With the opening of cinemas and declining Covid-19, the frigid Pakistani film scene has begun to thaw, whose evidence is the recent release of several film trailers, harking back to times our morning shows teemed with local artists promoting their works.
One such trailer to hit the screens of late is the coming of age social narrative called “Kahey Dil Jidhar”.
Narrative
The film stars Laal Kabutar fame Mansha Pasha, playing a journalist, alongside singer-turned-actor Junaid Khan. There are a handful of both veteran and new actors as well.
The first trailer unveils the lead film cast playing out what seems to be the maturation of youth into their practical lives from what the four college students aspired to be once, to what they come to be throughout their journey that is life.
Across the narrative, as the trailer suggests, the friends get their bonds tested through life-transforming experiences.
The film takes up a number of banes afflicting society, including drug abuse and corruption in the public sector and the news media. It speaks of a society where there is no moral compass. What’s interesting to see is the presence of grey characters in the film, a rather difficult task to write.
Almost every lead character has their fair share of grey shades. Mansha Pasha, a vocal and idealistic journalist is set against Junaid Khan, who dons the character of a fearless yet murky cop.
Accompanying them are newcomers such as Kamran Bari (also the film producer), a struggling college musician with drug addiction, and Roma Michael playing a supporting role but is key in bringing back together all the college friends.
The trailer goes on to reveal a host of fight sequences peppered, so it would seem, across its length. One also sees glimpses of veteran actors like Atiqa Odhu, Sajid Hassan and Rashid Khawaja (famous producers of multiple hit films from the 90s). The trailer also hints at some tragic events at the end which could possibly be involving the death of Kamran Bari’s character, that of a drug addict.
Our Take
While there is much to praise in the film trailer, there’s just as much to be critical over. One just can’t simply overlook the relatively poor sound design and Kamran Bari’s dialogue delivery could not do justice with the stature of the character he plays. This might be too soon to comment on but on the face of it, the trailer seems to give away too much of the story. This together prompts us to hope there’s more to it; interesting twists whose technical glitches are limited to the trailer only.
While the genre isn’t new to South Asian cinema, it would be the treatment of the film and the performances by actors which would play a crucial role in making the film work at the box office.
‘Kahay Dil Jidhar’ is scheduled for release on 17th December 2021.
