Wajahat Rauf, the man behind the Karachi Se Lahore series, has kept us waiting for his third cinematic outing for a while now and just yesterday, he dropped the much-awaited trailer of his upcoming film, Chhalawa.
Taking a detour from his favorite ‘Road trip comedy’ genre, the director, this time, has opted for another much-loved genre in the subcontinent cinema i.e the big fat family wedding (we don’t exactly know what the specific term for it is) and there could have been no better release slot for a sweet film like this than the Meethi Eid itself.
The good, the bad and some more good
The trailer features some well-known stars of the entertainment industry namely Mehwish Hayat, Azfar Rehman, Zara Noor Abbas, Asad Siddiqui, Mehmood Aslam, Adnan Shah Tipu, Aashir Wajahat and Mohsin Ejaz.
As mentioned earlier, the film is a rom-com culminating in and across the backdrop of a Punjabi family wedding. It has music, dance, drama, romance and even a pinch of action, thus ticking all the boxes of a family entertainer.
While the story-line may not be very original in its basic template, it’s the execution and characters of the film that will serve as the backbone of the film and make it unique.
Chhalawa appears to be pretty successful in having eccentric yet relatable characters if the trailer is keenly observed. While the teaser may be a let down for looking like a cousin to Punjab Nahi Jaungi, the seemingly ‘character-driven’ nature of the film is where its strength resides.
From Mehwish’s fiery and headstrong character – Zoya, to the talented Zara Noor’s “Galaxy Lollywood-ish” avatar, (Yes!The trailer actually refers to Galaxy Lollywood at one point) and Mehmud Aslam’s patriarchal but softer on the inside presence to the comic timings of its leading men, Chhalawa seems to have well-written characters.
The feel-good nature of the film is cemented further by its brilliant music, choreography, and cinematography. The dance moves are trendy and fun and the scale of the film is expansive and fresh.
The music, being upbeat and trendy, covers pretty much all the moods (from romantic ballad to dance numbers and a heartbreak song). It gives a major boost to the film and is definitely going to be chartbuster as well as a Shadi/Mehndi favorite for the times to come.
A few words on the characters
A special mention should be given to the debutant Zara who excels in whichever scene she appears. Her dialogue delivery and dance moves are all on the mark. From the trailer, she looks like the next big thing for the local silver screens and we hope to see more of her on the silver screen.
As for Mehwish, the lady never disappoints. She owns every frame she appears in and rather overshadows her co-stars (even her male counterparts). Her character seems to have several layers to it and grows as the trailer furthers. Azfar Rehman and Asad Siddiqui (who, although doesn’t appear much for it’s a trailer) also have their own grounds to hold and are pretty much successful in that.
Despite its rather predictable story, it seems the couples (Mehwish-Azfar and Zara-Asad) will be successful in grabbing our attention this Eid because the chemistry amongst them is enthralling. With a better cut trailer and ingredients that attract our family audiences, Chhalawa will remain the first choice of viewers on Eid.
The film could just be the best work of Wajahat Rauf to date. To find that out for sure, we will have to wait until Eid, when the film comes out. But for now, the trailer has made us pretty much sure of it.
