By Joginder Tuteja, May 29, 2008 - 15:20 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Shan, Iman Ali, Fawad Khan and Naseeruddin Shah
Director: Shoaib Mansoor
Producer: Shoaib Mansoor
Music: Various
THE FILM
Father - "I can't stay here anymore"
Another man - "Why?"
Father - (Leans closer) - "Because toilets here aren't good"
Meanwhile, at a little distance away, his daughter looks at him in disgust as he walks away, leaving her in the hands of a Afghani/Pakistani family which has fundamentalism running in their veins. Now why would a British citizen with a Pakistani origin do this to his well-educated daughter on her very first visit to Pakistan? Well, that's because she wanted to get married to a 'gora'. Unable to face the expected wrath from his fellow Pakistanis, the father instead tricks her into getting married to a Pakistani boy who himself is a convert from a rock star to a fundamentalist.
The scene above is the defining moment of the film which clearly explores the irony of certain Muslims in Western countries themselves being lesser tolerant than a select segment of highly educated and well off Pakistanis who in turn are the most liberal of most.
Khuda Kay Liye has three stories about one single family running in parallel. There is an elder brother (Shan) who visits USA to learn music and instead gets branded as a terrorist post 9/11 (watch out for the evidence around 9/11 found in his locket - it is heart-melting and makes you cry). Then there is his younger brother (Fawad Khan) who himself was once a rock star but instead gets carried away by the preachers (a Maulvi, played by Rasheed Naz) of fundamentalism and joins the 'jihaadis'. The third character (and one of the most integral to the plot) is a young woman (Iman Ali) who is forcibly married to Fawad Khan and kept hostage on Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
It's the lives of these three characters around which the plot of Khuda Kay Liye is centered. Meanwhile there are long drawn but extremely effective and engaging conversations around terrorism, fundamentalism, false propaganda, and perception about Muslims across the globe, struggle of liberals and acceptance of music amongst many other tangents that Shoaib Mansoor explores. In inept hands, this could have turned into one boring exercise or a documentary for those looking who are looking at intelligent cinema but it's not a case at all for Khuda Kay Liye.
Instead, Mansoor makes sure that he tells a story differently and in a most natural manner. Look out for the way characters interact with each other, whether in Chicago, London, or Lahore. None of it is artificial, dramatic or over the top. In fact at places one is even reminded of Farhan Akhtar's touch from Dil Chahta Hai, especially when it comes to urban setting in the film.
Performance wise Shan tops the bracket with Naseeruddin Shah being his excellent self the moment he is introduced in the last 30 minutes of the film. Fawad is average though while Iman is decent. Rasheed Naz as the 'maulvi' exudes hate, which goes perfectly well with the character while the couple, which plays Shan's parents, is straight out of Dil Chahta Hai mode.
Yes, the film is not for those who are looking for their regular dose of entertainment. In fact, majority of film is in English while some of the Urdu portions mandate that subtitles are kept on. Moreover, at places, your heart is bound to sink, especially when Iman Ali is forcibly kept hostage (reminding of Escape From Taliban) or Shan is interrogated by the American cops (coming close to Black Friday). You tend to cringe in your seats in scenes like these. This is where music comes as a relief whenever it is played. While 'Bandya' is the pick of the lot, 'Allah' that plays in the background at crucial junctures is haunting.
And by the why, I am surprised that some people called the production values being low for Khuda Kay Liye!Ok, so the film may not have set on a huge canvas but in the limited space available, Shoaib has done quite well in bringing richness in the frames. There isn't any blemish whatsoever in shot taking and you always feel like watching international cinema.
PACKAGING
The film comes in a well packaged plastic box engulfed in a separate paper case.
DURATION
The film comes in a single DVD pack with the film's duration being 166 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD doesn't come with any special features.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1
PRICE
Rs. 399/=
CONCLUSION
It is hard to believe that Khuda Kay Liye is the first film by producer-director Shoaib Mansoor. He is excellent in the way he sets context about the story he wishes to narrate and is superb in the way he involves his audience throughout. In fact, in spite of the film's duration being close to 3 hours, a rarity in today's time, you are gripped by the drama that unfolds.
Rating: ***1/2
Courtesy Indiafm.com
