Media Magick

What sets one film industry apart from another film industry is the way things are conceived and executed. Color grading and treatment of scenes make the difference. It is not necessary that getting inspiration from another film industry is bad or something that hasn’t been done earlier as far as the heart of the movie is in the right place. There was a time when Tamil, Telugu and Malyalam film industries were ridiculed for main leads wearing gaudy colors, louder performances and performing stunts that challenged the rules and laws of physics (and most of the times – common sense).

Trailer: Quaid E Azam Zindabad

Bollywood soon realized that the ‘mass audience’ prefers such kind of cinema and it guarantees more walk-ins; this resulted in directors like Prabhu Deva, Remo D’Souza and Rohit Shetty going all in and churning out films that kind of replicated the South Indian cinema – they mastered the formula and bingo, their films started to mint money. Now, the interesting part is, Pakistani cinema (that is still considered to be in its revival phase – as per film fraternity) is trying to get inspiration (yes, I am being civil) from rehashed Bollywood movies that were originally copied from South Indian cinema – the question that arises “Where’s the uniqueness?”

I recently watched the theatrical trailer of Quaid e Azam Zindabad and the film looks brilliant, loaded with extravagant colors, jokes that are loud and scenes that are fresh for any typical Pakistani film goer. Fahad Mustafa has changed his avatar and he looks dashing, dapper and impactful; Mahira Khan looks fresh, bubbly and at places utters high octane emotional dialogues that hit bulls-eye. Quaid e Azam Zindabad promises to offer everything to its Pakistani audience who are deprived of quality Pakistani films. This trailer promises to offer everything from stylish entry of the hero, full-on dialogue-baazi, and dance numbers to emotional connection brewed under the backdrop of corrupt, romantic and comic storytelling.

The cast is heavy; from Qavi Khan to Nayyar Ejaz and Saleem Mairaj, it is expected that the Pandora box called Quaid-e-Azam will have some more names to entice the audience. The background score is wonderful and offers newness to ears. The opening dialogue of the trailer proves that Fizzah Ali Meerza and Nabeel Qureshi are back in complete form as a team. Some smashing (whistle-worthy) and heart touching dialogues are added in the trailer and they guarantee a total paisa-vasool movie. Styling of the main leads is done on-point.

Besides all the positives and exciting elements that Quaid e Azam Zindabad offers, there are stark similarities that can be drawn with South Indian films and their remake versions by Bollywood. A few scenes look identical (can be a coincidental), and the viewers have already started to point those out. Today, people consume content from worldwide in ample quantity; serving them something that looks like an adaptation from cross-border cinema looks a little disappointing. Filmmakers like Fizzah and Nabeel have immense potential to change the landscape of Pakistani cinema.

Quaid e Azam Zindabad will release on Eid Al Azha 2022, and it is expected that the film will receive a gigantic opening at the box office because why not? It has two of the most bankable and loved superstars of Pakistani cinema; Fahad Mustafa and Mahira Khan. Nabeel – Fizzah game is also strong and they have a track of appealing and satisfying the audience. Let’s hope the film does wonders, not only for the producers but also for the Pakistani cinema, we are in dire need of great box office collections.