I know that I have to be politically correct; this being the first film to be released from Pakistan(which is a welcome move, though, I may add). I know that `Khuda Kay Liye’ has been praised to the skies by our own critics, that it has won the Best Picture Award at Cairo Film Festival etc. But somehow, after watching this film, I felt the somewhat dissatisfied. Maybe it was the expectations, but somehow I felt that the film fell short. Without going into the storyline(which critics normally should not go into, but they do!) Let me explain …
First and foremost, the biggest drawback of the film was the sound recording. Ok, we understand that the budget might not been enough but to have such a horrendous sound recording(dubbing or in-sync sound, I do not know), is in itself suicidal; especially for a dialogue heavy film like KKL. Some of the dialogues(esp of the rabid Fundamentalist) just cannot be heard, or if heard cannot be understood! I don’t know if any other reviewer found the same problem… if yes… please add a comment.
Secondly, some of the interconnecting scenes(the simultaneous stories at Pakistan & US) are very patchy and sometimes we move from one track to the other without any impact of the previous one. Cinematography is also strictly average(except the shot where Mary tries to escape from her `captors’)
Thirdly, the script, though extremely progressive and explaining the viewpoint of the moderate Muslim like no film has done before, has a whole lot of loopholes. Sample this:
- Mary’s father marries her off in some in faraway Pakistan and leaves her there because of the bad `toilet facilities’. It is totally absurd …. Show me one father in this world who would do the same to her daughter … absolutely ridiculous! Moreover, Mary’s mother also makes no effort for many months her daughter is `missing’ and acts only after her boyfriend receives her letter. Unbelievable!
- Mary goes along with her father and Mansoor(her to-be husband) in an area bordering Afganistan and therafter does not return to Lahore. Point to be noted …. Mansoor’s parents also make absolutely no effort to track her son! Though they track them immediately during the concluding scenes when the British Government gets involved! Hard to believe.
- Why Mansoor, a progressive Muslim from a well-to-do higher-middle-class family, suddenly chooses to be a fundamentalist? Why would he forego his lavish life and stay in a small hut in remote village is not explained at all.
Now to the performances….
Fawad Afzal Khan as Sarmad makes an honest attempt to portray a character wronged by circumstances and does a very fine job. His body language and dialogue delivery is excellent(though during some interrogation scenes he looks too casual and does not look `stressed’). However, all said and done, he does a fantastic job and you really empathize with his character at the end of the film. Google tells me that he was the lead singer of Pakistani Band Entity Paradigm. He surely must have song those fabulous songs… which are the biggest plus of this film!
Shaan as Mansoor is strictly ok. Among the three principal characters, his is perhaps the weakest characterizations. No wonder he is disassociating himself from the film(he was not present during the Mumbai premiere).
Iman Ali as Maryam(Mary) is the most accomplished of the performances. She exhibits emotions and one really feels a lot for her. Her’s is the best performances of all the principal characters. Watch her helplessness she understands that she herself is the bride. Or the look in her face when she confronts her father… truly amazing!
A lot has been said about Nasseruddin Shah’s short but riveting performance. And he dose’nt let down, at all. However, a lot of references to the Quran were missed by us, non-Muslims(more due to lack of knowledge than anything else!)
Shoaib Mansoor, as the Director, does an excellent job in his first film. To make such a strong point of the moderate Muslim without ruffling the fundamentalits’ feather, is in itself a herculean task. He has done his job well and goes to show that if your heart is in the right place, no obstacles are big enough! I sincerely hope that he would be getting ample budget in his next film so that the technicalities can be worked upon.
In conclusion, it was an ok film, but could have been much better. Go watch this with minimal expectations and you just might not be disappointed!