Babar Ali’s comeback film Betabiyan, starring the veteran actor alongside a cast of newcomers comprising of Hiba Ali, Syed Arez and Saima Baloch released late last month on November 29. The long in the pipeline project went through a series of production snags, with its promos having made rounds of the social media for a few years now.

Predictably, it couldn’t score decent numbers at the box office, despite receiving a nation-wide release at all the major multiplexes in the country, that too during a period when there was literally no major competitor. According to estimates from EPK, it managed to collect in the region of 40 lacs in its opening weekend, however, bear in mind that these are not independently verified and at best can be taken as a gross indicator of the movie’s box office opening.

A dream debut

However, that is not how things always were like for the star. Once upon a time, almost 25 years ago in 1995, Babar Ali turned an overnight superstar with box office smash Jeeva in March of that year. This was later followed by the record-breaking blockbuster success of Munda Bigra Jaye which cemented his status as a star.

Babar delivered more hits with projects like Jo Darr Gaya Who Marr Gaya and Chor Machaye Shor and it seemed like there was no looking back. However, fortunes for the star changed for the worse come 1997 and by 1999, Punjabi cinema had taken over Lollywood. Babar struggled to find his footing in the new loud and garish type of films being churned out and eventually settled for starring in negative characters in films such as Larki Punjaban and Mehndi Walay Hath.

Failure to relaunch

Babar Ali’s fans continued to root for the star whose career prospects blossomed with the short-lived revival period of Urdu cinema in the mid-90s. He attempted a comeback to the silver screen with Bhai Log and Son Of Pakistan, however none of these were lead roles and it seemed his film career hit a dead-end, as the star ended up working on some television shows and some non-descript film productions. Despite having starred in some popular television serials such as Boota From Toba Tek Singh and Landa Bazaar he was not able to capitalize on his film popularity for the small screen. His recent television projects such as Laal Ishq have not seemed to attract much audience interest either.

The fate of Betabiyan will be another unfortunate blow to the star’s career. The project was high on gloss and glamor – although in a very garish, old-school Lollywood way, and ultimately neither delivered on star power or content, two things needed to make a film work at theaters.

Final word

All hope is not lost for Babar will be seen once again in The Legend Of Maula Jatt, which is still awaiting its release. We certainly look forward to that and hope it can turn around the fortunes for this very talented actor who once was able to make the audiences swoon with his signature shoulder-length locks.

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