Daily Times

One of the visual treats we will be having this Eid is going to be in the form of ‘Chhalawa’, a film by Wajahat Rauf who previously contributed to the revival of Pakistani cinema by his directorial works ‘Karachi Se Lahore’ and ‘Lahore Se Aagay’.

On air these days are the bright and colourful trailers of ‘Chhalawa’, which seem to be infused with almost all the pleasing elements, be it comedy, music or a great cast that has Mehwish Hayat, Azfar Rehman, Adnan Shah Tipu, Zara Noor Abbas, Aashir Wajahat, Asad Siddiqui, Mehmood Aslam and many others.

The director says that the film will incorporate simple and feel-good humour.

This is something the Pakistani audience direly needs, for we are living in times stricken with all kinds of calamities, and along with ample work being produced on hard-hitting realities, “feel-good” directorial works must be given equal importance so that people may find peace of mind as well. The term “feel-good” was used by Wajahat Rauf himself when he was asked regarding the specialities of the film, to which he responded in the following words,

The director also says that ‘Chhalawa’ is a family comedy, which is something that will hopefully attract the audience. This does sound interesting, for we live in a country where the institution of family is quite strong and a story dealing with family problems certainly gathers Pakistani families at one place

“The speciality of the film lies in its simplicity and its feel-good humour. Other enticing elements of the film include amazing performances by all the actors and its music which has been beautifully composed by the extremely talented musician and singer, Shiraz Uppal.”

The director also says that ‘Chhalawa’ is a family comedy, which is something that will hopefully attract the audience. This does sound interesting, for we live in a country where the institution of family is quite strong and a story dealing with family problems certainly gathers Pakistani families at one place.

When asked what makes ‘Chhalawa’ different from his previous two films, Rauf said, “My first two films were road-trip movies, which catered to the demands of the younger audience, and humour was the only human characteristic that I made use of while working on those characters. Whereas this film is concerned, it will provide a lot more to the viewers besides humour. People will get to see and analyse the relationship between a father and his children and the bond between siblings. A signature style of comedy and music will add to the beauty of it.”

Half of what the director says is validated if a closer look is taken at the film’s trailer, in which we come across glimpses of conversations between a father and a daughter, a brother and a sister, two friends, and various love-birds. Along with that, we also find a shift between two provinces of the country, all of which reflects the variety which will be presented to us, be it in the form of different relations or different cultures and their respective styles of language-usage. Zara Noor Abbas who has mostly been seen in tragic serials presents an entirely different persona, which tells how even the performers will be passing uniqueness and versatility to the audience.

Hopefully, like the previous contributions of Rauf, this contribution will also be a positive one and another successful step in taking the Pakistani cinema ahead.

The writer is a freelance journalist and can be reached at m.ali_aquarius85@yahoo.com