By Sumaiya Malik
@sumaiyasaidthis
Right from the beginning, Intezaar gives the audience a sense of waiting. Abu is waiting for death. Ami is dying of cancer. Ruby is waiting for Ami to die so she can continue with her plans of visiting her son, and all three are waiting for Sameer, Ruby's brother who lives in the US where he works and sends them expense money. Life is far from being at a dead stop even though they all feel stuck.
"Intezaar," a debut feature film directed, and produced by veteran Pakistani actor Sakina Samo, reveals the voice of the director portraying the insecurities of an elderly couple in a lonely house.
The story revolves around a divorced daughter Ruby (Kaif Ghaznavi) and her parents (Samina Ahmed and Khalid Ahmed) who live comfortably in Karachi, Pakistan. Ruby hires a day help for her aging parents. The helper is a kind-hearted single man who comes in every day to their home on his bike. He is of the view that cancer can be allayed by feeding fish some bread.
The story moves slowly from the family members being upset with each other to becoming more accommodating with little cues from the hired help who slowly begins to find a place of acceptance.
Little anecdotes between the parents to lighten the mood of seriousness of past life move the story slowly forward until one fine day Sameer, the brother arrives from the US. His practical nature and good intentions do mellow the family's view of him, but he has been gone far too long to appreciate how his parents are finally in love with each other or that his sister needs more than a sense of direction.
The cast of the film includes actors such as Samina Ahmed, Khalid Ahmed, Kaif Ghaznavi, Raza Ali Abid and Adnan Jaffar among others. Screenplay is by Bee Gul. Samo makes a guest appearance as a physician and the audience gets to see once again what a convincing actor she is. Acting is par excellence of each character.
According to Samaa TV, legendary actor Khalid Ahmed bagged the Best Actor award at the Harlem International Film Festival this month in New York City for his recent performance in Sakina Samo's feature film Intezaar.
The film is a must watch for a mature audience who take life as a real subject and learn from all that come their way. Truly an intellectual watch reflective of Sakina Samo and the high caliber she is capable of delivering.
Samo received the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for her services to the Pakistani entertainment industry in 2011.
