Khuda Ke Liye, the first Pakistani movie to be released in India and Pakistan’s highest grossing film ever is definitely worth a watch. Now that I have seen it, I am free to comment on a film that may have been very, very difficult to make in Pakistan with fatwas being issued et.al but did not turn out all that great.
The plot is simple. Khuda Ke Liye is a story of a family torn by Islamic radicalism and 9/11. While I agree with practically everything that the film has to say and nobody can deny what the movie truly tries to get across…..an important message about the essence of Islam or any religion for that matter, i.e peace and brotherhood; Khuda Ke Liye, the movie, is at best average.
I am no expert on the Pakistani film industry and its nuances. I do not claim to have seen any Pakistani movie ever but if Khuda Ke Liye is one of the best it has produced, then it surely has a long, long way to go. Yet, there are some moments in the film which are great and as I mentioned earlier, it reiterates and challenges some of the strongest stereotypes of religion that 9/11 has thrown up.
The director wanted to say too much in too less a time which leads to a confusion of sorts. But I must admit, given the multiple storylines, the connectivity between them was fairly well-established. That it did not get the support from the cast of characters, barring a few, is another story. The acting in the film was amateurish, to say the least. Iman Ali, with her fake British accent and even worse Urdu diction, accompanied with complete lack of acting talent kills the character of Mariam/Mary. Her, “I want revenge” rant (okay…you are a liberated woman who speaks her mind, we get it!) looks contrived and takes away from the seriousness and importance of her character in the film. The transition of Sarmad’s character from rocker to radical was not well-portrayed either. In fact, he literally slept through the transition, leaving much to be desired. While I am not one from over-dramatisation, a little intensity never hurt anyone and almost every character in the movie lacked that. The only impressive, well-played part was that of Mansoor whose strong performance justified the angst and emotion of his character; the rest were just breezing through the movie, riding on a great story.
Naseeruddin Shah literally has three to five minutes of screen time in Khuda Ke Liye. He plays the wise, old, progressive religious scholar who is summoned by the High Court of Lahore to testify on women’s rights in Islam and of course, what constitutes a “Good Muslim”. His monologue, while being informative was boring (snore!) is the turning point of the film. Naseer, too, does not justify his presence in the film or in the entire collaboration.
The movie ends more or less on a positive note with the characters having found their destiny. While, both critics and audiences got somewhat carried away by the message of the movie, somewhere good movie-making just about lost out.
The plot is simple. Khuda Ke Liye is a story of a family torn by Islamic radicalism and 9/11. While I agree with practically everything that the film has to say and nobody can deny what the movie truly tries to get across…..an important message about the essence of Islam or any religion for that matter, i.e peace and brotherhood; Khuda Ke Liye, the movie, is at best average.
I am no expert on the Pakistani film industry and its nuances. I do not claim to have seen any Pakistani movie ever but if Khuda Ke Liye is one of the best it has produced, then it surely has a long, long way to go. Yet, there are some moments in the film which are great and as I mentioned earlier, it reiterates and challenges some of the strongest stereotypes of religion that 9/11 has thrown up.
The director wanted to say too much in too less a time which leads to a confusion of sorts. But I must admit, given the multiple storylines, the connectivity between them was fairly well-established. That it did not get the support from the cast of characters, barring a few, is another story. The acting in the film was amateurish, to say the least. Iman Ali, with her fake British accent and even worse Urdu diction, accompanied with complete lack of acting talent kills the character of Mariam/Mary. Her, “I want revenge” rant (okay…you are a liberated woman who speaks her mind, we get it!) looks contrived and takes away from the seriousness and importance of her character in the film. The transition of Sarmad’s character from rocker to radical was not well-portrayed either. In fact, he literally slept through the transition, leaving much to be desired. While I am not one from over-dramatisation, a little intensity never hurt anyone and almost every character in the movie lacked that. The only impressive, well-played part was that of Mansoor whose strong performance justified the angst and emotion of his character; the rest were just breezing through the movie, riding on a great story.
Naseeruddin Shah literally has three to five minutes of screen time in Khuda Ke Liye. He plays the wise, old, progressive religious scholar who is summoned by the High Court of Lahore to testify on women’s rights in Islam and of course, what constitutes a “Good Muslim”. His monologue, while being informative was boring (snore!) is the turning point of the film. Naseer, too, does not justify his presence in the film or in the entire collaboration.
The movie ends more or less on a positive note with the characters having found their destiny. While, both critics and audiences got somewhat carried away by the message of the movie, somewhere good movie-making just about lost out.
