By Umair Sohail
February 2 was the unfortunate day that marked the release of ‘Maan Jao Naa’. Why me? The day must have asked.
There have certainly been some movies that compelled even harsh critics to believe that revival of Pakistani cinema is near. After watching Maan Jao Naa, the only thought that comes to mind is that the end may actually well be near.
It is the second movie produced by Dukhtar-famed Khalid Ali and features German-born Iranian model Elnaaz Norouzi playing the lead character opposite Adeel Chaudhry. Both debutants work alongside supporting roles played by Ayaz Samoo, Hajra Yameen, Ghana Ali, Naeem Haque, Asif Raza Mir, Asma Abbas, Nayyer Ejaz and Ali Gul Pir.
It is the second movie produced by Dukhtar-famed Khalid Ali. Photo: Screengrab
The rom-com was neither romantic nor comedy. Rania (Elnaaz Norouzi) is the same old runaway bride who friend-zoned Faris (Adeel Chaudhry) to enjoy her life mantra of not getting married ever. Her cousin Gujju (Naeem Haque) is villain-ish who wants to marry her by hook or by crook.
The story stumbles upon a strange turn when the villain disappears, suddenly being arrested by the police after torturing Rania’s friends and having a faceoff with Faris. Ultimately, Faris loses all hope to be with Rania and eventually moves on to find himself a new lover, before the attempted ‘surprise ending’ that was always on the cards from the very beginning.
Adeel Chaudhry tried his luck at acting and performed steadily. Photo: Screengrab
The acclaimed musician Adeel Chaudhry tried his luck at acting and performed steadily. Elnaaz Norouzi was the real and only treat to watch in the film with her lovely attire and refreshing appearance, despite the average dance moves. She could’ve had lifted the whole movie all by herself but much to her bad luck, there was nothing out of the box she could do. The role assigned to Rangreza star Ghana Ali appeared as an unnecessary addition to the already prolonged movie.
The rom-com was neither romantic nor comedy. Photo: Screengrab
Naeem Haque, the Pathan-like guy, played the bad boy - Gujjar. The guy would’ve been far better without dialogues, considering the uneasy dialogue delivery. The very talented Ayaz Samoo and his bae in the film Hajra Yameen, too, had badly written roles. Scenes featuring Ali Gul Pir and Nayyer Ejaz were like tiny raindrops in a desert.
The depiction of Sindhi and Punjabi cultures was a good example of bad profiling. While Sindhi men wearing Ajrak were the obvious choice to play gunmen, Punjabi women in paranda forced a funny Punjabi-cum-Urdu accent upon arrival in Karachi.
If there was a screenplay, then it lacked any cohesion with the plot. Photo: Screengrab
Just the first few scenes were enough to roughly estimate the depth of the story, its social context and the effort put in for audience engagement. If there was a screenplay, which I doubt, then it lacked any cohesion with the plot. While one can understand the motive that appears to show young adults making bad choices and eventually learning from them, there was a lack of original plot supported by individual characters with thought-inducing dialogues.
A semblance of storyline showing no signs of thought, coupled with shallow script and inconsistent acting spoke volumes of the preparations made for this ‘mega project’. All there was to see were frivolous scenes, which combined to make little sense.
A semblance of storyline showed no signs of thought. Photo: Screengrab
I couldn’t agree more with a satire piece that jokingly mocked at how Rao Anwar, the suspended Malir SSP who is on the run from police, is hiding at a screening of Maan Jao Naa because “no one is likely to come and it is possibly the safest place in all of Karachi”.
It is hard to imagine the reason why one would make such a movie. I agree that 21st century is not short of creative ideas to torture people, but there are better ways to make others value money.
