Media Magick

“Whether you accept it or not, Mahira Khan is the superstar of Pakistani film industry, it doesn’t matter if her films don’t do gigantic business at the box office; she’s a crowd puller” that’s what I was told when I reviewed her last film Verna, which according me had some next level blunders on content part as well as performance part. Today when her film Superstar is all set to release and she’s playing the titular character in the film, these lines resonate in my mind. Will Mahira Khan be able to showcase that zing and spark which Ehteshamuddin’s film Superstar require? Will Bilal Ashraf be able to do any good after giving Janaan and Rangreza where most of the reviewers and critics compared him with a piece of wooden furniture? Well, let’s find out.

Trailer Superstar

The story of Superstar is very simple and easy to pave; Noor (Mahira Khan) wants to become an actress and performs theater plays which are written and director by yester year’s most renowned film director and today’s theater director Salim Malik aka Agha Jaan (Nadeem) who happens to be her grandfather as well. Luck brings Noor face to face with Sameer Khan (Bilal Ashraf) the superstar of film industry and they immediately fall for each other. Sameer with the help of his fiend Shaan (Ali Kazmi) plans to make a film where he wants to cast Noor in it, but the day that particular film has to go on floor Sameer vanishes and what happens next is what Superstar is all about. Superstar is a journey of an actress who becomes the Superstar and how things and relationships change. It’s a romantic tale with a slight twist.

Mahira Khan Talking About Superstar

It won’t be wrong to say that in Superstar is one of Mahira Khan’s best performances since Humsafar, her character is written beautifully which showcases great shades and contrasts from a sweet next door girl to struggling actress heading to become a superstar and showing tantrums as well as making you realize that she can be bossy that too in the blink of an eye. Mahira is revelation and she proves it in almost every other scene whether it is her entry scene on the stage where she utters her dialogues playing various characters, playing Marilyn Monroe or Chaplin and the scene where she shows emotional anger and insecurity post interval – Mahira nails it and gives astounding performance.

Bilal Ashraf on Superstar

It was evident from the trailer that Bilal Ashraf has worked very hard to transform himself physically but throughout the film Bilal impressed his audience with his performance, a few of his scenes stay with you when you leave the theater and one of them is the brief encounter between him and Adnan Shah Tipu who plays the casting director. If you are someone who have watched Bilal’s previous work and is an ardent Pakistani film viewer then you will realize how far he has come from films like Janaan and Rangreza. The only lousy point is the fact that Bilal’s character was not properly written because of a weaker character buildup and character graph there are a few things which fall flat and don’t hit the mark. Undoubtedly if Bilal gets to work with directors who can bring the best out of him, he will be the next in the list of prominent superstars of Pakistani cinema.

Nadeem is a legend and he is mostly casted in many films in Pakistan but the way his character Agha Jaan is written and conceived in Superstar supersedes every other character which he played in the last decade. Those who have seen 80’s cinema will cherish the on-screen chemistry between Javed Sheikh and Nadeem and will remember films like Jeeva and Lazawaal. The scene is hardly 3 – 4 minutes long but is very impactful and speaks volumes. Ali Kazmi proves again that he is a talented actor and if right roles (unlike Na Band Na Baraati) are given to him he has all the potential to grab it by his teeth.

Songs of Superstar are already making waves and in the film they sound and look pretty good and there’s a song for every emotion. Noori, In Dinon and Ghalat Fehmi stand out among the lot. Dialogues of Super star and power packed and brilliantly written, there was a time when Pakistani films had amazing dialogues back in 60’s to 70’s and Superstar reminds you of those times in abundance.

Besides so many positives there are a few downsides in the film as well. Superstar’s biggest turn off is its stretched screenplay and some indigestible sequences. The point where the plot twists is hard to believe, one doesn’t buy it logically. Secondly, Bilal Ashraf is shown as the Superstar yet the way he falls for a struggling actress is quite unrealistic, the entire sequence where he tries to woo her and spend time with her is half-heartedly conceptualized and executed. The film is a little dragged at places which make it a little less tighter.

Ehteshamuddin on Superstar

Ehteshamuddin is a wonderful director who definitely knows his strengths and weaknesses, coming from drama industry and knowing his grip on internal scenes loaded with decent set designs, you don’t get to see much of outdoor scenes and the canvas is limited and not huge. There aren’t many scenic scenes in Superstar which doesn’t make it grandeur experience but on the basis of content, performances, art of storytelling and music, Superstar is a brilliant entertainer.