Let’s get one thing straight: You haven’t watched anything so opulent, so magnificent like this in a long, long time on the Pakistani Movie Screen. It’s not just body beautiful, but there’s soul as well.
It requires courage, prowess, patience, aptitude, knowledge, passion and of course, loads of currency to attempt a movie like Mein hoon shahid Afridi. But more than anything else, it requires your firm belief in the subject, the belief to attempt a Pakistani Movie with only one determination The determination to Revive Pakistani Cinema, the belief to spend crores in a film that could go either ways.
Silakot , The city of Shaheens, City of Iqbal. Famous for its sporting goods and leather equipment
Like thousands of teenagers across the country, The enjoyment and entertainment of of these kids depend on only 1 thing , Cricket , They eat, drink sleep and LIVE Cricket.
Shahid Bhatti (Noman Habib) AKA Shahid Afridi of Sialkot’s only dream and passion is Cricket, He idolizes The BOOM BOOM and wants to be like him in the team. Living in a small town he knows that his chances of playing for Pakistani Cricket team are remote but all he has are his dreams. He bullishness to play cricket. The team he plays for doesn’t have a coach, Doesn’t have a trainer and above all don’t even have a cricket kit. They play in are shalwar kameez tucked like a shirt in their shalwar. But beneath all of theml have strong determination.
Things go haywire when the owner of the club( Ismail Tara) informs that their club will shut down unless they repay the loan of 20 lac RS to owner of the land and their hope to pay it back is the PEPSI under 19 Cup. Win the trophy win the prize money and they all go home happily …..
Naaaa it isn’t that simple… Because the shalwar kameez gali mohallay ki cricket team is at rock bottom. They are ought to play an under 19 cup but half of their team is above 30 and before they could even play for the under 19 cup they have to beat every single club in Sialkot to qualify and play for main event.
And here starts a roller coaster ride filled with emotion, thrills, patriotism and self exploration. The Local boy Afridi and Ismail Tara ropes in Coach Akbar ( Humayun saeed) , with a dark past.. What they don’t know is the fact that he is also hiding a secret which unveils later..
When you watch MHSA , not for a second , you feel that you are watching a WAY GUJRA or MEIN HOGAI SOLHA SAL KI flick. You are transformed to a wonderful world that Humyun saeed and co have created and it keeps you glued to the screen till the reels are off. Right from the 1st shot till the Director final Cut. Each scene depicts the hard work that as gone through in making MHSA.
It requires grit and determination to attempt a film of this magnitude. It requires guts to defy the norms and parameters of traditional saima, meera and nirma kind of cinema. It also requires courage and money in abundance to create live cricket matches on screen
As a director, Syed Ali Raza has given the film a grand look, captured intricate details minutely and handled the theme beautifully. He is a wonderful Story Teller , who loves unfolding his cards one by one. No big time drama no mind games. Just simple straight storytelling and that’s where his real strength lies. Raza’s handling of the subject deserves the highest praise, for it’s not every day that you come across a film like MHSA.
There’s no room for dullness in screenplay. The writing (Vasay Chudhry) is tight, the drama keeps you hooked and the Cricket matches makes you glued till the end. The film also talks of sectarian division, an issue so vital in today’s times. Vasy Chaudhry’s dialogues are amazing. The right balance of witt and humor with a pinch of sarcasm The writer comes up with several gems, cinematography matches international standards. The movement of camera at various places, especially in the matches, is breath-taking. Also, the D.O.P. captures the grandeur to the fullest.
MHSA is incomplete without discussing the music. Shani and Kami have done a tremendous job of making sure the Adrenaline is constantly pumped in during the entire movie. Be it the dance song in the welcome party of the cricketers or the most amazing “ Jera Ve ay Anday” infact our National cricket team has gotten a New Anthem ! Take a Bow Shani and Kami. You have done a brilliant Job and have taken the music to a new level.
MHSA also works because of the right casting. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role of Coach Akbar. Hymayun seems born to play this role and he enacts it with such precision, such flourish, such confidence that it leaves you asking for more. A mind-boggling performance without doubt!
But the real Scene Stealer is Noman Habib. He puts in such brilliant act as Shahid. The young lad who has dreams in his eyes yet has a long hard way to turn them into reality. Its amazing to watch this young lad taking such giant strides in the role. Not only he gets his acting right but at the same time . his cricket skills makes you wonder if he is a good cricketer or a good actor. A Star is born who has a long way to go. However he needs to work on his physique a bit. Loose those extra pounds and get in shape.
Javed Sheikh as the Evil nana is brilliant. His Acting is so real that at times you start hating him. however the performance of Shehzad Sheikh as the rival captain need a lot to be looked it. He looks completely out of shape, out of grasp, doesn’t get his dance moves right not only that the lad don’t even have proper dialogue delivery. need to work on your urdu accent mate.
Mahnoor Baloch and Ainy Jaffery doesn’t get much scope here. They do look beautiful, however other than that they hardly get any proper dialogue.
However I have one big issue. And that’s with the item number song of Mathira.. While I do understand that It was added to get those KIND Of audience feeling happy but at again We just need to create our own brand. In all honesty MHSA has all what it takes to get to the top and the item number at the very start doesn’t really seem fit. At the same time the movie could have trimmed for at least 20-30 minutes. Few edits here and there and the screen play could have become much tighter. Especially the Rahat Fateh Ali Song seems forced and only lengthens the proceedings.
MHSA has a host of characters, but the ones whom you carry home, besides Humyun and Noman, are Ismail tara [excellent], Hamza Ali Abbassi (The molvi) [fantastic], Gohar Rasheed as the right hand of Shahid[electrifying], Nadeem baig [graceful],and Ainan Arif the wicket keeper
On the whole, MHSA is an apt example of good cinema .different plot, popular music, breath-taking climax and excellent performances. One of the keenly anticipated films of the Pakistani Cinema, the film has been welcomed with open arms. I was in theater last night and I could hear everyone’s seethiya and taliya… families are enjoying it, loving it. and the latest I have heard is they are bringing in drums and creating an entire match atmosphere to watch the last 15 minutes of the movie. Specially the moment the crowd in the movie chants Afridi. I could hear the entire Theater Chanting AFRIDI!!! AFRIDI!!!
However I have 1 huge request to the Team MHSA. Don’t slow down! Don’t back down. You have started something extraordinary. Don’t stop from here. If you had worked for 16 hours a day.. make it 18 now. Because the bar has been raised and we can hardly wait for the next movie. For me the real Hero was neither Humyun nor Noman. It was Pakistani Cinema.
Give yourself a break! Watch Mein Hoon Shahid Afridi
Rating : * * * * 1/2
Written by Faraz
