Movie Name: Chain Aye Na
Release Date: August 11, 2017
Director: Syed Noor
Review by: Momin Ali Munshi
Chain Aye Na – So much has been written and said about this film, that going to the cinema hall without any pre conceived notions was almost next to impossible. I personally do not pay heed or even read other reviews until I’m done with mine, but this time around the heated discussion surrounding the film was hard to ignore. Moreover, that I saw the film a week after its release, made it even harder to go to the cinema hall with a blank slate, but nonetheless I went in with a promise to not let others opinions cloud my judgment.
Directed by veteran Syed Noor the film revolves around Rayyan ( Shahroze Sabzwari) who falls head over heels in love with Ruba ( Sarish Khan) when he sees her at a friends wedding. Ruba also sends some mixed signals to the love struck lad before ultimately revealing that she is engaged to Murad ( Adil Murad) with a wedding all set to take place next month. Rayyan, however, is madly in love and embarks on a journey to marry Ruba, with the exact same date of marriage on his mind as of Murad-Ruba.
Now the story is interesting, nothing new as such, for we’ve seen dozens of films about unrequited love, obsession and what not. Also as I later discovered, a Pakistani film from the 80’s titled Beqarar starring Babra Sharif and Faisal Rehman had the exact same premise. Whats even more interesting is that Noor sahab used one of the tracks from the original film ‘Meri Wafa Meray Waday’ and placed it in Chain Aye Na in the exact same context as the original. Quite a gutsy move I say given that this film was not an official remake of the original. Bonus Trivia, the film Beqarar was also unofficially remade by Bollywood as a film called ‘Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin’ starring Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit. ( Not sure as to who wrote the original film)
While the story was not weak, the way it was treated was rather superficial and shallow. Characters were completely one dimensional and lacked any depth which was compulsory for an intense love story like this. I mean if you are to root for the lover boy you need to feel something for him right? But the writing fails to elicit any such response. All I could think of was had this film been made by the Yash Chopra banner or Dharma Productions it would have been a completely different affair. There would have been intense sequences with powerful dialogues being exchanged and the entire film would have had a different feel. Something like Darr ( YRF) or Ae Dil Hai Mushkil ( Dharma) for instance.
Yes, Syed Noor is a living legend who has served the industry for more than four decades and has many hits to his credit. He is an industry veteran who has seen the industry go through a lot and I respect him for that. But unfortunately, he has not been able to keep up with the changing times which results in shabby direction and makes a joke out of an otherwise decent film. The introductory shot of Ruba, for instance, is so badly lit that all you see is a dark face full of shadows. There are out of focus scenes, weird framing at times and lots of reminders that something is wrong. Furthermore, there are many more instances, entire scenes for that matter which seem out of place and rather outdated giving you an 80’s vibe. All this takes away from the film and the film ends up being its own spoof.
Acting wise everyone does well and debutants Shahroz and Sarish both impress with their performances. I was particularly surprised by Sarish as this was her first acting gig and she does a great job. It’s unfortunate that due to bad writing and direction her performance could not get that extra push. Shahroz is a natural and the lover boy role fits like a glove. Again I would blame bad direction for certain scenes where the acting came as a bit over the top. Adil Murad as the villain does great too, he looks the part, acts the part and is definitely a great addition to the acting scene.I just wish some of his dialogues were better written, for these dialogues made his rather impactful character seem cartoonish. Other supporting actors all do well in their roles too.
The music of the film is decent where some songs do stick with you while others are forgettable. My favorites were ‘Nazar Se Nazar’ and ‘Meri Wafa Meray Waday’ and coincidentally both these songs are remakes of old songs. It was definitely a treat to hear Waris Baig but his song seemed a bit old school and didn’t gel with the film. Son Ammar Baig who has the exact same voice as of father had some better songs like title track ‘Chain Aye Na’ and others but to be honest the production quality of the songs, at least on the silver screen was rather inferior and better mixing was required.
On the whole, the film makes for an okay watch. Nothing horribly bad as other reviews suggest, but not a masterpiece either.
