In times where the country is in a virtual lockdown courtesy Covid-19 pandemic, it doesn’t come as a surprise that there’s a complete entertainment vacuum and the masses have their attention on what films, if any, are lined up this year.

Released on the Pakistan day national holiday, Zarrar’s trailer couldn’t have found a more suitable release date. The sharply edited three and a half minute long preview with many exhilarating, adrenaline-filled action sequences is sure to be the topic of discussion in the coming weeks for all those who follow Pakistani films.

Strong visuals

To be sure though, where the trailer is strong on the audiovisual front, we don’t see much of the storyline being revealed, although this might be an intentional move by the makers. We see Shaan playing the titular character Zarrar, who is a former ISI agent and now has to come back to the front to save the day against foreign and internal elements who are hell-bent to prove Pakistan a failed state. From what we could gather, the target of their nefarious designs is the country’s atomic program and Zarrar is what stands in their way.

The synopsis does sound fresh from Pakistani cinema’s perspective as earlier the local filmmakers had focused on Kashmir or Taliban as the center of their story when exploring this genre. Zarrar’s palette, thus, seems expansive and more interesting.

Joining Shan is the interesting supporting cast that includes the stunning Kiran Malik who plays a journalist and Shaan’s on-screen love interest alongside Nadeem Baig, playing Zarrar’s mentor.

Also featured are the ultimate baddies of Pakistani cinema namely Shafqat Cheema and Nayyar Ijaz in different avatars against whom Zarrar has to fight. Adnan Butt, who debuts with the film, plays a RAW agent and looks suitably menacing.

Despite giving an overall dark and intense feel, Zarrar‘s promotional video looks enthralling and slick. The background music is apt and energetic and lifts the scenes wherever needed.

Real-world relevance

There’s real stock footage from mainstream media featuring anchors and politicians like Narendra Modi to name a few, some well-choreographed hand to hand action sequences, some of which will surely remind you of a few Hollywood flicks here and there. All of this is spliced with monologues about imminent threats to the country’s future, car chase scenes and of course a love triangle to make the narrative lighter.

While Shan has been seen in similar roles by Pakistani viewers previously in films like Waar, Yalghaar, and Operation 021 what’s interesting is that local cinema will be witnessing a dark action thriller after a long interval. The trailer definitely gives Waar vibes at many places which is another reason to get excited about.

The final test

While the trailer is no doubt successful in grabbing attention, the real test of Zarrar undoubtedly will be at cinema screens where it has to deliver on the content front to achieve the “Hit” tag. The film is critically important for Shaan’s career as its success could bring him back in-game after a couple of flops at the Box office.

Although no release date is announced yet, the trailer does offer hope that the film could release somewhere in 2020, depending upon how corona pandemic pans out, among other factors.

For now, enjoy the trailer and let us know in the comments what you think!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra6JJTVn6q8