Parey Hut Love

Once I was discussing about revival of Pakistani cinema with my friend who happens to be a big fan of South Korean movies. We know our neighboring film industry also carries extreme fondness for South Korean cinematic work to the extent that they are often found copying the same. We also discussed chances of someone from Pakistan copies from other regions then what should be the benchmark for that filmmaker. We had difference of opinion but had consensus on one point that no Pakistani filmmaker go for replicating Bollywood movies ever because it will be like the copying the copied stuff. It gives us extreme satisfaction to learn that Asim Raza who debuted with a great film like "Ho Mann Jahaan" took a different path and went for getting "inspired" from one of the best rom-coms ever."Parey Hut Love" is an unofficial Pakistani remake of Hugh Grant's "Four Weddings and a Funeral".

As an avid moviegoer I was always keen to see how a Pakistani director with the caliber of Asim Raza interprets British aesthetics for such common denominators whose taste buds have completely been corrupted by Bollywood Masala for decades. It was a tricky job maintaining a shaky balance between "Desi" sensitivities and a Western plot line because our audience may feel estranged from the plot and higher dose of Bollywood ingredient can downgrade the slick quality which has been a trademark of every better Pakistani film of this revival period. Good news Asim Raza narrowly escapes and slightly achieves what exactly he was aiming for with "Parey Hut Love" but the title of the movie could have been better.

Sheharyar Munawar, who lacks in displaying the ability of being nervous and frisky same time like Hugh Grant, plays lover-boy-next-door kind of a role which seems to be the requirement of the script to increase the acceptability of his character for the audience. And he does with an ease but element of loudness in his character could have been toned down. Overall he looks good and he performs well.

Maya Ali who won everyone in her debut film "Teefa in Trouble" mesmerizes again but this time her character becomes slightly serious. Ahmad Ali Butt who was completely unstoppable in "Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2" remains off color. Veteran actor Nadeem Baig is completely wasted and Hina Dilpazir is just repeating herself and there are scenes in which she seems overdoing. Zara Noor Abbas has a spark and deserves more brownie points. Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan appear in cameo roles.

Azaan Sami Khan proves his genes by composing one of the best melodies of the year for "Parey Hut Love". Every song has its own appeal and delight. Visuals are stunning and cinematography by Serkan Erzin and Salman Razzaq makes "Parey Hut Love" as one of the well shot movies of Pakistan. Production design and art work are magnificent and raise the bar. They just needed to refrain from product placement which is nothing but irritating.

On the whole "Parey Hut Love" is a diligent cinematic piece of work with narrative style which has never been explored before in Pakistani films. Asim Raza has taken an enormous risk with this kind of storytelling but glittering effect of "Parey Hut Love" makes it worth of your time and money.

Shehreyar Munnawar's acting has improved alot as compared to his last movie. It was good that he was able to display various emotions such as sadness, excitement etc perfectly. Maya Ali also did a good job and she looked beaufiful in her outfits. However, her role was a little similar to her character in Teefa in Trouble. Furthermore, I feel Hina Dilpazer, Ahmad Ali Butt and Zara Noor Abbas were not utilized properly in the movie. Whatsoever, they provided bits of good comedy. The direction was top notch and it has set a new bar for Pakistani cinema. The locations, wardobes and cinematography was outclass. The songs of the movie and their choreography was perfect especially, Haye Dil Beychara. However, the story by Imran Aslam was a little weak and it could have been better. If the story was excellent, this movie could have been one of the all time best Pakistani movies of all times.

The movie starts a bit slow but capture pace soon. The film is emotional and if you cannot go through emotional drama then this film is not for you. There are some unnecessary scenes which could easily be cut out. Coke ads were a torture too. But overall this film is engaging and offers a great cinematic experience.

I went in with high hopes of possibly seeing a movie filled with an amazing story line and character development. Well this was possibly one of the worst movies i've seen. it was torturous to sit through the entire movie. Characters had no development at all. The story was all over the place. Certain dialogues made no sense in terms of the context. While every actor was made to look stunning with top notch designer dresses, Zara Noor Abbas had the worst wardrobe throughout in comparison to the other female cast members. There was way too much overacting by the lead. Shehryar Munnawar has a long way to go in terms of learning how to act, unfortunately a pretty face cannot always cut it. Maya Ali's acting was very monotonous throughout. There just wasn't a realistic aspect to this movie. Not even Ahmed Ali could salvage the movie with his comedic role (as usual). The story was an absolute disaster and the writer should be given a lesson on proper story development. The songs were somewhat good, the cinematography and the decor etc of the sets were amazing. However still not worth spending money on.

I think all the investment was on Songs, costumes and Sets. Otherwise, there is no story or feel in this movie. Sheryar Munawar was Good though as far as Acting is concern.