Movie Name: Na Maloom Afraad 2
Release Date: September 1, 2017
Director: Nabeel Qureshi
Review by: Momin Ali Munshi
Na Maloom Afraad 2 marks the third outing of director-producer duo Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza who have already delivered in the past with films Na Maloom Afraad and Actor In Law. Na Maloom Afraad, in particular, was a milestone film for Pakistani Cinema and redefined the meaning of a true-blue Pakistani film. Then came the commercial entertainer Actor In Law, made on a larger canvas, miles ahead on the technical front and a blockbuster at the box office. The team is now back with their third film, a follow up to their first film, and unfortunately, this time around they somewhat fail to hit the mark.
With great success comes great responsibility and that is exactly what happened with this film for the expectations from the golden team were just too high! Na Maloom Afraad 1 with its killer script, tight screenplay, spectacular characterization, localized humor and a beautiful picture of Karachi had set the bar too high and the sequel let alone topping it, couldn’t match up to the brilliance of the first film. As a standalone film it is not bad but as a follow up to Na Maloom Afraad it falls flat and there is only one reason; a poor script.
Na Maloom Afraad 2 begins where the first one had ended with the three afraads now loaded and living the life. Farahan ( Fahad Mustafa) and Shakeel ( Javed Sheikh) are running their factory in Karachi while Moon ( Mohsin Abbas Haider) is a successful DJ in South Africa. However, one unfortunate incident and two of the three afraads are back to square one. But not all is lost as comes into the picture Sheikh Baklawa (Nayyar Ejaz) and his golden pot and the rest is for you to see on the silver screen.
Now the film is beautifully shot and director Nabeel Qureshi leaves no stone unturned to showcase his finesse as a director and let’s be honest, he is one of the finest directors we have in this new age of cinema. Add to that the Rana Kamran the cinematographer and every shot oozes brilliance. But while the film looks grand in every sense, and why not for the budget of the film is visibly bigger than the two earlier films the content is weak.
The script of the film is rather weak and unoriginal. It was particularly disappointing because the script has always been a strength of this team and NMA had worked majorly because of the script. The localized humor, the pop culture references which had made the original film stand out were thoroughly missing in the sequel which had its fleeting moments of brilliance but were soon replaced by mediocrity. For a film that is supposedly a comedy, there are hardly a few scenes which make you laugh. Furthermore, the toilet humor which the entire film is centered around was rather disgusting at times. I don’t mind talk of the pot, but digging diamonds from the flush and then cooking food right after, trips down the sewerage, showing us what Javed Sheikh’s poop looks like! Sorry, not my idea of comedy.
But while the script is weak the performances by the actors and direction by Nabeel kind of make up for it as you are amazed by the talent of these individuals. Fahad Mustafa is a star and he performs his role to a t and I would especially like to acknowledge him for letting everyone shine and not trying to be the center of attention throughout which is common for our leading stars. Mohsin Abbas Haider does well, although unfortunately the comic timing from the first part I missed, but maybe that’s because of inferior content. Javed Sheikh for me was the weakest of the lot because his character was so annoying and all the stammering with nothing funny coming at the end became a bit too much.
Hania Aamir is a star in the making and makes you sit up and take notice. That she is easy on the eyes only helps. Urwa is hardly there but is good with whatever little she has. No wonder she chose to promote Punjab Nahi Jaungi where comparatively she has a much meatier role. The supporting actors Saleem Miraj, Nayyab Ejaz, Marina Khan do a fine job too.It was definitely a treat to see Marina Khan on the silver screen.Sadaf Kanwal had one song but this girl surely set the screen on fire.
The music of the film is good with four tracks where ‘Kaif Suroor’ and ‘Nach Nach’ were personal favorites. I just wish they had a proper lip synch video for the Nach track for they were already dressed, the song was peppy, all they had to do was dance to the song! But well we do see the lot dancing in ‘Hug Lay’ which was definitely a well-shot song.
Verdict: It’s a mindless entertainer which does not match up to the first part but nonetheless makes for a decent watch.
Rating: 3/5 stars
