Waar has been one of the most anticipated movies of Pakistani cinema in recent time. For over 3 years we kept on hearing about the ISPR funded movie that was ought to be the game changer. It had the money. The right cast a fresh director and above all a very high class technical staff to support it. Expectations were raised and the movie benefited from the long Eid weekend. But the questions is.. Did it meet the expectations? the answer to that question will be revealed later.
Waar tells the story of Mujtaba ( Shan) who has left ISI due to his personal reasons.Meanwhile Ehtasham( Hamza Ali Abbassi) a brave Pakistani Police officer is battling with terrorists and involved in many successful operations along with his Sister Ayshea ( Aisha khan) .
Both of them get to know that Pakistan will be hit by a major terrorist attack and there is only one man who can prevent it , guess who? Yup our Desi Super hero Mujtaba. Who has won many awards and have been involved in many covet operations and yet lives a mysterious life. Rest as you know Shaan agrees to help after a lot of Nakhray.
The Terrorist group deploy Rimal (Shamoon Abbasi an afghan origin) to achieve their target who is helped by an Indian RAW agent named Lakshmi(Meesha Shafi) What starts from here is a cat and mouse game .
I had 2 choices when I started reviewing it. Either I could be a ek din ka Pakistani and say wah wah kya movie bannai hai… yeh movie to india ko dikhani chaheye balkay Hollywood ko . or I could be an honest Pakistani and give my honest feel about it.. so I have chosen to be the 2nd one.. Please feel free to doubt my patriotism.
My 1st peeve with Waar is.. Yeh movie bannai kis kay liye hai? Is it for the masses in Pakistan? Doesn’t seem like, since its 80% in English. is it for the Americans ? Doesn’t seem like either since they get to watch movies like this every day. I heard Bilal Lashari speak that they have made this movie in English for people outside of Pakistan so that they can understand our perspective. Fair enough it’s much needed but couldn’t they put just one small effort by dubbing it in Urdu so that it could suit everyone?
Waar is no doubt an excellent effort in telling the world our side of the story. However it flaunts due to the water thin story line. I have said it before and I will repeat it again Script is the king and will remain so. There isn’t any Story/ Screen play what so ever. There are times when you feel confused since the scenes aren’t in order as if you take all the ingredients put them in a pot and just mix them without proper care. What comes out is half cooked kacha meal. The thrill is missing the nail biting scenes are missing. There aren’t any one liners that you can take home with you. All you get to watch is some really captivating camera shots all put together. As if the director wanted to show off his DOP skills.
The saving Grace of this movie however is the wonderful Acting by Shaan and the wonderfully executed Action sequences (1st of its kind in any Pakistani Movie)
It’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role of hot headed ISI officer Mujtaba, Shaan 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! Aisha Khan does a wonderful job of speaking really nice English in her really nice american accent. There isn’t any meat in the role. all she does is some nice attitude here and there some “ankho ka ishara” and that’s about it Meesha shafi carries her character well however fails at showing off her Tango dance skills, could have been avoided. Hamza Ali Abbasi is getting better with each film. First MHSA and now Waar. He is going to get bigger and better.
Shamoon Abbasi does a commendable job of the main villan (Rimal) The ruthlessness with which he kills Ali Azmat and his wife and the calmness at which he kills them is something that only an actor of a high magnitude could have delivered . In fact he is so honest to the character that after a point you start hating him. A performance that will get noticed by many and will win him accolades all around.
However the biggest Assets of the movie are the action sequences. In fact they are the soul of the movie and how well Bilal Lashari(Director) has handled them. Bravo! Infact the action sequences, the execution and the cinematography is of international standard. Bilal Lashari is right on the money and has also made sure that the sound of Beretta (gun) is the real sound of Beretta itself.
However here is my verdict on his direction. Bilal is a DOP and a post guy and you can see that in the film, its a collection of some nicely taken shots but the art of storytelling is clearly missing. Bilal seems to be heavily inspired from games like Medal of Honor and Call of duty and it shows in the movie as well.
On the musical front. Waar has no songs to offer however it does have excellent background scores. The background music featuring Halaak by Qayaas gels well with the mood . Not to forget Mauje Naina and Sathi Salam by Clinton Cerejo fits to the T and gets the adrenaline pumping.
To sum up Waar should be watched to support Pakistani cinema. And it has done a tremendous job in reviving Pakistani Cinema. 1st MHSA and Now waar . Our Audience has started to take Pride in our Product. Good or bad they are supporting it. And that’s the real spirit of Cinema. The Movie has been doing exceptionally well at the box office due to long Eid Holidays and has recovered a major chunk on its investment. However the real test has to come from this week on-wards.
So My final Verdict on the movie? :)
Bakra Eid kay dino mein , we all friends love pulling each others leg. no matter how good the Gayain is.. we would say.. yaar thoray aur paisey mila ker koi bakra hi lay laytey.. and that analogy will sum up my review for Waar
Jab Itnay Paisey Kharch kiye hain.. to thoray paisey mila ker koi acha writer hi lay laitey :)
Rating: ***1/2
Written by Faraz
