Media Magick

There are films which attract hype not because they are heavily marketed or have crowd pullers in main lead but because of the fact that many controversies surround them; Durj is one of such films. Durj was initially approved by 2 censor boards out of 3, one decided not to approve it. Anyhow the film finally got approval by the 3^rd censor board as well but during the process of catch 22 situation it created a lot of buzz. Durj is written and directed by Shamoon Abbasi; he is also playing an integral character in the film. Durj also features Sherry Shah, Maira Khan, Nouman Javaid and Dodi Khan.

Durj Trailer

It’s unusual to find filmmakers who work on concepts, themes and ideas which are hard to digest and offer uniqueness, especially in Pakistani film industry. The thought of making a film on real life incidents with loads of research needs to be appreciated. At least, handful filmmakers are trying to break shackles of redundant stories of boy meets a girl and romance on the run sort of stories. Durj is anything but common.

Durj is inspired from real life incidents which took place a few years ago in different parts of Pakistan. The story is weaved around the events which were highlighted in news; besides the solid and reality based plot, Durj falters a tad bit on story – it’s not fluid; but it also doesn’t mean that film doesn’t offer anything substantial. It was already out in the air that Durj is based on the concept of cannibalism, what makes it an engaging watch is its performances and dialogues.

Shamoon Abbasi, as Gul Bakhsh, is brilliant. Abbasi engages his audience with ferocious but stimulating character. He breathes the character of Gul Bakhsh. Sherry Shah, as Laali, gives neck to neck competition to Shamoon Abbasi, although in initial scenes she goes a little overboard but as her character progresses she takes it to another level. The scene where she explodes on Shamoon Abbasi is remarkable.

Cinematography of Durj is outstanding. The way this film is shot – it’s quite impressive. Scenes are visually pleasant and will astonish the audience. The way Shamoon Abbasi has shot the scenes, they look fascinating and captivating. There are places where frames are too close; and that’s one of the downsides of the film; editing is a little choppy at places, ditto for the shift in the narration – it’s something that comes out as uneven and scattered.

Durj is an earnest effort by Shamoon Abbasi but unfortunately it is not a mass entertainer. There are films which are made to entertain audiences which have item songs, slapstick humor and brainless stories; Durj is a serious film with a message, at times it gets a little slow but that’s how it should have been. The subject is serious and is for mature audience. Those who prefer performance oriented cinema with good dialogues will like Durj, rest will find it hard to understand.

In Pakistan, films like Laal Kabootar, Cake, Shah, Manto and Durj are much needed because they have the potential to bring mature audience to cinemas to witness content-centric films. Durj is not the best of the lot but is a decent attempt which should be appreciated, especially if audience wants to watch thought provoking cinema.