The Other Side by SSK: January 2016

I should quickly jot down my experience here of attending the premiere before I start lamenting about posting this super duper late. I would first like to thank Samra Muslim and her team for accommodating me when I know they had a crazy amount of people to fit in, and handling the premiere so well! Their events are always well managed and I never have to worry about much. So I reached on time, which is never a good idea considering how relaxed people are here and late they appear on their own events. Even the red carpet hadn't started. There was a small area where some media personal were allowed to cover the red carpet. Against my better judgement, I decided to get in to take a few snaps. Despite of the team checking ids to let only necessary people in, there were a lot of them just standing, doing nothing and wasting space. Of course, they were still better than the almost molesters trying to photograph celebrities; they don’t have the decency or the sense to let shorter people get in front, no concept of personal space and will even stoop down to the level of pushing to get decent shots. May be that’s how it always is, this was my first and definitely the last red carpet experience. After a short while there, I decided it wasn't worth it and got out.

The classiest Mr & Mrs Asim Raza

The movie opened on Mahira’s wedding day, and the way the scene went on, I was convinced that she was to be married to Sheheryar. I, by the end, had of course been proven wrong, but enjoyed the twist thoroughly nevertheless. The first half of the movie was quite slow and mostly consisted of introducing the characters and establishing their personalities. I always feel like the directors, or the writers try too hard to establish them whether it be on the big screen or small, there is a definitive lack of smoothness. This is why certain scenes become too cheesy, unnecessarily dramatic and ultimately fail to get the message across and leave an impression. The lecture scene at the university sees Mahira and Adeel behave in such a simplistic manner not even A-graders do today. Even the professor taunts Sheheryar in pure Urdu, which I doubt any teacher speaks in unless they teach Urdu, may be not even then. The disobedient pupil, Sheheryar, talks back trying to be funny but his dialogues fail him. I felt like there definitely should have been some jokes in there. I hear that major responsibilities like penning down the script and dialogues were given to first timers which is probably why there is a lack of that much needed power; the dialogues repeat quite a few words and are unrealistic in that they were purely in Urdu when that is not how most people actually talk.

Munawwar Siddiqui looking dapper

Talking about unrealistic parts of the movie, the main lead were all the only child of their parents and two of them were well-off too with one whose close-minded father doesn't live with her, situations that are too ideal and highly unlikely to come together. This made it possible for the story to steer clear of highlighting a hundred other problems that people who are pursuing music can face. I find this strange when Asim Raza, the director of the movie, was brave enough and didn't shy away from having Sheheryar’s much younger character fall for Sonya’s much older character. Also, Fawwad appears as 'Raphael'..I just half-cringed -half-laughed at that one!

Actors here don’t work as much to look, or even sound, their part which can be a big risk factor for the success of the entire project. While I enjoy Mahira’s facial expressions, sometimes she shows almost no vocal expressions, her dialogue delivery remains flat which is really irksome when you need her to shout or speak in high-pitch in an intense scene. She also keeps playing with her hair and lips, it almost feels like she is ignorant to the demand of the character on purpose and adamant on playing it the way she wants. The way Sonya and Sheheryar speak too sounds like they hardly ever speak in Urdu otherwise; you can hear it in their accents and feel their struggle with some words.

The second half was undoubtedly more promising and captivating. There were a lot of intense scenes. Nimra Bucha, Sonya, Bushra Ansari were all flawless though all Bushra Ansari did was cry in the few scenes she was in, which I think is a waste of her talent.

Taking all the points on and off screen!

Adeel manages to play and convince everyone really well of the poor, misunderstood guy. Towards the end, one after another, characters start making confrontations and resolving conflicts, and everything falls into place, something that’s accomplished quite smoothly I must say. I must, however, conclude my analysis by commenting on the direction. The more Pakistani movies I see, and reviews of them I go through, the more I am convinced that we are ad makers and drama directors, and not film makers. This is not where our strength lies, and that is totally fine given the fact that we have only just started making movies. But that is also no excuse for presenting work full of flaws. There is no harm in taking time and learning the craft before attempting anything. I actually felt like the scene towards the end where Mahira’s father makes an appearance to join in her wedding celebrations was a Shaan/Olper advertisement. Better part of the movie had close-ups which makes it quite tedious to watch.
Since the plot is based on musical inclination of the main lead, the music, unquestionably, had to be strong. It is fresh, experimental and enjoyable but as my movie critic friend said ‘there is no song that stays with you as you come out of the theatre’. Having said that, I absolutely love Ghar Naari, and had it on repeat for quite a few days after I saw the movie.

Well, I have been writing on and on about what the movie made me feel and I could still continue. I would just conclude by saying that the team effort is quite evident and so is the fact that we have a bright future as far as films go provided that we learn a few things. Asim Raza has made a very good attempt indeed and I definitely look forward to his, and the cast's next projects!