The ultimate guide to Pakistani films expected to release in 2017

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December 28, 2016

In the last week of 2015 we shared the list of Pakistani films which we expected would release in 2016. Out of 38 films in our ultimate guide, we knew the confirm release date of only 2 of them, whereas we speculated about the rest of the titles, expecting them to hit the cinemas this year.

As 2016 bids us goodbye in next few days, we are extremely delighted to say that around half of the films in the list made it to the cinemas this year and some of them turned out to be huge box office successes, including the biggest hit of the year Actor In Law which we added in the list merely out of our intuition (the film had not been revealed by the makers then).

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Is Pakistan right in welcoming Bollywood back with open arms?

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Guest Author

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December 21, 2016

By: Adil Majid

Finally some people within India and Pakistan have showed maturity in realizing that art does not thrive in bans and sanctions. This situation can be analyzed by understanding the various pros and cons of making such a decision and whether it is likely to benefit Pakistan and its cinema and movie industry in the long run or not.

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Style File: All looks ‘yay’ and ‘nay’ from the HUM Style Awards!

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Galaxy Lollywood

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December 14, 2016

Galaxy Lollywood has always prided itself on being the first and only website that is solely dedicated to Pakistani cinema. We do reviews, interviews, box office, special reports to give you the complete picture when it comes to cinema. But we now feel that there is one thing which we need to add to the mix and that is, fashion! With the booming fashion industry of Pakistan and more awareness when it comes to style (especially with the new age Lollywood brigade) and styling being a job in itself we thought hey let’s bring a bit of fashion to Galaxy Lollywood.

Luckily we got some fabulous new writers and you may have noticed that we have been dabbling into the fashion zone with some style reports done by these ladies. And with recent HUM Style Awards, which aired this weekend, we at Galaxy thought why not do a full-fledged style file report where we talk about all looks ‘yay’ and ‘nay’. So team Galaxy sat together and did this fun little piece where we picked one celebrity after the other and analyzed the look. So the format is that there will be one celebrity and then un-edited, uncensored comments by team Galaxy Lollywood.

So here goes, hope you like it!

Saba Qamar

Kahkshaan: Bleh. The silhouette does not work for her, specially the colors.Nor does the hairdo to be honest.

Momin: Saba Qamar has come a long way if you follow her style evolution and how she used to dress up earlier. Having said that this looks doesnt work for me

Ifrah: Seriously, no comments! The dress, the makeup nothing attracts me and she looks out of place. I wonder who did the wardrobe.

Iman: No comments. She literally can make any dress look ugly.

Mawra Hocane

Kahkshaan: The sleek straight hair works for Mawra. And she is totally owning this look but I really wish it wasn’t too stuck to her body. The minimal makeup works for her with the bold red lips.

Ifrah: Super chic, glam and beautiful in this bronze liquid shine dress by Muse Luxe
and having Natasha as her makeup artist was just a cherry on top. Loved the ruby woo red lips the high beams of the highlighter. All hearts! Oh not to forget her metallic shoes ?
10/10

Momin: Super hot! Thats how you do a red carpet. From her hairdo to the metallic shoes, this look is perfect for me.

Hamza Ali Abbassi

Kahkshaan : He seems too uncomfortable in this. His awkward smile in various pictures is proof enough. Also it seems like a shaadi look. Specially the red and black combination is too dulha like and the buttons are distracting me too much

Aayan: Pata nahee kyun abbu kay kaprey lag rahey hain.

Momin : I’ve never been a fan of Hamza when it comes to style so yeah no comments. But kudos to Amir Adnan for getting him to ditch his darzi :p

Ifrah: The ever dashing Hamza always comes up with an incredible combination of both Eastern and Western and this merging never disappoints 😉

Iman: I think he should stick with his darzi cause then even when wearing a plain black kurta he owned it. Abhi he is uncomfortable in this.

Sajal Aly

Kahkshaan: Sajal Aly looked every inch the princess in the off white ball gown by Nomi Ansari with simplistic makeup by Natasha Salon. Giving attention to her beautiful face, the up do worked well with her overall attire.

Ifrah: Well if you have ever wished to see a real life fairy tale princess , Sajal was no less than one at the awards! Took my heart away in that while gown styled and glamed by the amazing Natasha.

Momin: She surely looks like a princess from a Disney film and this look gets a thumbs up from me.

Mahira Khan

Kahkshaan: Gorgeous Mahira Khan always seems to pull of her looks especially in the western wear department but this one seems to fall a little bit flat in the segment. Especially because of a dull color contrasted with grey. Also, her smokey eye look is giving a grey undertone to her face. Only if the hair had been volumized, it could have helped to bring the look together.

Iman: Love love love Mahira’s look. She always know what to wear and how to carry it.

Ifrah: I think she could have looked way better! Her previous looks are just a treat for the eyes. Though the wet/gel sleek hair do is super trendy but I felt it did not go with the attire and the whole look with rather dry colors, didnt really attract me.

Aayan: She looks good, but she has looked way better in past

Momin: Generally I love what she wears but this look is not working for me.

Ayesha Omar

Momin: Ayesha and Shehla always bring magic to the red carpet and for me this look was another feather in their cap. This one is a win for me!

Kahkshaan: Thank God for big bouncy hair, I am totally digging Ayesha Omars makeup and hair done by Omayr Waqar. Sadly, the same cannot be said for her ensemble which looks more like a fancy drawing room curtain with embellishments.

Ifrah:Loved her cape pants! The whole ensemble was kept very smooth! Totally rocked in Shehla’s! and Omayr did good justice with the “all glam” hair and makeup look

Ali Zafar

Kahkshaan : Rockstar Ali Zafar always manages to look dapper especially when he wears a tuxedo. Making us swoon, Ali personified sheer class and elegance at the award ceremony.

Iman: Is it just me or has he already worn something like this alot of times? Though he always looks amazing with whatever he wears but I think it would have been nice if he had worn something that would have caught the eye.

Urwa Hocane

Kahkshaan: Unlike her sister Urwa Hocane did not manage to woo even though she had been styled by Elan and Natasha Salon. The gown did not accentuate her figure and the gelled back hair looked like an oily mess. Black always seems a safe option but confusing in the case when it has roses and snakes on it and is embellished with sequins.

Iman: Urwa is famous for her cute looks but this time her hotness brought her in the news, totally loving her black dress and gelled back hairstyle.

Syra Shahroz

Kahkshaan:Cute as a button, Syra Shahroz charmed us all in this neutral ensemble by Temperly London. We sure can breathe a huge sigh of relief as she does not step out of her comfort zone and still looks like a diva.

Iman: Can this cutie ever go wrong? She always knows what to wear and how to carry it.

Shehryar Munawar

Kahkshaan:A tricky outfit to pull off, Shehryar manages to make us look past the green on green with his effortless persona. The overall color blocking by including the stark blue saves the day for Sherhyar!

Iman: Appreciate how he tried to pull off a different look, though the colour of the suit could have been better but his effortless attitude makes him look amazing.

Momin: I like how Amna Niazi ( the stylist) always brings something new to the red carpet with the boys she styles and when its someone as hot as Shehryar you cant really go wrong now can you.

Sarwat Gillani

Kahkshaan:Anarkalis are meant for weddings, sarwat! We wish she had left them to that. Truly disappointed with her look especially for a big awards night.

Iman: Sarwat looks elegant in this desi Anarkali look, though I think this wasn’t something you should have worn to an award show,however liked how she didn’t overdo her look with alot of jewllery.

Amina Sheikh

Kahkshaan:Not every green outfit can win at the red carpet, especially when adorned with a huge diamond necklace with a ruby in the middle. Amina Sheikh could have easily given the necklace a miss and managed to wow us.

Iman:Love Love Love what she’s wearing, green colour is made for her! A different piece of jewellery and lipstick shade could have made her one of the best-dressed girls from the night.

Feroze khan
Ifrah:Dapper is all we can say! The complete black suiting gave a major celebrity crush! Dashing as ever.

Iman:I agree how black always looks chic, but at times you need improve on it tad bit atleast when at an award show that is all about style. You can’t just get up wear a black formal suit and get going well maybe that’s just what I didn’t expect from the dapper Feroze.

Shoaib Malik

Ifrah:The favourite cricket player came in all decked up in his well fitted navy blue suits. This one is a win!

Iman:He looks comfortable and happy in this Munib Nawaz coat. It’s like it’s made for him.

Let us know if you liked our feature and want more such stuff 🙂

Salute (Review) : This heartfelt tribute is a must watch!

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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Movie Name: Salute

Release Date: Dec 2, 2016

Director: Shahzad Rafique

Review by: Momin Ali Munshi

When I first heard that Shehzad Rafique was making a film based on the life of martyr Aitzaz Hasan there was only one thought on my mind: was there enough source material to justify a feature length film? Obviously, the director would take creative liberty and would add some masala to make the film more palatable to the average cine-goer but how the director would extract an entire film from one incident was something I was really looking forward too. So now having seen the film I can answer the question that whether Shehzad Rafique succeeds in his efforts? And the answer is a resounding yes!

The director effectively manages to paint the story of the little boy from Hangu who gave his life while protecting his schoolmates and has the audience invested from the word go. Yes, there are far too many sub-plots which serve as distractions and take focus away from the main story but as the plots are somewhat interlinked and centered around one major theme the film has the desired result.

The story of the film begins with little Aitazaz Hassan’s (Ali Mohtesham) birth and the joy that his birth brings to the family which comprises of an elder brother (Adnan Khan), mother (Saima Noor) and father (Ajab Gul) who is working as a driver in the UAE so as to provide for his family. The story progresses and we learn more about what’s happening in the bigger picture which involves corrupt Taliban in Waziristan , certain incidents in Swat and generally many inter-linked subplots set in the KPK.

Now while these sub-plots were necessary to move the film forward and provide a larger context when it comes to the main theme, at times these sub-plots overshadowed the main story in itself and served as distractions. I, as a viewer was more interested to see what was happening in the Aitzaz Hassan household but was shown more of what was happening in the neighboring areas and this was rather disengaging. I felt that the balance between the sub-plots and the main plot was off and the screen time could have been better divided.

However moving on to the main story itself, one needs to appreciate the director and the actors for a convincing portrayal. Director Shehzad Rafique who has is an industry veteran has sort of mastered the art of story telling where the main characters are simple individuals from humble backgrounds and this shows in Salute. The way he shows the day to day life in Hangu could not have been better and the fact that they shot at real locations only adds to the authenticity. Moreover the camera work is on point, cinematography sharp and KPK is captured beautifully. The only issue I have is with the editing and pacing for as mentioned earlier the sub-plots took away from the pace, also the ending seemed a bit rushed. But the director makes up for all that with the main scene at the climax where Aitaz Hassan confronts the suicide bomber. I will not go into much detail but the entire sequence has been shot really well with a complimenting background music, visuals and leave the viewer teary eyed.

A huge reason why the film works well is because of the super strong acting department. Be it Saima Noor’s portryal of the over-protective mother who is deeply attached to the kid or Ajab Gul as the distressed father , everyone makes their presence felt and add to the film.I will go on to say that this is probably Saima’s best performance to date! Her acting is so effortless and she comes across as such a natural that there is nobody who could have done a better job with this role.

Here I also need to mention the brilliant selection of Ali to play the lead character of Aitazaz Hassan for when making a biopic it’s very crucial that the main lead is someone who convinces the viewers and elicits the kind of response that has been envisioned while planning the film. And boy oh boy does Ali do that! He not only looks the part but plays the part rather well and its his portrayal that gets you all teary eyed towards the end of the film.

Moving on to the baddies, Nayyer Ejaz proves yet again why he is a force to be reckoned with and gives a stellar performance. Sheraz Ghufoor who makes a come back after the 2014 release ‘The System ‘ has surely grown a lot as an actor and that shows in his strong performance. Also a special mention for Meera who had a brief sequence but gives an applaud worthy performance. The only issues in the acting department is with the minor supporting actors who are all just bad! Be it the couple on a vacation ( played by Meera’s real life brother), Ajab Gul’s friend in the UAE or the police force, everyone gives weak performances. But since they have tiny roles it’s all good and not much is lost.

The music of the film is another plus point as the background score by Aamir Munnawar is definitely on point. It does get a bit too loud at times but then I’m told there was an issue with the screen at Luxus Grand where I saw the film. Furthermore, even the songs ‘Tu Hai Mera’, ‘Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo’ and ‘Lab Pay Aati’ have been beautifully composed and used in the film. The music definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

To sum it up I would say that this film is one heartfelt tribute by the makers and should definitely be on your must watch list.

Dobara Phir Se (Review): A refreshing love story breaking the stereotypes

By

Galaxy Lollywood

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Movie Name: Dobara Phir Se

Release Date: Nov 25, 2016

Director: Mehreen Jabbar

Review by: Zeeshan Mahmood

Mehreen Jabbar returns to the cinema after taking the sabbatical of eight years with romantic drama ‘Dobara Phir Se’ and shows why her long-awaited comeback was worth the wait.

The prolific director, who has done tremendous work on TV all these years, co-laid the foundation of new-age cinema with ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ at the time when the revival of cinema still seemed a far-fetched idea. While the nascent wave of new-age cinema took half of another decade to create the ripple effect, Jabbar waited for three more years to return to the silver screen with a film expected from the director of Doraha, Daam and Vasal.

At the time when many of the ill-conceived projects are hitting the cinemas, Mehreen Jabbar’s comeback is timely and need of the time as she brings her experience of TV, which is one among the best, to the big screen and also lends the refreshing and different perspective to the industry dominated by the male filmmakers.

‘Dobara Phir Se’ is a love story, or more aptly a boy-meets-girl flick, but quintessentially it is much more than that. It has set the bar much higher for making refined films in Pakistan, while not taking the audience’s common sense or intelligence for granted and putting equal amount of effort in every department of the film from writing to casting, direction and editing. It is not only technically one of the soundest films but in terms of the art of storytelling and breaking stereotypes it aces many of the recent releases.

A film is as good on celluloid as it’s on paper

Writing a well structured script is the first step towards making a good film. A film which does not look good on paper can never be transformed into something spectacular or memorable on the celluloid. Mehreen Jabbar kept her tradition of bringing well-written stories to life alive in ‘Dobara Phir Se’. The script of the film, written by Bilal Sami, is not an extraordinary one but it is well-written and meticulously developed.

The film’s story revolves around Zainab (Hareem Farooq), mother of a 6 year old boy, who is facing multi-faceted challenges in life after divorcing her husband Asim (Shaz Khan). She finds herself at the crossroads of choosing between her happiness and what is right for her family when she felt herself falling for Hammad (Adeel Hussain), a friend she made at a party on the home of their mutual friends Samar (Sanam Saeed) and Vasay (Ali Kazmi) and from there they kept on entangling themselves in a complicated relationship.

The magic of the film is in its trick of telling this fairly predictable story subtly and unconventionally and keeping the small amount of speculation towards the end. The film keeps an amazing pace in the first half but the second half gets slower and less eventful and leads to the climax which could have been better or bigger, thus leaving us with the feeling of ‘something is missing’ when the film ends.

We see characters not just actors on the screen

We have seen Hareem, Adeel, Tooba, Sanam, Ali, and Shaz – six people sharing the screen in the film – before, but we met with Zainab, Hammad, Natasha, Samar, Vasay and Asim – six friends whose lives and fates are interconnected – in ‘Dobara Phir Se’. These characters make the skeleton of the story and impart soul to the film. It is, again thanks to the well-written script, a rare phenomenon in our films when we get to see well-developed and perceptible characters and just not moving, talking and dancing performers on the screen.

‘Dobara Phir Se’ is also a bouquet full of good and memorable performances given by every actor fitting his or her character like a glove. Hareem Farooq, as the leading lady of the film, has done a tremendous job. She gives the strongest performance in the film and steals the show. Sanam Saaed, as quirky Samar, brings all the fun to the film. Her every scene is fun-filled and her on-screen chemistry with Ali Kazmi is amazing. Adeel Hussain stayed true to his roots and performed very well. All the other actors including Shaz Khan, Tooba Siddiqui and Atiqa Odho had good appearance in the film and they helped in propelling the story smoothly.

A much-needed break from the stereotypes

‘Dobara Phir Se’ introduces us with Zainab who defies the stereotypical view of being a divorced woman. There is no connotation attached to it, as divorce does not hinder her to start a new life and fall in love again. She does not resort to sobbing and sabotaging her life after the divorce but works on rebuilding it and achieving her goals, never getting distracted from her responsibilities as a mother.

Natasha (Tooba Siddiqui) despite knowing that she was ditched by Hammad for another woman decides to give him and life another chance and does not feel insecure of the other woman when she returns to their lives. She is not an over-possessive and sentimental vamp but a forgiving and focused woman.

We are not accustomed of watching such emotionally stable and sensible characters, and may find it difficult to relate with them, but that’s an achievement of the film as it gives us relief from the stereotypical and cliched characters and enlightens us with the subversive view of love and relationships.

A satisfying cinematic experience

Direction, cinematography, editing and everything else built on the foundation of a good script keeps on making the film better and better. The direction by Mehreen Jabbar is flawless. The cinematography is exquisite. Every scene is beautifully shot. The editing is simply perfect. The music of the film is good. The soundtrack is intense and engrossing.

In short, the film gives a satisfying cinematic experience too.

Box Office Update: ‘Dobara Phir Se’ has a disastrous first weekend!

By

Momin Ali Munshi

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November 28, 2016

We cannot vouch for the authenticity of these box office numbers given by independent box office tracking site Box Office Detail. However until we have some official box-office tracking system in Pakistan this is all we have got. Also the numbers are revised at times and hence you may observe fluctuations.

Box office is a very unpredictable thing they say, and after the fate of recent release ‘Dobara Phir Se’ this statement could not seem any more truer. A well marketed film, with a decent ensemble cast, fairly hit music, a hot shot director and a big banner. Add to that the Pakistani audiences starved for entertainment and you would assume that a big opening was definitely on the cards.

But the box office numbers that have come out are rather disappointing. As per Box Office Detail ( the only box office tracking site in Pakistan) the film opened with 45lakhs on day 1 , while day 2 was in the range of 55-60 lakhs. A day 3 number is not out but an educated guess would say somewhere around 60 lakhs, hence the three day total being about 1.6-1.65 crore and this is not good!

Yes this would be a decent opening for a small budget film, but for a film like DPS this is not exactly gold. Only last week ARY’s release ‘Lahore Se Aagey’ had a box office weekend of 3.65 crores, so yeah! Lets see how the film fares in coming days but if the opening weekend is something to go by it looks this one is ARY’s first flop.

Ahsan Khan and Ayesha Omer sign rom-com ‘Rehbra – the soul of love’

By

Iman Ali Munshi

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November 26, 2016

It seems like its raining films in Pakistan! One after the other, new films are being announced every now and then and the films ready to release are making fans frenzy with their teasers and first looks. This time around the rom-com ‘Rehbra – the soul of love’ is coming your way which stars Khoobsurat Ayesha Omer, who was previously seen in ‘Karachi Se Lahore’, along with none other than handsome Udaari-guy, Ahsan Khan. This is definitely one film to look out for!

‘Rehbra – the soul of love’ is TV director Amin Iqbal’s debut film. Ahsan Khan has previously done two drama serials with Amin and he shared that he always felt that he should do a film with Amin as he has the potential for making a good film in him. While ‘Rehbra’ is a romantic comedy, Khan claims that this one is going to be different in many ways. According to him, the film is “a much needed rom-com with intense romance and great music”.

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‘Dobara Phir Se is my kind of commercial film,’ says Mehreen Jabbar

By

Aayan Mirza

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November 25, 2016

Her second, Dobara Phir Se (DPS), releases today (25 November, 2016). Her first, Raamchand Pakistani, came out eight years back in 2008 and was one of the pioneer films of what we see of our film industry today.

One of the finest directors Pakistan has, of film and TV, and certainly someone whose work we can immensely be proud of, films or otherwise. Who else but, Mehreen Jabbar.

I interviewed her recently and she had a lot of worthy things to say. Down below is how it went:

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“Mehreen doesn’t have any business sense” and more that DPS cast reveals

By

Aayan Mirza

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November 21, 2016

Dobara Phir Se (DPS) marks Mehreen Jabbar’s comeback to films after more than eight years. And it looks just what her next should have looked like; as her first (Raamchand Pakistani – 2008) was one of the pioneer films of this budding industry.

An exciting ensemble cast with actors like Adeel Hussain, Sanam Saeed, Ali Kazmi, Hareem Farooq, Atiqa Odho, Tooba Siddiqui and many others, along with a fact of it being mostly set in New York and a story that looks intriguing to say the very least, I believe it is really something rousing coming our way. So mark your dates as it hits cinemas nationwide on 25th November, 2016.

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Box Office Update: ‘Lahore Se Aagey’ completes glorious first weekend

By

Galaxy Lollywood

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November 14, 2016

The eagerly anticipated movie ‘Lahore Se Aagey’ released in cinemas all over Pakistan this Friday and given the three day numbers it would not be wrong to say that the film has opened with a bang. It is worth mentioning that this is the first major release after the ban on Indian films was imposed in September, thus ending the dry spell for Pakistani cinemas.

The road comedy film is a sequel/spin-off of last years sleeper hit ‘Karachi Se Lahore’ which launched the sensation that is Yasir Hussain and brought Wajahat Rauf to the forefront as a promising director. Expectations from the second film were obviously high given the director-actor combo, star cast (addition of Saba Qamar), great music, and strong promotions.

The film opened to one of the highest openings of the year earning 1.20 crore on Friday and showed a tremendous growth on the second day with earnings of 1.35 crore. Sunday, however, brought the decline in the trend and the film minted only 1.10 crore.

Nevertheless, it would not be difficult to say that the film lived up to the expectations as it raked in 3.65 crore on the first weekend. It would be interesting to see what trend the film sees rest of the week one. Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned to Galaxy Lollywood for all updates.