This time last year, there was a week-long Bollywood ban in place across the country ahead of the Eid releases. There were going to be five movies released on Eid, and after considerable lobbying, it was decided that it was in the best interests of the Pakistani film industry if their more high profile – and indeed more followed – Indian counterparts weren’t released along with them.
Of course, Eid-ul-Fitr is monopolized by a certain Salman Khan – and has been for most of this decade. Last year it was Race 3 whose release was postponed. Despite that delay, and also the lashing it received from critics in India, it still managed to do significantly better in Pakistan than the local releases.
Salman Khan’s Eid offering this year was Bharat, which has come out with mixed reviews, but will, of course, garner the Box Office numbers. No special Bollywood ban for Eid was needed, however, since the ban has already been in place since the border clashes in February.
Yet, instead of making the most of this vacuum, the local film industry has largely served unmitigated disasters. And this Eid, we’ve been given two options, Chhalawa and Wrong No 2 – the latter we shall discuss next week.
In addition to fulfilling the customary festive slots, there are many other Eid rituals that Chhalawa performs. It is yet another romantic comedy, the screenplay of which appears to be an extended version of a TV episode. Similarly, more than a coherent script, it is a train of disjointed scenes, stuffed with one-liners that one may or may not find humorous depending on one’s taste.
The wedding backdrop has been stuffed in to tick more of the boxes needed to make an entertainer in our neck of the woods. And then you have the customary music, which in this particular case might just be the highlight of the venture – owing largely to how everything else isn’t quite up to mark, more so than any particular excellence on its own part.
Have said that, if you exhibit a sufficient level of tolerance and understanding, you actually might end up finding some joy in Chhalawa, especially if you have had to endure some of its peers over the past couple of years.
Rafaqat Ali Chaudhry (Mehmood Aslam), a widower, doesn’t want to get his daughters married outside the family. He regrets having sent Zoya (Mehwish Hayat) to the city, for she finds both education and love therein.
Zoya is adamant that she wants to marry the man of her choice, Sameer (Azfar Rehman), but Chaudhry sahib wants to get her married to his nephew. And then love – of which Zoya appears to be the flag-bearer – seems to spread as her sister Haya (Zara Noor Abbas) falls in love with Luqman (Asad Siddiqui).
As discussed already, the love, the weddings, the family drama: all are in there as an excuse to put together a string of scenes which some might find amusing. While some might argue that the theme is done to death, the filmmakers would say that this is precisely why they’re going for it.
Chhalawa decides to play it safe and stuffs in everything that you need in your typical Eid release, just to make enough money to keep the ball moving.
The writing by Yasir Hussain and Wajahat Rauf is run-of-the-mill for most part, but can serve up some entertainment. Rauf’s direction is similar to what one has come to expect of him in Karachi Se Lahore, and Lahore Se Aagey. Mehwish Hayat, Azfar Rehman and Mehmood Aslam do what is required of them as well.
If you’re really longing for a desi movie around Eid, Chhalawa might give you the needed dose. If not, there are Hollywood blockbusters that you could check out instead.
Of course, Eid-ul-Fitr is monopolized by a certain Salman Khan – and has been for most of this decade. Last year it was Race 3 whose release was postponed. Despite that delay, and also the lashing it received from critics in India, it still managed to do significantly better in Pakistan than the local releases.
Salman Khan’s Eid offering this year was Bharat, which has come out with mixed reviews, but will, of course, garner the Box Office numbers. No special Bollywood ban for Eid was needed, however, since the ban has already been in place since the border clashes in February.
Yet, instead of making the most of this vacuum, the local film industry has largely served unmitigated disasters. And this Eid, we’ve been given two options, Chhalawa and Wrong No 2 – the latter we shall discuss next week.
In addition to fulfilling the customary festive slots, there are many other Eid rituals that Chhalawa performs. It is yet another romantic comedy, the screenplay of which appears to be an extended version of a TV episode. Similarly, more than a coherent script, it is a train of disjointed scenes, stuffed with one-liners that one may or may not find humorous depending on one’s taste.
The love, the weddings, the family drama: all are in there as an excuse to put together a string of scenes which some might find amusing
The wedding backdrop has been stuffed in to tick more of the boxes needed to make an entertainer in our neck of the woods. And then you have the customary music, which in this particular case might just be the highlight of the venture – owing largely to how everything else isn’t quite up to mark, more so than any particular excellence on its own part.
Have said that, if you exhibit a sufficient level of tolerance and understanding, you actually might end up finding some joy in Chhalawa, especially if you have had to endure some of its peers over the past couple of years.
Rafaqat Ali Chaudhry (Mehmood Aslam), a widower, doesn’t want to get his daughters married outside the family. He regrets having sent Zoya (Mehwish Hayat) to the city, for she finds both education and love therein.
Zoya is adamant that she wants to marry the man of her choice, Sameer (Azfar Rehman), but Chaudhry sahib wants to get her married to his nephew. And then love – of which Zoya appears to be the flag-bearer – seems to spread as her sister Haya (Zara Noor Abbas) falls in love with Luqman (Asad Siddiqui).
As discussed already, the love, the weddings, the family drama: all are in there as an excuse to put together a string of scenes which some might find amusing. While some might argue that the theme is done to death, the filmmakers would say that this is precisely why they’re going for it.
Chhalawa decides to play it safe and stuffs in everything that you need in your typical Eid release, just to make enough money to keep the ball moving.
The writing by Yasir Hussain and Wajahat Rauf is run-of-the-mill for most part, but can serve up some entertainment. Rauf’s direction is similar to what one has come to expect of him in Karachi Se Lahore, and Lahore Se Aagey. Mehwish Hayat, Azfar Rehman and Mehmood Aslam do what is required of them as well.
If you’re really longing for a desi movie around Eid, Chhalawa might give you the needed dose. If not, there are Hollywood blockbusters that you could check out instead.