Raheel play their roles in scene one. A dog-tired comedy but reasonable wit also weaves its way through the ‘very horror’ (pun intended) film as Alia is asked,
“What kind of boys do you like?”
But Saadia comes to the rescue and saves her from being embarrassed.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
As the movie progresses, the plot solidifies as well. The suspense kicks in when Ayaan, the ‘director’, refuses to believe that there is a sinister supernatural presence in the area of their guest house. It’s only when he experiences some activity first-hand that he realises how wrong he was.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Facebook[/caption]
Ayaan is a violent bully and usually the first one to point fingers and label people as cowards. Despite being passionate about his so-called ‘dream’ project, he backs out. This is where the title of the movie Aksbandh or ‘inner reflection’ is realised.
But I’ll leave the details for the viewers to find out.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Facebook[/caption]
The prowess of the director and producer of the film lies in their knack of enhancing the cinematic experience; producing a horror movie whilst retaining the element of believability is a truly commendable skill. The difference between filmic reality and role-play is depicted with a clarity that is remarkable.
The film concludes with the director's script becoming a reality – submerging fiction with reel-reality, leaving the audience overwhelmed. The film did not emit the kind of response that was expected from the audience.
Despite all efforts put into it, the movie was not received as expected. Some people found it to be ‘ridiculously funny’ while others said it was ‘far from being horror’. This could be because the horror genre has a niche following worldwide and Lollywood is still a newbie in the game.
However, I feel our cinema has the potential to improve. Comparing it to Bollywood, where item songs, emphasis on good looks, absurdly skinny figures, ridiculously high standards of beauty, and vulgarity are the main focus, Pakistani cinema comes up with contemporary yet meaningful storylines.
I strongly recommend this film to all those who enjoy a believable horror movie. A must watch it is!
Hotal, the work of a New York Film Academy graduate, Khalid Hasan Khan, offered nothing surreal and nothing to write home about. Even though he won theBest Film awardfor his debut psycho-thriller at the Delhi International Film Festival 2014, his movie Hotal failed in many aspects. The lack of continuity, an insubstantial plot, and frequent editing bloopers served as serious mistakes that made the movie an extremely horrendous watch for the viewers.
[embed width-"620" height="348"]https://vimeo.com/87328839[/embed]
Hotal revolves around Kashika (Meera) and her wish to give birth to a daughter while her husband Naresh (Humayun Gilani) absolutely does not want to have another daughter. Her second pregnancy creates a lot of unhappiness in her marriage and her husband insists on taking her to the doctor, hoping to get answers to why his wife cannot bear him a son.
The doctor then advises the husband to take his expecting wife to a place named Hotal. This place is situated on the outskirts of the city and the doctor there handles such cases by performing illegal abortions. Except his wife has no idea he’s taking her there for this reason.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
At the Hotal, Kashika starts seeing disturbing visions of her unborn sister and soon the reality begins unfolding before her eyes. She starts to put the pieces of the terrifying puzzle together. With the help of her ghost sister, Kashika eventually dodges the infamous doctor.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
The rest of the plot revolves around a CBI inspector and a vengeful woman looking for her twin sister’s assassin. To bolster the shaky and confusing storyline, the characters of a tight-lipped administrator, a cook, a gardener, a mysterious Poornima (girl born on a full moon day) and a talkative taxi driver were included to create a more convoluted and baffling crime thriller.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
To be honest, Khan’s independent movie cannot be categorised as a typical Pakistani film, except for the fact that it showcases Lollywood star Meera and other Pakistani artists. The film exhibits a very Bollywoodish aura starting from characterisations, to costumes and locations. Even the prime language of the script is Hindi. Despite various similarities, Pakistani moviegoers may not be able relate to these things.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Credit where credit is due, Khan should be appreciated for selecting a bold issue such as female foeticide; the hideous practice of killing female foetuses illegally via induced abortion. In the sub-continent, there are numerous doctors and private clinics where illegal abortions are done due to the cultural preferences for a son.
Despite strict laws and punishments for such acts, this obnoxious practice is on the rise in Pakistan, India and China. The yearly average number of sex selective abortions in Pakistan is 116,384, whereas China witnesses around 800,000 and India witnesses 600,000 abortions per year.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Khan’s screenplay tried to touch upon the socio-legal complexities of this abhorrent custom. However, the loose grip on the plot, low production value, irrelevant songs, ostentatious dances, and countless lapses in logic and reason turned Hotal into an intolerable piece of hogwash. The plot turns whacky midway and characters seem to mindlessly jump into scenes out of nowhere.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Instead of carefully considering the set design, cinematography, costumes, lighting and background music, all the attention has been wasted on irrelevant item numbers such as Lakshmi and Mombatti. Similarly, the Hindi diction of all actors failed to impress audiences. I fail to understand the director’s logic behind this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScLQnRJTyas
Although, Meera won the Best Actress award for her character of Kashika at the Delhi International Film Festival 2014, there is nothing praiseworthy about her performance. She has delivered the same performances in the past as well; Billi (2000), Khilona (1996),Khoye Ho Tum Kahan (2001). Hotal is definitely not a feather in her cap.
All in all, Hotal is a freaky product, not a spine-chilling psycho-thriller.
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Son of Saul (2015) is the tale of a Hungarian Jewish prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. He is forced to work as a ‘Sonderkommando’ in disposing the bodies of Jewish prisoners in gas chambers. Upon discovering a body of a young Jewish boy, Saul realises that this might be his son and from then on, searches for a Rabbi to give his ‘son’ a proper Jewish burial.
The film is the feature directing debut of László Nemes and stars Géza Röhrig as the lead. Son of Saul won the Academy Award this year for Best Foreign Film and has brought a new light to the topic of Holocaust.
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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. László Nemes Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Hungarian Géza Röhrig, the star of 'Son of Saul. Photo: Times of Israel[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, and Amitai Kedar Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Géza Röhrig Photo: IMDb[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"]Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view. Photo: Screenshot[/caption]
Photo: Reuters[/caption]
During my journey into the stand up comedy scene, I came across greats like George Carlin, whose act was socio-politically charged, Jerry Seinfeld, whose observation about the most mundane things in life was so detailed that it was utter genius and then I saw ‘Jack’, my childhood buddy from the big screen, Robin Williams perform stand up comedy. He was sensational; his energy and stage presence, characters within an act, delivery of the jokes and the filthiness were all amazing to watch. I couldn’t believe I was watching this feel-good-family-film actor joke,
Photo: Reuters[/caption]
The point I am trying to make here is that as a performer, I grew with Robin Williams by my side the entire time. Every stage of life I went into, Robin was there greeting me and showing me how versatile an artist can be. He was not just the best stand up, improviser and comedian, but he could also do an Oscar winning performance in a drama film like Good Will Hunting just to show you how vast his widen his scope.
The last hallmark of my journey with Robin Williams was when I saw him in New York, where he performed and spoke about his life. It was unreal to see him up-close; I remember being so nervous that it was embarrassing.
I couldn’t help it – that is the affect a legend has on you; someone who brought happiness to so many people for so long.
I guess it’s like Robin said,
