Film: Kamli
Release Date: 3rd June, 2022
Director: Sarmad Khoosat
Review by: Hassan Hassan
Edward Munch was a 19th century Norwegian painter, widely known for one of his spectacular artworks titled, “The Sick Child.”
A Small History Lesson
The painting depicts his elder sister about to die of tuberculosis, in obvious pain, with a haunted expression. She is accompanied by a grief-stricken older woman, clutching her hands, looking towards an ominous curtain, likely intended as a symbol of death.
The older woman seems to want to comfort the dying child but her bowed head symbolises that she cannot bear to watch the traumatic ordeal. This symbolic depiction of such a close, personal experience became one of Munch’s most widely known works, and still inspires many artists.
Sarmad Khoosat And His Art
Sarmad Khoosat, in his long-awaited, big screen directorial comeback, Kamli, employs similar symbolic tools with lyricism to portray the traumatic journeys of his characters in an extremely effective way. What transpires on the big screen is a true work of both impressionist and expressionist work of art, that may leave you heartbroken and shaken, yet amused, when you leave the cinema.
The Story
Kamli follows a rather simple storyline where a young woman Hina (Saba Qamar) lives with her sister-in-law Sakina (Sania Saeed) waiting for the former’s husband, Saqlain, to return home, after he has been missing for several years. Hina, along with many women, is working as a painting model for an artist played by Nimra Bucha whose own marital life with her husband Malik (Omair Rana) is struggling, owing to many reasons.
Thus enters into Hina’s life, a mysterious, handsome man named Amaltas (played by debutant Hamza Khawaja) who sets the events into motion. On the apparent, it seems that Hina is to choose a life with her new found love over her wait for her long, missing husband, but there is far more to this simple storyline, which you need to see on the big screen to unfold. And trust us, you won’t regret it.
Kamli: The Highs
Amongst the many strengths of Kamli, its tightly written screenplay and dialogues strike you first. Despite being simple in its first half, it maintains your attention and keeps you hooked by intelligently employing the sensuous tension between the lead cast. There are so many symbols and nuances of lyricism that almost every scene possesses. Even the characters are designed in such a way that helps efficiently convey the turmoil of one, or another related character.
An example being Sakina’s character: she is intentionally shown to be blind to depict that although she’s doing all the house chores, teaching Quran to children, and senses whenever Hina is at the door, she can’t see the agony of her sister-in-law who is living a painfully lonesome life. The use of different animals, dried flowers, water, rain, fire, and even the rural locales carry meaning in the narrative and make it impactful and poetic.
Praising The Writer
Writer Fatimah Sattar deserves applause for constructing a crisp screenplay based on a simple storyline. This effective screenplay, thankfully falls in the hands of an artful director who paints a colorfully vivid canvas, with all its subtle hints and symbols.
There is commentary on religion, society, love, human nature, and relationships, in all its delicately exquisite ways that only a few people like Sarmad Khoosat could do justice to.
Applause For The Kamli Cast
Apart from directing the film in a compact manner, Sarmad’s biggest strength becomes the star cast. Sania Saeed as the controlling, yet escapist matriarch steals the show, closely accompanied by the super talented Saba Qamar. Saba proves herself as a versatile actor with a wide range, and her character in Kamli is a 180 degree turn from her commercial Eid hit, Ghabrana Nahi Hai.
It’s extremely refreshing to see an actor playing a restrained, meek, and seemingly fragile person on-screen, who is an altogether different person to what you have seen previously. With Kamli, Saba will have surely silenced a handful of people who described her work as monotonous and unidimensional.
As for Sania Saeed, the veteran actor’s mannerisms and expressions are itself a case study for young actors, to learn the art of acting. Nimra Bucha playing a painter, who is dissatisfied both with her work and marital life, is another character whose pain and tragedy you can feel.
Debutant Hamza Khawaja plays Hina’s mysterious lover, and isn’t, understandably, given many dialogues. Yet, with his earthy looks and attenuated expressions, he impresses the audience within the space he’s been given.
The Music
Kamli’s narrative is aptly accentuated with the appropriate presence of a soulful and effective soundtrack. The intensity and light-heartedness of the sequences is conveyed masterfully with music created by the talented team of Saad Sultan, Zeb Bangash, Atif Aslam, and Zenab Fatima Sultan, amongst others. ‘Mainu Tu’ in Reshma’s voice deserves a special mention.
The Visual Appeal Of Kamli
As could be seen from the trailer, Kamli promised to be a visual delight, and the film delivers the promise with its lush visuals, shot by cinematographer Owais Gohar. Shot extensively in Soon valley, the wild settings serve the purpose of the narrative quite well by communicating the passion, eagerness, and agony of the main characters.
The Verdict
Kamli is a film for people who understand symbolism and lyricism. Despite being a simple storyline, it has its own layers, and the last twenty minutes are surely going to blow your mind away. It will ensue a discourse on how things unfolded in the end, and will leave you heartbroken, feeling the pain of the lead characters.
Despite its nuances and intelligent filmmaking, Kamli might not appeal to a wider audience – especially those who love escapist, massy entertainers. It’s not a flashy, ornate, song and dance extravaganza for which cinema of the subcontinent is known. Rather, it represents the parallel cinema that relies on fresh and stylistic depictions of the story. It’s a serious and dark film that relies on artistic expressions, and high-octane performances. For this unique standpoint, Kamli deserves a watch in cinema.
Rating: 4/5
