OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Cover Story
18 Legends of Lahore Every corner of this timeless city has a tale to tell
Feature
26 From home, with love For desis living in Houston, round-the-clock Urdu-language radio stations provide a small slice of home
28 One stroke at a time Yakub Nur, a 10-year-old art prodigy, uses his talent to fight cancer
31 Gone with the wind Away from the cycle of work-life-work, Adil Mulki embarks on his most dangerous trip yet
18
34 Dashing donkeys, magnificent mules Forget Sunday bazaar, visit the Donkey Derby this week!
31
Regulars 6 People & Parties: Out and about with Pakistan’s beautiful people 38 Reviews: What you should (and shouldn’t) watch over Eid 42 End Of The Line: Target Chilling
34
4
Magazine Editor: Zarrar Khuhro, Senior Sub-Editor: Zainab Imam. Sub-Editors: Mifrah Haq, Ameer Hamza and Dilaira Mondegarian. Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Jamal Khurshid, Essa Malik, Maha Haider, Faizan Dawood, Samra Aamir, Sanober Ahmed. Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi. For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Shan Lashari and Amna Babar
Sozo World organises the premiere for Heroine in Lahore
PHOTOS COURTESY VERVE
Zainab, Saad, Mahera and Vasay
Faryal and Saira
Alizeh and Naila Sarah
Ikram and Madiha
6 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Asim, Maria, Fiza and Bilal
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Rabia and Munib
PHOTOS COURTESY VERVE
Sana, Hina and Amina
Uzma, Asma and Sheraz
Hina and Sehyr
Ahmed, Humera and Rameera
8 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Qasim and Fia
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Anoushey Ashraf Ayesha Mustafa
Fashion ComPassion launches its range of handbags in Karachi Faiza Lakhani and Mehvish Karim
Sajida Mehmood Adnan Pardesy
10 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Maheen
PHOTOS COURTESY CATALYST PR AND MARKETING
Hira Tareen
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Beenish Khan
Sarah Tahir
Muneeb Nawaz
Nazia Malik
12
Najia Siddiqui OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Iraj
Maheen Karim
PHOTOS COURTESY CATALYST PR AND MARKETING
Sanam Chaudhri and Umair Tabani
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Amna Kardar
Maheen Kardar
Meesha Shafi
Iqra Mansha
Pakistan Fashion Design Council and L’Oréal Paris hold Bridal Week 2012 in Lahore
Mohsin Ali
Khadija Shah Misha Lakhani
14 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Nabila
PHOTOS COURTESY FAISAL FAROOQUI
PEOPLE & PARTIES
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Kamiar Rokni
Zara Peerzada and Ali Xeeshan
Musharaf Hai
Waleed
Resham and Nida Azwer
Nina and Nickie Asifa and Nabeel
16 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
PHOTOS COURTESY FAISAL FAROOQUI
Saif Rehman and Zara Shahjahan
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
FEATURE
from home,
with love For Pakistanis living in Houston, roundthe-clock Urdu-language radio stations bring a little bit of their own language and culture every day BY HUMA IMTIAZ PHOTO BY AZIZ AHMED
26
Driving out to their office, one can see the billboards for Hum Tum Radio — one of Houston’s few Pakistani radio stations — on the main highways of Houston. Broadcasting to over 100,000 Pakistanis in the Houston area, the radio station, now in existence for over a decade, has thousands of listeners who tune in on their radios, or on the Internet, where one can listen to their live stream.
comments and offers her own two cents in a calm and soothing
As we walk in, the station’s radio jockey Lubna Jamshed, who
highlight the problems and issues of the Pakistani community.
is also the head of marketing, is in the midst of her radio show, talking to her audience about family issues. She listens to their OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
voice. Her show, broadcast in the afternoon, is primarily a talk
show — she selects a subject for the day and asks callers to weigh in on it, while also playing popular Pakistani and Indian songs at regular intervals.
“They call me the Pakistani Oprah Winfrey,” laughs Jamshed,
who moved from Lahore to Houston ten years ago. Speaking in
a mix of Urdu and English, this radio jockey says she likes to “We’ve talked about dowry, domestic abuse, divorces, relation-
ships between family members, etc.”
Jamshed says she gets up to 30 callers during her four-hour-
long show. “We live so far away from home, it is important to talk about these issues while we live here.”
The Hum Tum Radio office is covered with posters of their
shows, and events that the station has organised in the area.
“We have 17 people working for us,” says Gaddi. “Sangeet
Radio’s programming caters to not just professionals but also students, women and those who wish to listen to religious programming.”
Sangeet currently has several popular shows, including one
Concerts of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and other events are featured
geared towards professionals driving to work on the busy Hous-
diqui with former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
en’s issues and family problems and a two-hour show for stu-
prominently, as are pictures of the station’s owner Rehan SidThe station has four radio jockeys in total, and broadcasts 24 hours all week. During Ramazan, the station also carries out special transmissions for its listeners.
Shazia Khan is another popular radio
jockey at Hum Tum Radio. She moved to
Texas 15 years ago from Lahore and now lives in Houston. Her show, “Mornings with Shazia”, is catered to those tuning
in while driving to work or those spend-
ing their mornings at home, especially housewives. In her unaccented Urdu,
Khan impresses on us the importance
of the Urdu language. “When you move to this country, you move far away from
your culture, language and traditions,” says Khan. When you turn on the radio and listen to a language from where you
were born, and make your children listen to it, it has a huge impact.”
Khan’s view is corroborated by statis-
tics from the international media and
marketing research firm Arbitron Inc, which says that the radio-listening audi-
ence in the US is 126 million adults aged between 18 and 49 years. In its Septem-
ton highways, a four-hour show dedicated to discussing womdents. The channel also broadcasts the azaan five times a day.
But what truly sets Sangeet apart is
“When you move to this country, you move far away from your culture, language and traditions,” says Khan. When you turn on the radio and listen to a language from where you were born, and make your children listen to it, it has a huge impact.”
ber 2012 report, Arbitron also said that
the audience in the US increased due to
its dedicated hour-long political show, which has been launched keeping in mind that the US elections are right
around the corner. “From 7 to 8pm, we have a political show to accommodate American politicians, both local as well as congressional candidates, so that they
can talk about the community’s issues,” Gaddi explains. “It is important for our audience to know where the candidates
stand on the Pakistani and Indian community.”
While the statistics from Arbitron
are a testament to the fact that radio is
still relevant, Gaddi says that it is hard to determine how many people actually listen to their station on a daily basis
since Arbitron only provides statistics for English and Spanish radio stations.
However, he believes Sangeet still man-
ages to reach a large enough number of South Asians. “We have 300,000 people
in our community and I think a substantial number of them tune in to the station.”
Houston is perhaps one of the few cit-
young radio listeners in the past year, with adults aged between
ies in America that has dedicated radio stations which cater to
95% of adults aged 25 to 54 with a household income of $75,000
Sangeet’s reach beyond the airwaves of Houston, he says it is not
18 and 34 and even 12 and 17, tuning in to the radio. “More than or more and a college degree tune in to radio on a weekly basis. That’s 25.6 million listeners in this demographic,” said Arbitron.
Hum Tum Radio is not the only radio station that caters to
Pakistani and Indian audiences. While Gaddi hopes to expand an easy task since a major part of their revenue comes from advertising and his personal funds.
But whether or not these channels manage to expand their
South Asians in the Houston area. Its biggest competitor is San-
reach, in Houston they have a dedicated fan base. For listen-
to its audience in Houston not only via the Internet but also
unique and valued listening experience. And that is a communal
geet Radio, another South Asian radio station that broadcasts through iPhones and iPads.
Saeed Gaddi started Sangeet Radio in May 1997, billing it as the
ers who yearn to hear Urdu on their radio, these stations offer a bond the station seems to value above everything else.
“Our community has specific needs and requirements, and
first Pakistani radio station in Houston. But unlike Hum Tum,
they must be analysed by any radio channel. We owe our success
Pakistani and Indian audiences.
says Gaddi.T
which targets mostly Pakistani listeners, Sangeet caters to both
in Houston to our ability to understand these requirements,” OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
27
FEATURE
one stroke
at a time A 10-year-old prodigy lends his masterful strokes to Children’s Cancer Foundation memorabilia for spreading the message of hope BY KHUZAIMA FATIMA HAQUE
Tashina Nur knew from the start her son was gifted. She always kept an easel with paper and paints in Yakub’s room and when the two-year-old would walk by, he would make some quick strokes with the brush and move on. Tashina would save these paintings not because they were her son’s adorable cre-
ations but, being a kindergarten teacher herself, she could see originality in his
work — a unique quality for that age. She began using Yakub’s work to design his custom-made birthday cards, goodie bags and cake. But she knew she could put her
28
son’s work to even better use. She had an idea. OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
But one day, the file with all of Yakub’s drawings went missing
“I’ll act like one, eat like one and walk like one. It’s more like a
ry goes, the file carrying the precious drawings had fallen from
minutes.” He explains that he draws the complete picture in one
from a table’s drawer. A lot of hue and cry was raised. As the stothe drawer, and the housemaid, while clearing up, mistook the papers as rubbish. She put them in the bin outside from where the garbage truck would take it. But it turned out that the maid
trance and then I can quickly draw it onto paper in a couple of
stroke, making sure he does not pick up the pencil from the starting to the end point. Quite a challenging feat!
Yakub accompanies his mother to all melas where his work is
actually gave the file to another woman to sell them to the kabari
sold but prefers to keep a low profile. This is not to say that he
Amazingly that woman, instead of selling the paintings, kept
wanted to earn sawaab,” he says. “I feel happy and satisfied that
walla.
them for her children. Luckily, she was traced after Yakub’s parents made frantic efforts to recover the lost drawings, and the file was bought back. Tashina then stored Yakub’s drawings in
a cupboard that, believe it or not, burnt down in a house fire. “There was something surreal about it,” recalls Haider Ali Nur,
Yakub’s father. It was as if the paintings had a destiny and some
doesn’t enjoy his work. “I always wanted to do this because I
some child at the Children Cancer Hospital is benefitting from my drawings.”
His mother, who is more vocal and is a great force behind the
project, often shares his story with customers who are curious to know about the boy behind the project. But initially it was hard
force was decidedly intervening in it. Perhaps it was looking for the right time for Yakub’s paintings to serve a purpose.
Irrespective of what fate had planned, Tashina was adamant
about using Yakub’s artwork to promote some cause. She took
one of Yakub’s drawings of animals, all in motion, with a message “Save the Animals”, asked her daughter’s friend to photoshop it and had it printed on bookmarks. These were put up for sale at a school mela, but the response was very disappointing. No one cared about Yakub’s idea, it seemed.
But Tashina was not one to be discouraged. She took key chains
and bookmarks with the tagline “Cancer is Curable” to another
“I have always loved animals and once I pick an animal or a bird [to draw], I imagine myself as that creature,” says Yakub
mela organised by the Children’s Cancer Hospital. These were sold
for a mere Rs50 to Rs100, with no intention of earning profits but to spread the message about cancer prevention and cure. “One is
most likely to throw away a brochure, but key chains and book-
for her to accept that her son was treading an unconventional
simply not die,” says Tashina. Sadly, the response to these was
standard boyish things instead of things like a lion’s tooth, fos-
marks stay with you forever, so it’s a constant message that will also muted.
It was only at another Children’s Cancer Foundation (CCF)
mela that the souvenirs sold like hot cakes. Now, products with Yakub’s drawings are an essential part of any stall set up by the
CCF anywhere around the world. And thanks to the young boy, awareness about the CCF and children’s cancer has increased: the family also receives donations in unmarked white envelopes from friends and relatives, which are then passed on to the foundation. Dr Shamvil at CCF also says that money keeps pouring in
path. “A lot of times I questioned why my boy would not ask for sils, feathers or an old crocodile skin suitcase,” she says.
But when one day an uncle took her aside, he made her realise
that her child was indeed gifted and the whole family needed to support him in his passion. He quoted Iqbal’s verse, Khuda agar dil-e-fitrat- shanas day tujh ko Sakootay lala-o-gul se kalam paida kar
(If Lord grants you a heart that can appreciate nature; Create a connect (even) with the silence of the flower)
From then on, the family began appreciating Yakub’s talent
from anonymous donors around the world.
and his keen eye for detail. “Once he drew the spots under the
A lot of his work includes a mix of pencil colours, water paints,
went out into the garden, under the fern plant and found the
For a 10-year-old, Yakub’s drawings are quite awe-inspiring.
oil pastels and chalk, and with each passing day he is exploring other mediums. Be it a peacock, a dragon or a parrot, he draws all
fern plant in our garden. None of us had thought about it, so we spores,” says Tashina.
Citing her own experience, the proud mother advises all fami-
animals in motion. Even his signature is in the form of a whale
lies to never question the natural gift that their child has. “Now,
“I have always loved animals and once I pick an animal or a
child is gifted, his talent can be put to good use and for the ben-
turning back with its mouth wide open.
bird [to draw], I imagine myself as that creature,” says Yakub.
having worked with Yakub’s drawings, I believe that if one’s efit of others if one has the will to do it,” she says.
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
29
FEATURE
gone with the
wind
Away from the clutches of his smartphone, computer and social circle, the author paraglides his way to peace ... in Karachi! TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ADIL MULKI
When they strapped me up and told me that it was my turn to go, I started reciting the few prayers I know. I had seen the bearded “head of operations” smoking a cigarette earlier, as he pointed me out to his Pashtun accomplice, his eyes invisible behind dark black sunglasses that covered most of his suntanned face. Before my very eyes, they had similarly strapped a dozen or so people earlier, most of them teen-
age boys from a school and a couple of ladies, and hurled them off the cliff. I did not get to see the expression on the lady’s face before me, but I did hear her scream as it pierced the serenity on the cliff. And now, it was my turn; my first experiment with paragliding!
Karachi, the city by the sea, is opening up to a number of adventure sports and activities but
paragliding is not one of them as the monsoon winds lasting for over half the year pose a huge
risk to paragliding enthusiasts. A dearth of suitable cliffs with appropriate landing areas devoid of hazards, such as powerlines etc, and precarious law and order in some suitable areas such as the infamous Kati Pahari, also contribute towards this shortage of locations.
But when a group from Islamabad offered paragliding opportunities during their upcoming visit
to Karachi, I grabbed at the opportunity with both hands.
The site they chose was near Mubarak village. Much like its name, the village is “blessed and
bountiful” for fishermen and adventure seekers exploring snorkelling, scuba-diving and angling. OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
31
FEATURE
Our first “air-field” was a relatively flat piece of ground beyond a 25-foot hill, adjacent to the Hub Creek near Sunehra beach. As if the smoke cascading out of the sky-scraping chimney of Hubco
Power Plant across the creek wasn’t indication enough, an airsock was put up to let us know the direction of the wind.
After a bit of “theory” and “dry” warm-up runs on the ground,
one-by-one we were harnessed and made to run with the para-
chute till it was up and providing a lift. After this, we jumped
off the tiny hill. The initial flights lasted only a few seconds and were just to prepare us for the later ones, without too much risk. After all, how badly can a person get hurt if he falls off a
two-storey-high building onto, notwithstanding rocks, unpaved
ions and reserve parachute! Some reassurance!
ter when the first person to take the jump shouted after his five
ny girl was chosen as the “test-pilot”. The “head of operations”
non-discreet and blurted out “Abey kya duniya ka chakkar lagaye ga!”
wind” so a few bottles of water were added to her backpack to
ground! I still recall my rude but extempore/spontaneous laugh-
to six second flight “Buss??!!” One of his buddies was even more After the initial training jumps, we headed to the final site of
the day. With all the cars, mostly saloons, neatly parked there,
the off-road terrain looked like a corporate parking lot rather than
thought the girl was too light and might end up “gone with the increase the weight. I wondered why they didn’t just put the reserve parachute back.
When it was my turn, the paraglider had to haul a jumbo size
the wilderness. This second cliff was around 80 to 100 feet high
weight, so we had a couple of dry-runs before I finally managed
visible beyond the village.
go, and this was just one of those times. All of a sudden, the re-
with a steady breeze blowing in from the Arabian Sea, which was
We were informed that since the height of the take-off site is
not much and the breeze blowing in is not too strong either, in
32
The experts started off with the light-weights first and a skin-
order to provide an enjoyable experience, the weight of the backpacks has been reduced by removing the extra protective cushOCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
to lift off. Somewhere down the line in your life, you learn to let alisation hits you that you are finally airborne and as a gust of oncoming wind takes you higher, you feel a sudden rush of blood,
a moment’s hesitation, for in your decades of age, you are doing
something for the very first time. You were too young to remem-
ber your first step when you learnt to walk. By the time you learn how to swim, you probably have had a few experiences where on
a picnic a wave lifted you off your feet and you came rushing to your parents, shouting that you have learnt how to swim.
Somewhere down the line in your life, you learn to let go, and this was just one of those times
But this is different. You’re grown up and know fully well the
significance of this transformation. Before this, you are a “be-
ing” familiar with a two-dimensional mode of movement — a left-right-straight-and-back routine. Now, one discovers the three-dimensional world that it really is. The addition of “up and down” to the navigational jargon also adds the possibility
of “wwwaay waay down — and quick”. Yes, it is strange, giving
yourself up to the thin cords of a man-made fibre, which in turn is at the total disposal of the forces of nature, wind, heat from
the sun and at that moment, the most fearsome of them all,
gravity! Even after the realisation hits you, you keep hoping that the “gravity” of the situation doesn’t!
For the first five seconds or so, I could hear instructions and
precautions being hurled at me by the safety crew on the cliff.
For the next five seconds, warnings followed along with what I believe could have been a few expletives, for ignoring the instructions, precaution and warnings sent earlier. And then, it really didn’t matter because I was out of reach!
It was my own few moments of peace, away from cell phones
and laptops and social media websites. It was good that there was
no walkie-talkie to communicate with the instructor, despite a
commitment. In fact, it was a blessing in disguise. Who’d want
to contaminate “this” peace with the coarse voice of the instruc-
tor more keen on getting you to land safely and quickly rather than letting you “explore the world anew” — which is the point of the whole activity.
After an immensely pleasurable time, I realised that if I went
any farther, I’d have to turn back “with the wind” towards the
landing zone. The technicalities of “flying with the wind” were something that the experts had kept to themselves. Earlier, I had
put my own name and number in the “contact in case of emergencies” field in the release form, so I decided not to experiment
further and swerved right towards the far end of the safe landing zone.
I would not call the feeling of getting my feet back on the
ground a ground-breaking experience, but it sure was an eye-
opener for me. We casually flip over the pages of National Geographic and switch through adventure channels at leisure, but now I
could better appreciate the amount of training, equipment and
sheer hard work that goes behind the smoothly edited pictures and videos that make us go “Wow! I’d like to do that for a living!”
It also reminded me of patangbazi from my younger years when I used to wonder what it would feel like to ride a kite, if one could. Although I would not like to paraglide every day for a living,
riding my own kite was definitely an exhilarating experience that I’d love to relive.
OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
33
FEATURE
dashing donkeys,
magnificent mules Residents from other cities constantly complain that everyone in Karachi is always racing. Well, it’s not just the people; even the donkeys and mules in this city race! TEXT BY FAROOQ TIRMIZI AND PHOTOS BY ARIF SOOMRO
In ancient Rome, chariot races used to take place at the Circus Maximus. In modern-day Karachi, they mostly begin in front of The Forum, the upscale mall located in Clifton. Every alternate Sunday afternoon, small chariots attached to mules and donkeys line up along-
side the curb on the main road in preparation for the big race. A crowd of several dozen enthusi-
asts gathers around the chariots, many on donkey-carts themselves, with others arriving on small pickup trucks that can follow the racing chariots till the end of the race.
The people gathered are mostly associated with the transportation business. When they are not
racing, these donkeys and mules are pulling large carts loaded with grain at Jodia Bazaar or scrap
34 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
metals at the market in Shershah. Many have been in the business for decades and have been racing their animals for just as long.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a child,” says Ismail, a don-
key owner. “I used to come with my father. And my father used
to go to the race with his father when he was a child. Now I am coming with my own children.”
Most of the racers, as well as the audience, belong to the
Katchi and Makrani Baloch communities residing in Lyari. For
them, the race is akin to a festival where people come with their children, though no women attend. And such is its popularity
among its fans that, according to one spectator, the “races were even filmed by the National Geographic Channel.”
There are two starting points for the participating chariots: the
billboard in front of The Forum and the railway crossing at one end of Mai Kolachi. The race ends at the point where the Native Jetty Bridge begins. There are usually two to three races at every event.
As with most races involving animals, there is indeed gam-
bling involved. In fact, organisers of the event make money primarily by arranging bets between members of the crowd gath-
ered to watch the race. Surprisingly, the winner does not receive reward money from the organisers; instead the owner of the losing donkey pays, typically an amount exceeding Rs50,000.
And where illegal money is involved, the police are also not far
behind; they are paid hefty sums in bribes to get them to keep
their noses out of the races and thus allow rampant gambling to take place.
The races are usually a donkey versus donkey contest, or a mule
versus another mule. It is rare for a race to be organised between a donkey and a mule but when they do take place, they attract OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
35
FEATURE
“I’ve been coming here since I was a child,” says Ismail, a donkey owner. “I used to come with my father. And my father used to go to the race with his father when he was a child. Now I am coming with my own children.” 36 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
a lot more attention since the odds of a mule winning are typically much higher than that of a donkey.
The donkeys and mules involved in the races are often decorated,
and owners say they feed and treat their race animals better than
their work animals. The prices for race animals are also much high-
er, especially for husbandry purposes (when the semen of a male donkey is sold to the owners of a female donkey for impregnation).
A weak economy, however, has taken its toll. The race used to be
held weekly, but now it takes place every other Sunday; once at Mai Kolachi and the next week at the Ghaghar Railway Crossing on the
National Highway. The new US Consulate on Mai Kolachi has also
caused problems because the police have been hesitant in allowing large gatherings so close to the consulate.
In Lyari, where the residents are particularly enthusiastic about
these races, donkeys have had to pay the highest price. As many
as 25 donkeys, a lot of them reared for these races, were caught in
the crossfire in Karachi’s summer of violence in May. The violence forced the Lyari Donkey Cart Association to cancel the Hamara Karachi race that carried a prize-money of Rs50,000.
Despite the loss and insecurity, the races continue with just
enough fervour and festivity. In fact, if the sport were given a spot in the Olympics, Pakistan would have a sure shot at the Gold!T
37 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
REVIEW
aiyyaa-m in pain BY ZAINAB IMAM
I am a huge Rani Mukerji fan. And I had to repeat that line to myself a hundred times after watching Aiyyaa. Rani is definitely one of the most talented female actors in Bollywood in this generation, which is why I wondered what came over her that she chose to do this film! Directed by Marathi film-maker Sachin Kundalkar, who was trying his hand at Bollywood for the first time, Aiyyaa is a painful experience to say the least. Meenakshi Deshpande (Rani) is shown to be the only normal person in the ridiculous world where the film is set. She’s a dreamer who wants to make some money so that she can move out of her parents’ madhouse. She gets a job as a librarian at an art college, where she meets Tamil artist Surya (played by Malayalam actor Prithviraj), and immediately falls in love — with his scent. I kid you not. That’s when I realised that, as some kind of a mental defence system against the atrocity I was putting myself through, I may have been forcing myself to believe that Meenakshi was a normal character. Kundalkar then tries an assortment of remedies to salvage the film, all of which fall flat on their face. He creates a love triangle as Meenakshi’s mother hooks her up with “ideal husband material” Madhav, which sort of helps the film’s cause for a few minutes. Music by Amit Trivedi (known for his fantastic work in Aisha and
resident nonsense BY NOMAN ANSARI
The most remarkable thing about Resident Evil: Retribution is how utterly unremarkable it is in every respect. The 3D effects are poor, the narrative is obnoxious and the acting is painfully lifeless. So lifeless in fact, that you can’t help but wonder if the film’s heroes were inspired by all the zombies they were meant to be shooting. The film stars Milla Jovovich as Alice (again), a once genetically enhanced zombie hunting soldier, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world that has been overrun by zombies. In the previous films, her abilities were forcibly given to her by the evil Umbrella Corporation, who in the films are also responsible for the zombie virus, and are now currently hunting Alice. Here, they use Alice’s former ally, Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), to interrogate her once she is captured. Valentine, we note, has been brainwashed with a device attached to her chest, allowing her to be controlled. During the interrogation, Alice unsuccessfully tries to convince Valentine to remember who she was. At this point, Alice escapes and kills plenty of zombies in scenes that are loud and uninteresting and set the dull tone for the rest of the film’s brain dead action. 38 Soon, Alice is assisted by Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts), who was OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
Ishaqzaade) also offers brief moments of entertainment. However, the only real saving grace of the film is not surprisingly Rani Mukerji herself. Subodh Bhave as Madhav is the only character that is enjoyable. Prithviraj barely has any dialogues until the last 30 minutes of the film and every other character is simply trying too hard to bring some humour into an essentially plot-less film. Particularly insufferable is Meenakshi’s best friend Maina, whose character appears to be inspired by Rooh Afza from Pakistani drama serial “Quddusi Sahib Ki Bewa”. Maina is Meenakshi’s raunchy fellow librarian, who is perpetually drunk on vodka. That would be entertaining if it wasn’t so pathetic. Sadly, there is nothing good that can be said about this film. The script is weak, the acting is mostly bad and while Bollywood audiences appear to be accepting some South Indian film-making influence, Aiyyaa is just too influenced for their taste. So save yourself the hours of torture and give me the ticket money instead. Believe me, I’m seriously looking for a reimbursement for my cinema ticket. T
once the head of the Umbrella Corporation but has now gone rogue, and is looking to redeem himself by trying to provide aid to Alice. Albert explains to Alice that his successor is the Red Queen, the super intelligent AI. Eventually more characters join Alice, as she attempts to save mankind. Resident Evil: Retribution is the fifth installment in the action/horror film franchise and its release, suspiciously enough, coincides with the release of the Resident Evil 5 video game. To me, it is clear that for the studios this film is merely a cash-in on the popularity of the video game franchise. For example, certain characters in the film make nonsensical cameos, only to appease the fans of the video game who were demanding to see them on screen. The film was written and directed by Jovovich’s husband Paul WS Anderson, a filmmaker whose career is littered with mediocre films, with arguably his greatest achievement being Mortal Kombat (1995). Yes, if that is his greatest film, then perhaps one shouldn’t expect much from Resident Evil: Retribution.
awful nonetheless BY AYESHA ARIF
It takes ten minutes for the clever ones, and fifteen for the rest of us, to realise that Damsels in Distress might be the most meaningless and inane film we’ll ever watch. Of course inanity is not a problem for people like me who have grown up watching Bollywood films but what really bothers me is the pseudo attempt at satire on college life. For a good part of the film, one isn’t sure if the film’s set in some period era or if something else is the matter. It is only much later that you find out that the film’s not really set in any particular era or place and its all for the sake of surrealism. The film revolves around the life of three damsels, Violet, Heather and Rose played by Greta Gerwig, Carrie MacLemore and Megalyn Echikunwoke respectively, who are on a mission to save frat boys, suicidal kids, people who smell bad, people who dress wrong (read everyone) at their imaginary college named Seven Oaks. The damsels are joined by another ‘flower’, Lily, played by Analeigh Tipton to complete their botanical arrangement. Problems begin as soon as Lily, an outsider in many ways, becomes a part of the group and starts openly challenging the other damsels. It is quite obvious that director Whit Stillman, who was on a fourteen-year break from filmmaking (and for good reason), isn’t actually sure what he wants to achieve with this film. He is trying to be clever, that’s for sure, but then he keeps crossing the thin line between clever and stupid time and again. One minute the plot’s about a group of girls who’re trying to save stupid frat boys by dating them, not a good idea! The next minute about using tap dancing and donuts to prevent suicide in college, not a good idea either! Later, it’s about sleeping with each other’s boyfriends and so on. Eventually it turns out that a plot has completely evaded this film. Fair enough. But at least give us pleasing visuals then. Gerwig, who had managed to win favour with me after Greenberg, has successfully managed to lose all of that post Damsels. She is mechanical and painful to watch but then again, it might have been the script. The film is filled to the T with wordy, whimsical dialogues that get a few laughs out of you at first; afterwards (if you’re still watching, that is), it’s a different story. You can tell that Stillman is trying very hard to say something profound with the film. What it is, is anybody’s guess. For all intents and purposes, Stillman’s break hasn’t ended still. People who expect some kind of a narrative in cinema should avoid Damsels in Distress like the plague, or any other such disease. Those who don’t really mind films without stories shouldn’t attempt watching this sober.
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REVIEW
looper leaves no loopholes BY NOMAN ANSARI
I don’t need a time machine to tell you that Looper will be regarded as one of the most memorable science-fiction films of our time. It is an intelligent film about time-travel, knitted around a powerful message of love and sacrifice, with a flourishing finish to boot; a surprise ending that left many in the audience in my cinema theatre standing and applauding. The film is set mostly in the year 2044, in a future where criminal organisations are left dominant because of an economic meltdown. Here, writer/director Rian Johnson manages to paint a futuristic universe without overindulging in the sci-fi. He successfully creates a future that is believable enough to draw us into its reality; elements like weapon technology, vehicles, fashion, architecture, and the like, all feel like an evolution rather than a revolution of our presentday selves. Even the fantastical elements come across as natural; the few citizens in Looper who have the ability to use telekinesis are mostly limited to small levitation tricks rather than fully blown psychic abilities. Looper’s narrative is just as engaging, with endearing characters that draw you in as you witness their personal growth. The film stars Bruce Willis as Joe and Jason Gordon-Levitt as a younger Joe. The older Joe lives in 2074, a period where time-travel has recently been discovered and outlawed, though not before criminal organisations managed to secure the powerful technology. It is a time when tracking devices have made it impossible for the felonious to dispose of corpses undetected by the law, so those of the organised crime have come up with a simple solution: send victims back in time to be assassinated. Younger Joe is one such assassin who, along with a group of other assassins, lives in 2044 and is called a ‘looper’. When younger Joe is assigned with a hit, he simply waits at an abandoned field at a specified time with a gun, a clean white sheet, and other items designed to aid him in murder and body disposal. Younger Joe, like the other loopers, is hired on an understanding that when his contract with the mafia is complete, his older self will be sent back to be killed by him as the final hit, along with a ‘golden handshake’, and thus leaving no loopholes. When older Joe finally appears in 2044, younger Joe expects an easy kill but is taken unawares by the older man who has come unbounded and on his own. Eventually, and in what is the most touching scene of the film, older Joe explains to younger Joe why it is so important for younger Joe to continue his future unchanged and how the power of love will help him grow past his sickeningly decadent lifestyle. At this point we even learn of a mysterious new mob boss, simply 40 called ‘Rainmaker’, who is extremely powerful and has singlehandOCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012
edly started to take over all the criminal organisations in 2074. Here, we learn why older Joe has come back to 2044 — to hunt the Rainmaker at a time when he was a young boy — and we note the startling things older Joe is willing to do to protect the one he loves. Naturally, younger Joe opposes him, although younger Joe’s motives change drastically for his defiance of older Joe. Where the film falters is in the fact that Looper doesn’t quite successfully sell both Joes as the same person. Although Bruce Willis is fantastic in some emotional scenes, and Jason Gordon-Levitt has enough make-up on him to strike the resemblance, the two actors don’t quite find the chemistry. That being said, Looper has plenty of other compelling aspects including some entertaining action sequences which are spiced up by the brain-teasing time travel set pieces. Where most time-travel films falter is in the tricky science of the concept, but Rian Johnson tackles the subject to some satisfaction. In that sense, at least, Looper is certainly like the criminal organisations it features: it leaves no loopholes.
in two worlds BY AYESHA ABDUL RAZZAK
Wish You Were Here. The film, whose title sounds like something you would write at the back of a postcard, establishes its premise within the first few frames as the same words flash across a screen in a pre-dawn scene involving a rather shocked Joel Edgerton (Dave Flannery) sharing screen space with some wild dogs on a beach. An Australian production, Wish You Were Here is written by Felicity Price, who also stars as Mrs Alice Flannery, and is co-written and directed by her husband Kieran-Darcy Smith. This “misleadingly” titled film explores a rather famous story line — that of Westerners getting lost in the vices of a sub-par and Western-wounded Asian country. What particularly impressed me about this film was the poetic imagery of each and every frame, which is strongly utilised by the leads. As the film flits between the two worlds, not only is the obvious stereotypical situation depicted brilliantly in the scenes — this missing Westerner gaining celebrity status in Sydney, Australia — but the underlying half-truths are also captured nicely. The character of Dave Flannery has a secret that starts to eat away at his marriage. As the lies crumble and the drama intensifies, the backdrop of Sydney and Cambodia collide and the two worlds and their stress intensifies. It is almost as if the loud tourist markets of Cambodia and the impromptu rave on the beach become one with the screaming unruly children in the Flannery home. This film reveals its bits and pieces like a puzzle until the viewer begins to guess at the unknown. The marriage is put under the spotlight; the couple that has now been away for over six weeks have just been reintroduced to the domesticity. Then the sister, whose boyfriend is the one missing, is left behind and there is this almost ignorance of her pain in the Flannery home. Relationships are explored, defined and then they metamorphose to the tune of theatre-like proportions. It seems that this was not a summer film. It is not a light forgettable escape but a film meant to stress the importance of delirious and naïve western tourists losing their way in a foreign country. While one would lose interest in any other film that explores such a sensitive topic, the strong characterisations and intense scenes in Wish You Were Here keep making one want to know more. You want to see more of this mishap of an exotic holiday — such as a laughing Jeremy King explaining his completely innovative business scheme
to the smitten Steph as a sceptical Dave looks on with his wife and then his sudden disappearance. You wonder who would harm such a straightforward man for no rhyme or reason. The time scheme in the film is askew. Various moments are brought forward and revealed bit by bit but then flit away, almost as if the director, like a puppet master, isn’t ready to reveal the entire truth. He makes you want to sit through it, relish it, and then view to tell a great tale. And so, you do.
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42 OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3 2012