or
Movie: Qaid (Zeba Bakhtyar, Bihar, Saud, Afzaal Khan, Meera,Saima, Moammar Rana)

Introduction: (Released End of August/Beginning of September)
"Qaid" was the latest release by Sangeeta last month which fared an average business all over the country. picturized on the traditional values of "Qubaels", "Qaid" should have been liked but it could not be bracketed with the super hit movies.

Sangeeta is special in the sense that she made "Do Boon Pani" on Choolistan culture 6-months ago and now "Qaid" on "Quabili" culture and both of them fared average business. It's a good effort from here and they should be hailed for some excellent work. "Do Boond Pani" had some excellent music. After "Nikah" and "Khlona", "Qaid" is sangeeta's stongest contender and she has worked very hard on every frame of the movie with limited equipment.

Overview: acting, music and picturization
"Qaid was unique as far as it's subject and direction is concerned. selection of Zeba Bakhtiar for the central lead is evident of sangeeta's intellectuality. Zeba has performed very well for this role. neither of the front-line actresses would have been able to portray this role with as much quality and realism as by Zeba. Saud has shown nice improvement for his role especially in the second half of the movie, his performance can be termed "memorable". among other actors, moammar rana, saima, afzaal ahmed, shafqat cheema and very brief but utmost important appearance by Meera have also done justice to their roles. Qaid's most original strength was it's unique and original script by Parvez Kaleem. Music is above average which is picturised at suitable situation with excellent picturization and location however two of the songs are plagarized. they cannot be encouraged any way.

StoryLine
Zeba is the daughter of billionair Afzaal Ahmed who falls in love with Saud. Zeba's mother have passed away and Afzaal Ahmed does anything expected for her daughter. Zeba wants to marry Saud. Afzaal ahmed cannot live without her so Saud is conditioned to live with them after the wedding. they get married and soon are the proud parents of a beautiful daughter.

They lived happily until Saud's Chacha(Shafqat Cheema) and his son(Moammar Rana) bring the bad news from "Ilaqa-e-Ghair" along with their guards that Saud's father (Parvez Kaleem) is dying and wants to see him before he dies. Zeba blames Saud for not telling her that he belonged to "Ilaqa-e-Ghair" and stops him from leaving however AFzaal Ahmed and Saud assure her that he should go and he will return soon. Saud's motehr (bihar) is uset about Saud's wedding in the city(Karachi) and confine him. his father dies and "Distaar" is placed on his head. he gets so busy with Jirga that not only his attitude and appearance but his heart also changes. After six motnhs, Zeba leaves for "Ilaqa-e-Ghair" along with her daughter. she is lead to Saud's Haveli by a banjaran(Saima) who finds Zeba wandering in the deserts. Saima and Moammar Rana are in love despite the opposition from respective "Qabeela".

When Zeba makes it to Saud, him and his mother are amazed by her western outfit and his mother obstructs her movements as well. her dress is changed and she is prisoned in the Haveli whereas Saud also refuses to leave for the city. when Zeba tries to escape away, Shafqat cheema catches her and this time puts her in underground cell. "Biradri" curses saud and he reacts by beating zeba, separating her daughter from her and murdering the maid who helped zeba escape earlier.

Bihar and Cheema push Saud for second marriage which he agrees to after some tantrums. it is Meera (who else), Moammar Rana's younger sister. according to tradition, Saud's first wife have to decorate Hina on Meera's palms so Zeba does it while crying, singing(of course) and ruing. On Shab-e-Uroosi, Saud tells meera that he loves his first wife and daughter. he was wed to her by force. Meera commits suicide triggering a chaos. Zeba uses the chance and runs away. SAud and momi follow, zeba calls her dad and ask him to meet her at super highway. as soon as they meet, momi and saud find them. saud was about to shoot zeba but their daughter intercepts, saud gets his heart softened and have to decide between wife and mother. he puts his distaar on momi's head and leaves for city. cheema gets their on time and accepts saima as his daughter-in-law and they ever lived happily!

Final Analysis
Altogether a nice movie. I wish that distributors had done a better job and sangeeta has publicised it well and had used original songs. Over and over, it has been proven that our public likes original songs. for example ghunghat, DTPK, Nikah, jeeva, zever, do boond pani, ek aur love story, inteha, chief sahab etc. it sure deserved to be a super hit movie which it was deprived off!



Movie: Nikkah (Shan,Reema,Goshi Khan,Nirma, Laila,Mishi Khan)

Introduction (released June 1998)
Ever since Sangeeta Begum has turned to direction front, she has not been able to do much except her initial film 'Khelona,' and that too was based on two Hollywood hits, 'Sleeping with the enemy' and "Fatal Attraction." 'Khelona' was the only hit she could present before the cinema-audience as rest of films including 'Ashiqui Khel Nahin', 'Dream Girl', 'Jeet' and the most recent 'Ehsas' bombed one-by-one at the box-office. Finally, Sangeeta decided to make a cocktail of three major Pakistani hits and that's how "Nikah" came into existence and became an instant hit, even going in for the number one hit of 1998 though it will have close competition by "Zever", "Chooriyan" and "Dupatta Jal Raha Hai".

Publicity
The trailers of 'Nikah' have been running in the theaters for more than last three months. The impressive trailer had heightened the expectations of viewers and they were anxiously waiting for the movie. 'Nikah' is a big banner film with Shehzad Rafiq (of Ghoonghat, fame) as the producer. What's surprising is that despite the major success of Ghoonghat, Shehzad Rafiq did not give this project to Syed Noor, instead he has dedicated the film to him. However it is interesting that this credit was limited to just the preview of 'Nikah' and is not incorporated in the actual film's titles.

Script:
Muhammad Pervez Kaleem is the name behind Nikah's script and he has definitely done a good job. Though he has extracted the idea from three major Pakistani hits, 'Bahisht', 'Aina' and 'Zindagi,' still the way he combined all of them is an achievement in itself.

Storyline
The story of Nikah revolves around two families. Faraz (Shaan) is a principled government officer who belongs to a middle-class family with great traditional values. On the other hand Bisma (Reema) is a filthy rich girl with a dominating mother (Goshi Khan) and a modest father (Abid Khan). Sounds very familiar, isn't it? Anyway, to fill in the gaps there is Shehzad (Ahsan Khan) and Daisy (Laila) as Bisma's siblings. Faraz also has a widowed sister Naila (performed by a new comer) and the all-time favorite mother (Deeba). Faraz and Bisma fall for each other and eventually get married. The film runs like 'Aina' till the pair gets married. Bisma finds it difficult to adjust in Faraz's conservative family lifestyle and thus differences start emerging. This part has a strong resemblance with Nadeem-Nisho-Nayyar Sultana hit 'Bahisht.' Released in mid-seventies. However, the film goes back to 'Aina' when the couple gets separated and the trauma their children face due to split between parents. The film takes a tragic turn when it is revealed that the kid is suffering from brain tumor and soon he will die. The kid's ailment reunites the couple. The death and funeral scene of the child is direct inspiration from Nazrul Islam's 'Zindagi'. Anyway the film ends on a happy note as the couple decides to start a new life.

High Points
Although there is nothing new in the story, what makes 'Nikah' a better film is its excellent cinematography and the above average performance by the cast. Reema was quite enthusiastic about her character that she undoubtedly did quite perfectly. Her character had various emotional shades and she proved that she could perform well in complex characters. She could be seen under heavy influence of our evergreen heroine of yesteryears, Shabnam. Reema's getup, her Sarees, Joora and the way she carried herself had very strong recall values of Shabnam's personality. Shabnam had mastered the art of doing such characters and the way she had portrayed these, is still her asset. Shaan has been overdoing his character ever since 'Ghoonghat.' He was bearable in 'Ghoonghat', but he desperately needs improvement on dialogue delivery as his accent is all the same in every emotional scene he does irrespective of the mood of the scene. He was totally unconvincing in the scene where he leaves his mother's house with Reema. It's time Shaan should come out of his overconfident persona and try to render his character more realistically.

It would be unjust not to praise Goshi Khan for her outclass performance as Reema's intractable mother. She was totally convincing with all her rude behaviors. Pakistan Film Industry is lucky enough to find another tailor-made vamp. Rest of the cast was just okay. There was simply no need for the characters of Ehsan Khan, Nirma, Laila and her husband. Ehsan Khan was looking so feminist that perhaps next time he should be cast opposite Babar Ali.

Besides strong characterization, the highlight of 'Nikah' is its excellent cinematography. Riaz Butt has captured some very beautiful frames on celluloid. The perfect background music added to the beauty of these scenes. The scenes are so beautiful that sometimes it is hard to believe that we are watching a Pakistani movie. At times the artistic and picturesque frames remind us of some of the greatest hits of sub-continents. No doubt there is a marked difference in photography and that is one reason the viewers remain glued to the screen.

Music
The music by M. Arshad and Robin Ghosh is also another plus point for the movie. It is, however, saddening point that the film titles did not gave any credits to Robin Ghosh for two of his very beautiful tunes. Another disturbing aspect of Pakistani filmmakers is that they are never confident about their productions. That is why they always include a plagiarized song in order to get attention from the crowd, although they are unaware that the viewers are actually deserted by such activities. In 'Nikah' there is also one copied song 'Resham Ka Hai Kurta Mera Jali Ki Chunariya,' and then a very hastily picturized 'Billo On GT Road' that actually leaves a bad taste in your mouth. The poor dance steps have destroyed the beauty of this song. It would have been much better with Nirma, instead of Mishi Khan's static dance movements.

Final Analysis
Overall, 'Nikah' is a very well-made film with negligible loop holes and lots of emotional involvement for the viewers. Despite its serious subject, the fun-seeking audience would love it especially the ladies. It is the best watching movie for those who have a liking for Pakistani films.


Movie: Zever (Reema.Baber Ali,Sahiba, Rambo, Shahid Khan)

Introduction:
"Qaid" was the latest release by Sangeeta last month which fared an average business all over the country. picturized on the traditional values of "Qubaels", "Qaid" should have been liked but it could not be bracketed with the super hit movies.

Sangeeta is special in the sense that she made "Do Boon Pani" on Choolistan culture 6-months ago and now "Qaid" on "Quabili" culture and both of them fared average business. It's a good effort from here and they should be hailed for some excellent work. "Do Boond Pani" had some excellent music. After "Nikah" and "Khlona", "Qaid" is sangeeta's stongest contender and she has worked very hard on every frame of the movie with limited equipment.

Overview:
acting, music and picturization
"Qaid was unique as far as it's subject and direction is concerned. selection of Zeba Bakhtiar for the central lead is evident of sangeeta's intellectuality. Zeba has performed very well for this role. neither of the front-line actresses would have been able to portray this role with as much quality and realism as by Zeba. Saud has shown nice improvement for his role especially in the second half of the movie, his performance can be termed "memorable". among other actors, moammar rana, saima, afzaal ahmed, shafqat cheema and very brief but utmost important appearance by Meera have also done justice to their roles. Qaid's most original strength was it's unique and original script by Parvez Kaleem. Music is above average which is picturised at suitable situation with excellent picturization and location however two of the songs are plagarized. they cannot be encouraged any way.

StoryLine
Zeba is the daughter of billionair Afzaal Ahmed who falls in love with Saud. Zeba's mother have passed away and Afzaal Ahmed does anything expected for her daughter. Zeba wants to marry Saud. Afzaal ahmed cannot live without her so Saud is conditioned to live with them after the wedding. they get married and soon are the proud parents of a beautiful daughter.

They lived happily until Saud's Chacha(Shafqat Cheema) and his son(Moammar Rana) bring the bad news from "Ilaqa-e-Ghair" along with their guards that Saud's father (Parvez Kaleem) is dying and wants to see him before he dies. Zeba blames Saud for not telling her that he belonged to "Ilaqa-e-Ghair" and stops him from leaving however AFzaal Ahmed and Saud assure her that he should go and he will return soon. Saud's motehr (bihar) is uset about Saud's wedding in the city(Karachi) and confine him. his father dies and "Distaar" is placed on his head. he gets so busy with Jirga that not only his attitude and appearance but his heart also changes. After six motnhs, Zeba leaves for "Ilaqa-e-Ghair" along with her daughter. she is lead to Saud's Haveli by a banjaran(Saima) who finds Zeba wandering in the deserts. Saima and Moammar Rana are in love despite the opposition from respective "Qabeela".

Music

Final Analysis
Altogether a nice movie. I wish that distributors had done a better job and sangeeta has publicised it well and had used original songs. Over and over, it has been proven that our public likes original songs. for example ghunghat, DTPK, Nikah, jeeva, zever, do boond pani, ek aur love story, inteha, chief sahab etc. it sure deserved to be a super hit movie which it was deprived off!

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1