There has been a severe scarcity of activity at the global cinematic front since the onset of the Covid-19 and Pakistani cinema bears no exception. The release of Chaudhry’s teaser trailer seems to be the only activity during this lull period. The film is based on the life events of Mohammad Aslam Khan, better known as Chaudhry Aslam. Tagged as Karachi’s toughest cop during his 30 years of service and regarded as a symbol of fear for terrorists and criminals, Chaudhry was assassinated in January 2014 in a terrorist attack.
As far as the teaser is concerned, a glamorous and brave cop who was martyred surely provides an excellent premise for some quality commercial cinema and the makers would have wanted to bank on it. Instead, the quality and editing of the minute-long promotional video leaves much to be desired.
The teaser trailer gives a sneak peek at the content of the film and hints at a product that aims to cater to the masses of Pakistani cinema. It features pretty much the entire cast of the film with a heavy dose of action and not so ornately choreographed dance sequences picturised on rather unknown faces. We see glimpses of Tariq Islam, who plays the lead and also happened to be a real-life cop and brother to the martyr Chaudhry Aslam. Joining him are Shamoon Abbasi, Yasir Hussain, Tariq Meraj, Amir Qureshi, and a host of new faces as the supporting cast. There is a shot featuring Lollywood diva Sana Fakhar too if you watch it in slow motion.
As stated earlier, the production values of the film from what’s evident from the teaser may not be the best of what Pakistani cinema has produced in recent years. The graphics and the editing of the teaser themselves look very primordial, to say the least. The treatment of the teaser is very raw and is heavily (and unnecessarily) peppered with dance sequences, probably to attract a certain niche. Azeem Sajjad’s forgettable directorial debut ‘8969’ had somewhat similar treatment in its trailers, albeit the canvas encases of Chaudhry seems better if not broader. Perhaps better editing of the teaser could have added a certain value to the film but for now, it fails to impress even a diehard Lollywood film buff.
The only saving grace visible from the teaser is the faces of talented actors like Amir Qureshi, Saleem Meraj, Yasir Hussain and Shamoon Abbasi.
The makers really have to prove through further promotional content that ‘Chaudhry’ as a film caries substance and is an apt tribute to one of the most beloved sons of Karachi. Here is hoping they live up to the requirements of this important task.
