Asim Reza’s much-awaited debut feature film Ho Mann Jahaan is finally here and the perfect start of 2016 for Pakistani films. There are no fight sequences, humour is scarce and zero item songs, and that’s exactly what makes HMJ a film for anyone and everyone.

The story isn’t deep nor is the treatment, but the message is clear — do what your heart desires (hence the title). It’s more or less the same message put across by Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots and more recently by Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha, while in HMJ it gets the Pakistani treatment.

The film also reintroduces Sonya Jehan, the granddaughter of the late Madam Noor Jehan, to the Pakistani audience. “I have known Asim Raza for a long time; in fact he was the one who introduced me to modelling more than a decade back. When he approached me for a role in HMJ, I agreed to do it since I trust him more than anyone else in the business. It was so much fun working with him again.”

While it does have flaws, Ho Mann Jahaan ticks all the boxes when it comes to family entertainment

The director has been criticised for stretching the narrative to span nearly three hours. While the first-half could have been a little more fast-paced, the argument is that all the characters took time to settle down in their respective roles. HMJ writer-actor Yasir Hussain terms the experience as a revelation. “Working for Asim was vastly different; he gives you a free hand and he knows what he wants and trusts his judgment. He understands his requirements and in the end kept only those lines that were needed for the scenes. I got to learn a lot from him.”

In HMJ, Asim used his influence to get quite a few cameos. There is one by Fawad Khan, an unrecognisable Hamza Ali Abbasi, Syra Shehroze and Zebunnisa Bangash who has composed a few songs on the soundtrack. On one of these the legendary Zoheb Hassan makes his return to playback singing (and an on-screen appearance).

Veteran film and TV actor Behroze Sabzwari said, “Wherever I go, people are praising HMJ. Every time someone compliments the film, I feel excited as if it is my own project. It’s great to know that the film is making us proud.”

Every director’s dream-team — Mahira Khan, Sheheryar Munawar and Adeel Hussain — have acted remarkably well and most notably in the emotionally-charged scenes. Pop singer and musician Faakhir Mehmood says it was a “dream come true” for him since he got to compose two songs for HMJ, and use Tina Sani as a playback singer in one of them. “Working with Asim is a learning experience because while he gives you complete creative freedom. He wanted music with earthy, original and acoustic instruments, and a minimal use of synthesisers. I’m now seeing new avenues emerge for our musicians with the resurgence of films.”

Music is the strong point of Asim Reza’s debut flick since he has been the man behind some of the best music videos since the last 20 years as well as extravagant commercials. Some may consider HMJ an extension of both, but to others it is a full-on family fare.

Music is indeed the strong point of Asim Reza’s debut flick since he has been the man behind some of the best music videos since the last 20 years (the Coke Studio hit Shakar Wandaan became a Dubsmash phenomenon) as well as extravagant commercials. Some may consider HMJ an extension of both, but to others it is a full-on family fare. If Asim Reza is to do even better as a film-maker, he needs to work on the editing and narrative which are HMJ’s Achilles’ heel. For now, he has a bright future ahead of him as a film-maker … because we know where his heart is.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 10th, 2016