Ajab’s film doing well at box office

Ajab's film doing well at box office
by EMANUEL SARFRAZ

Can a few good films break the jinx on Lollywood? The question resonates these days in our film industry as Ajab Gul's film 'Kyon tum say itna pyar hai' continues to attract cine-goers since it hit the silver screens on April 29. Gul's formula of filmmaking is again working.
Ajab Gul's last film 'Khoay ho tum kahan' was also a hit. He is of the firm belief that Pakistan film industry has a lot of potential and will definitely bounce back. Neither he nor his producer Saqib Khan was deterred by the bombing of films at the box office in recent years.
The film is a major breakthrough for Veena Malik, who is playing the female lead in a movie for the first time. In this film, a number of artistes are making their debut on the silver screen, including Babrak Shah, Priya, Nighat Chaudhry, Tahira Wasti, Azra Aftab, Naveed Dar, Ameisha, Fiza, Ajmal Sohail, Rasheed Naz and Aryan Khan. Giants Nadeem Baig and Talat Hussain have lived up to fans' expectations. They overshadow other actors in the first half of the film.
Gul plays the role of angry-cum-unemployed young man. The role evolves till the end and Gul had plenty of room to show his acting skills. Gul is the hero and the whole story is knitted around him. Priya shines in her role as one of the female leads and her performance as dancer is also good. The action scenes have been well-executed.
Ajab is also the music director, which is the most radiant aspect of the film. He got in the best Indian talent to sing for his film. Melodious songs of Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam, Nehra Joshi, Kalpana, Shria Ghosal (of Devdas fame) and Sunidi Chohan, and Mauritius-based Maya Ramdin give a lot of boost to the film. Local talent Shaz Ali is also included among the playback singers. The cassettes of film songs are being sold at the stalls set-up inside cinema precincts. Lollywood film music in the recent years had lost appeal. It is a pleasant change though it came through Bollywood singers.
The post-production was done at Technicolor in Bangkok and the mastering of music was done in Mumbai.
Ajab is known for bringing new talent to the fore. Last time he introduced Zain as music director. This time he found the writing talent of Mithyeo Jee from Hafizabad. The new lyricist may prove to be an asset for the film industry in coming years. Star Group of dancers, who always danced behind the heroes and heroines in films, given an opportunity to choreograph did a good job.
The filming of songs done in picture-perfect locations of Mauritius and northern areas of Pakistan deserves appreciation. Gul explored the limits of the silver screen to give visuals to the beautiful compositions. The cinematography is appreciable.
Ajab Gul has dedicated the film to legends Muhammad Ali, Dilip Kumar, Noor Jehan and Lata Mangeshkar. He says he did this because all these artistes are his favourites. The gesture will be appreciated when the film will be released - as per the plan - in the UAE, Mauritius, the US, the UK and Canada.
There may be many flaws in the film. In some scenes, the dialogues are poorly constructed, but overall, the film has strengths and is entertaining enough to attract cine-goers.
The last hit film 'Salakhain', reportedly just covered the cost. After Ajab's film hopes are pinned on Mubasher Lucman's 'Pehla pehla pyar', Irfan Malik's 'Teray bin jiya na jai' and Reema's 'Koi tujh sa kahan'. Lollywood may after all bounce back with renewed energy.