14 Thoughts After Watching Janaan

To see or not to see

Shot in stunning Swat, showcasing some beautiful young talent and some senior veterans, the release of Janaan has been the talk of the town. The promotions of the film started over a month ago in London. From exclusive photo shoots to PR events to public promotions, the hype around the movie made it difficult for us to wait. I finally got the chance to catch up with the starts at the red carpet and watch the premiere show last Saturday night in Karachi. Here are some of my thoughts about the film.

Go watch Janaan because of:

• Swat

I love the fact that the movie is based there. Some brilliant cinematography captures the natural beauty of the ‘Switzerland of Asia’. And it was just brilliant to see Swat as the center piece of a major production after what it has gone through over the last decade or so. Kudos to the filmmakers for a brilliant decision.

•  The LOL moments

Osman Khalid Butt made it big with his absolutely hilarious YouTube videos back in the day. As the writer of ‘Janaan’, his razor sharp wit and comedic timing shine through Ali Rehman Khan’s character. Not to take away anything from Ali who delivers every punch line to perfection and, as far as I am concerned, steals the show!

• The title track

It has a nice tune to it. I guarantee you will be humming it as you walk out of the cinema.

• The groovy dance number

‘Shor Sharaba’ is so catchy that I couldn’t help but tap my feet as it came on. It is sure to be the next mehndi sensation this wedding season.

• The lead hunk

Bilal Ashraf has a sultry sizzling angry look going on throughout the film. His larger than life presence and those oh-so-yummy dimples that make frequent appearances left me swooning. Whether or not his acting chops are enough to make him the next Pakistani export to Bollywood – only time will tell.

• The bubbly young one

Haniya Amir is a breath of fresh air. At just nineteen years of age she comes across as the most natural actor on screen. By far the strongest female actor in the film.

•  The local language

While the entire film couldn’t have been in authentic Pashto, I loved the fact that the most intense scenes where the dialogues have to come dil se were delivered in pure beautiful Pashto.

But be wary that:

• Some scenes drag on for too long without purpose and some scenes just don’t add any value to the plot or story altogether
• Someone needs to tell these guys that no one gets this high on local anesthesia! If that part was made to be hilarious, it really wasn't
• I found it a little difficult to believe that daughters of big Pakhtoon landlords will drive around alone in their lands, that too at night, wearing clothes only suitable for major urban weddings.
• Given that Armeena Khan has considerable prior acting experience, she failed to impress. The times she wasn't on the screen, I didn't miss her much. It would have been nice if she didn't have as much make up on as she did throughout the film (she looked the best in the last scene). Her skin is pretty good and she could have carried a less cake-y look
• The chemistry  between the two main leads is lacking. I never really understood when they fell in love and how. Bilal and Haniya had much more chemistry as brother and sister

• You will not for the life of you figure out who is who’s offspring!! With such a big happy family always on screen at the same time I was often left wondering who is related to whom and how. (My husband asking kaun kiska baccha hai throughout the film didn't help either.)
• Your speed reading skills will come into serious play. The subtitles, strangely enough, are written in Roman Urdu and fly past at bullet speed before you are even able to understand that the dialogue was in Pashto and you were supposed to be reading and not listening.

*This story was published on womensown.pk with some changes.