This Eid saw two mainstream releases in the form of a Shaan starter in Operation 021 and Na-Maloom Afrad staring Fahad Mustafa.
Both the films had a completely different approach and theme yet both of them did well at the box office which was a heartening fact and a step forward in terms of development in Pakistani Cinema.
I was fortunate enough to watch both the films and feel lucky enough to get an opportunity to review one of them.
The review is of 021 and before reading I hope there are not many spoiler alerts once it proceeds.
The film is basically based on the Afghan presidential elections and the in-depth portrayal of the situation in Afghanistan. The film starts with a little background as to how rich the region of Afghanistan is, mainly concerning mineral reserves and how they are still being exploited by the Americans had set their bases in that region. The film revolves around a chip, containing the information which could lead a lot of corporate tycoons to prison.
The film, strangely enough, is a mixture of English, being the major language and Urdu and Pushto as supporting languages. The negative aspect is that you have to focus on the subtitles to understand the scene and ultimately the film.
The film was made with a vision and thus may appear an art film, although not basically in that category it also cannot be said that it is a commercial film. The film hangs between that balance of being an art or a commercial film but ends up becoming neither.
It doesn’t mean the film was lost, I have an opinion that the film was different and it showed in the cast and production. It was made with the intention of portraying a message and it did exactly that.
Shaan was the mainstay of the film as he had to protect the chip handed to him by Ayub Khoso who was shown as a patriot having contacts with a lot of people but did not let them buy him and protected the integrity of the country in his own way.
Shaan had unfinished business of his own as he set out to fight against his former employers who betrayed him when he needed them the most.
The film is about patriotism, determination, character, betrayal, and revenge, but more than that it put forward the real picture of Afghanistan and the reason as to why this area is so hard to conquer.
The film is a must watch for a person who watches movies for a plot and a deeper message and not just for the sake of watching a movie.
The movie is intense and has no element of fun but it will grip you with its plot, twists, cinematography and just overall as a package.
I tried writing the article not having any spoilers and hope it convinces you to watch the film at least once because it definitely is worth a watch.
