Love Guru

Even within the forgiving confines of the rom-com genre, The Love Guru fails to maintain basic narrative logic, leaving audiences questioning character motivations and emotional stakes at every turn. The film relies on tired tropes...family rivalries, contrived misunderstandings, and last-minute realizations...but executes them so haphazardly that the story collapses under its own weight.

The plot line goes like this: Its's the story of Sophia, a talented architect with dreams of marrying her true love. But when a new man walks into her life, everything changes. Torn between family expectations and the stirrings of her heart, Sophia embarks on a journey of self-discovery, love, and difficult choices.

To its credit, the film is visually appealing, with London's scenic backdrops adding a polished sheen. However, competent cinematography and direction cannot compensate for the film's glaring inconsistencies, sluggish pacing, and emotionally hollow core. Visuals can't hide the flaws.

The central conflict...a family feud...is introduced but never explored with any depth. There's no sense of danger, history, or consequence to this rivalry, making it feel like a flimsy plot device rather than a meaningful obstacle. The audience never feels the weight of this feud, nor does it create real tension.

Even more baffling is Sufia's continued attraction to Humayun Saeed's character after she discovers he was hired by her father to sabotage her engagement. Instead of feeling betrayed or conflicted, she inexplicably remains drawn to him...despite him having no discernible charm, depth, or redeeming qualities that justify her devotion. The script asks us to root for their love, but offers no compelling reason to care.

The dialogue is painfully stilted, oscillating between exposition-heavy monologues and cringe-worthy punchlines that feel ripped from a 90s sitcom. Characters don't speak like real people...they deliver awkward, unnatural lines that further distance the audience from any emotional engagement.

Humayun Saeed's Character: A charisma vacuum. His sudden romantic transformation feels unearned, and his actions lack logical consistency. What was so special about Sophia that made him abandon his playboy ways? As a professional manipulator hired to break up relationships, why does he suddenly develop genuine feelings for her? The film never bothers to explore this crucial character shift, making his redemption arc completely unconvincing.

Sophia's Character: Equally puzzling. Despite learning that Humayun's character was paid to deceive her, she continues to be drawn to him. The script fails to establish what makes their connection unique...is it his charm (which we never see)? Her rebellious nature (which isn't developed)? Their chemistry (which is nonexistent)? Without this foundation, their romance feels hollow.

Sufia's Fiancé: His decision to step aside is unexplained and emotionally weightless. Did he ever truly love her? The film doesn't care to explore it.

Sufia's Friend: A textbook example of a throwaway character...introduced for a few scenes, then forgotten without contributing to the plot.

Final Verdict: A Frustrating Watch The Love Guru is a rom-com that forgets the "rom" and bungles the "com." Between its illogical plot twists, shallow characters, and lack of emotional stakes, the film fails to deliver even the most basic pleasures of the genre.

Only watch if you enjoy dissecting bad movies...otherwise, steer clear.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting this movie to be good...but it left me completely surprised. A very solid film. Somewhere between a 7-7.5/10. Humayun Saeed as an actor was excellent. He did a great job and honestly he looked fantastic for his age. Still has the charm of a hero. Mahira Khan was also fine and did her role justice (albeit her role didn't allow her to showcase more of her acting chops sadly). Didn't know if she could pull off the heroine of a movie role still, but I was wrong. Comedic bits in the movie were great. Both actors wanted this to be a revival of the romcom genre and I think they did a great job at trying to bring romcoms back with this film. What I think the movie did need was a bit longer showtime cause the ending was rushed and the supporting cast need some more time as well. If this was a 2 hr 30 min film with some more exposure to the other cast members, the rating would be higher. Overall, I absolutely believe people should go see this movie as it is a romcom that the entire family will love!

So the movie isnt really breaking any new grounds here. In fact its a mix of several troups so commonly seen in romcoms, especially ones from Pakistan.

The story is simple and predictable so I like it better than LONDON NAHI JAON GEE, but even here the pacing drags a bit.

The songs are few (thankfully), and above average. Aima's song and the Pashto wedding songs are sensational.

Humayun saeed never looked better and Ramsha looked stunning as well. With Mahira its about her presence and it feels like SHE WAS BEING FORCED TO NOT BE HERSELF. Almost as if she was suffocating under the direction.

There was less comedy here than humayun's previous movies which was a bummer frankly. The supporting cast did a better than average job too, it just gets TOO OVER THE TOP at times as if punjabis and Pakhtuns are caricatures which is typical really.

So go to the cinema and have a good time.

For a Pakistani movie.. it was a very fun watch!!! After a long time I enjoyed a Pakistani movie with family !! No vulgarity or foul language or double meaning jokes. It wasn't a great mind blowing movie and agreed that story wasn't new however overall had great production value, editing, camerawork , locations !! Jokes were not stale and no over the top acting, songs weren't bad either.

We should all try and support Pakistani cinema. Definitely watchable and definitely recommended to watch with your family.. first half was very enjoyable and funny ... Second becomes a bit serious but still overall an entertaining movie!!

Ever since the trailer of Lo Guru was released, we had been reading harsh comments about it. So yesterday, we went to the cinema fully prepared for a disaster. But I wanted to see the truth for myself-if the film was bad, then just how bad was it?

After watching the entire movie, I can say with full responsibility that it was a good film. We were not bored for a moment, and we never felt like our ticket money was wasted. Below, I'm sharing both the positive and negative aspects of the film:

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Positives:

Direction and Cinematography: The direction was outstanding. The camera work was excellent. The visuals were filmed beautifully. Many Pakistani films are shot like dramas, so they don't feel like "films" on the big screen. But Lo Guru was filmed exactly how a cinematic story should be filmed. Whether it was London or Pakistan-every frame was beautiful. Brilliant.

Chemistry and Acting: The chemistry between Mahira Khan and Humayun Saeed carried the whole film. Both gave excellent performances. Mahira looked stunning, and Humayun appeared as a strong hero throughout. While watching different scenes, we kept thinking, "How could they have looked more beautiful than this?"

Mahira is 40 and Humayun is 53 years old. But trust me, their age had zero negative effect on the film's quality. All those people criticizing them for their age are just age-phobic and insecure. Mahira's fitness at 40 is better than that of most 25-year-old girls in our country. Her figure, her flat tummy-was impressive. It's not common for women at 40 to maintain such fitness. She must work extremely hard for it.

So yes, Mahira looked just as glamorous as any Bollywood heroine in this film.

And Humayun played his role perfectly-no 25- or 30-year-old actor could have done justice to his character the way he did.

The Age Joke: Due to public pressure, Humayun's character jokingly says two or three times, "We aren't young boys anymore." Personally, I think he shouldn't have said that at all. It weakened the film. Movies are supposed to break taboos, not reinforce them under pressure from ageist critics.

I'm shocked at the jealousy of some of these so-called "reviewers." One even called Humayun "horse-faced." Even our educated crowd doesn't hesitate to body shame. But Humayun looked quite handsome in this film.

Character Portrayal: I had read comments mocking them as "uncle-aunty doing teen things," and I expected them to be acting silly-dancing on buses or playing childish games. But surprisingly, there was nothing cringey. Both actors were completely in sync with their characters.

Supporting Actress: Ramsha Khan looked incredibly beautiful and acted well. Although she is much younger than Mahira, she couldn't overshadow her. To be a film heroine, you need a special aura-and Mahira has that. If you can't see it, you're blinded by jealousy.

Wardrobe: Thank God real money was spent on wardrobe. It felt like a professional designer had curated the costumes. Every outfit worn by the leads was beautiful and fitting. Even the supporting actors were well-dressed. Unlike past Pakistani films that wore Indian or European styles without considering body shapes, Lo Guru paid attention to tailoring, styling, and overall fashion sense.

As a fashion designer, I enjoyed watching the clothes-even if the styles weren't entirely unique, the quality and fit were on point.

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Negatives:

Script: The film had everything... except a script. The story was extremely clichéd and uninspired.

The script was so weak it barely held the movie together. Our directors often believe that even a poor script can be saved with strong direction and casting. And to be fair, Nadeem Baig did inject life into the film with his direction and cast.

But here's the thing: a powerful script doesn't just bring life to a film-it makes it unforgettable. Such films are remembered for decades. Great visuals and acting can keep the audience entertained, but they can't create lasting emotional impact without a strong story.

I still remember Kamli by Sarmad Khoosat, even years after watching it-because it had a solid script.

My humble request to directors: Please stop writing scripts yourself or hiring amateurs. Mixing bits of four or five stories doesn't make you a writer. If you keep using patchwork scripts, the outcome will always be half-baked.

Casting: Besides the lead pair, Marina Khan and her two colleagues acted well. Ramsha was also good.

But I was disappointed with how other supporting roles were cast-especially Javed Sheikh and Usman Peerzada, who played Pashtun fathers. They did a terrible job. Nadeem Baig should have cast actual Pashtun actors. For instance, Adnan Tipu's Pashto accent in Suno Chanda was way more authentic. Instead, they went with big names-and gave us zero acting.

Ahmed Ali Butt's character was also poorly written or directed. He's a good actor, but he couldn't bring his character to life. If the antagonist opposite the hero had been stronger, the film would have been even better.

Music: The Pashto cultural song in the film was amazing-absolutely top-notch.

Other songs were also good-except for one: "Woh Bekhabriyaan", which was a cheap knockoff of Bollywood's "Ve Kamliya." I almost wanted to throw my shoe at the screen. Why copy something so badly? Our country is full of talented lyricists and composers. They could've easily created an original song instead of ruining the vibe with this copycat disaster.

Sound Design: The overall sound of the film could've been much better. Compared to the excellent cinematography, it was weak. Just look at the powerful sound design of The Legend of Maula Jatt-that was next-level.

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Final Verdict:

This was not a bad film. You should definitely go watch it.

And yes, it is family-friendly. If you're uncomfortable, you can skip the post-film song shown during the credits. (Though honestly, I even enjoyed that one.)

An interesting fact: I watched this film in my hometown, Burewala. When the film mentioned "Burewala" in a dialogue, everyone in the cinema clapped. Had I been in Karachi, I wouldn't have felt that same joy from the line.

Apologies for the long review, but I had to speak up because some jealous, bitter people made such hateful and unfair comments about this film.

Let me be clear: Lo Guru is not equal to a Bollywood masterpiece, but it certainly stands equal to many Bollywood films-and is even better than most of them.

Films like this are a positive sign for our local industry. When you watch it and give constructive feedback on its strengths and weaknesses, our filmmakers get a chance to improve.

Judging a film solely by its trailer is ignorance.