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Day of judgment
Karachi’s very own international film festival, Kara, ended in a manner as chaotic as it began: with mishaps a plenty, gaffes galore and, as one of the organizers put it, almost everything that could go wrong, going wrong. But in between the glittery, yet haphazard launch at the Hindu Gymkhana recently and the troubled closing ceremony that took place on a recent Sunday at the FTC, citizens of this city did get to see some great flicks. And that, one supposes, is what matters ultimately.
Things at the closing ceremony started ceremonially late, but mentioning this when reporting an event held in Karachi is like saying the sky is blue. The stage was quite pleasing to the eye, with backdrops that prominently featured the murky looking official poster of the event, and a glass dais where the emcee of the evening, acclaimed theatre and TV actress Sania Saeed, did her thing. Though Sania’s acting merits are beyond debate, her performance that evening left a lot to be desired. She seemed unrehearsed, unprepared and at times even giddy. That was certainly not what one expected of an artist of her calibre.
For the Best Male Lead Actor award, young Jamaluddin Torabi bagged it for his remarkable performance in ‘In This World,’ while Indian Actress Kirron Kher won the same award for best female lead for her role in ‘Khamosh Pani’
To add to the uneasy stewardship of the emcee, there were technical mishaps as well. It was not a college function being organized by amateurs, rather, it was the culmination of the country’s premiere and, sadly, only film festival of international repute, and considering the huge names that were associated with providing support, be it in cash or kind, to the event, one expected something with a little more polish. Though the idea is well intentioned, one hopes the organizers learn from their mistakes so that the events to come have a much smoother run.
As for the awards that were distributed that night, it was a mixed reaction for both this writer and those of the public whose opinions were solicited. Winner of the Short Shorts category, that is short films under 20 minutes of length, went to a flick called Bijli, which focused on a Pakistani drag queen in New York City. Acclaimed Indian documentary-maker Anand Patwardhan handed the ‘Ciepie,’ (that’s what the Kara award is known as) to Adnan Malik’s (film’s director) mother, as the gentleman was currently in the United States.
The Short Features category drew a blank, as the jury, consisting of various individuals from the media and literary worlds, didn’t feel that this year’s entries merited extraordinary recognition. This, one felt, was a bit harsh, as even though the quality of shorts may not have been up to par this year, still, something must have been better than the rest. As a consolation prize, Shakil Mallick’s Ragoun Mein Siyahi was awarded a special recognition ciepie, which basically translates into ‘close, but no cigar.’
The Best Editing award went to the stunning film, In This World, which follows two Afghan refugees in their quest from the Shamshatoo refugee camp outside Peshawar to the shores of plenty in Europe, half a world away. Filmed on digital video, the devastating, emotional yet coldly distant film is most remarkable because it is an ingenious mix of documentary and drama, and one isn’t quite sure where the line blurs. An award aptly given. On behalf of Peter Christelis, editor of the film, Charlie Walker, head of the British Council, Karachi, accepted the award. As for the best music award, Tareque Masood’s Matir Moina, or The Clay Bird, bagged it for its use of Bangla folk tunes, though one felt that Pooja Bhatt’s Paap, which featured the work of Pakistani artists Shehzad Hasan, Rahat Fateh Ali and Ali Azmat, offered tough competition. It’s not because these chaps are Pakistani and we should resort to hysterical flag-waving whenever the name of our country is mentioned; rather, the movie, despite being a huge disappointment otherwise, had a remarkable score.
Another interesting award was that of Best Documentary, as it was jointly awarded to Anand Patwardhan’s Jang aur Aman, or War and Peace, about all the nasty things a nuclear Armageddon can do to the human race, and Michael Moore’s venomously brilliant Bowling for Columbine, a biting critique of the Pax Americana. Unfortunately, Mr Moore wasn’t on hand to receive his award in person, or one is sure we would have seen a repeat of his performance at the Oscars. Paradise on the River of Hell, an Indian documentary dealing with the Kashmir imbroglio, received a special recognition ciepie.
Following a short musical break, in which local rock band Aaroh strutted their stuff with a two-song set, the awards ceremony continued. Other pop acts were also sandwiched in between the distribution of awards, such as Noori and later on, Ali Azmat.
The Best Supporting Male Actor award went to Arif Hasan for his portrayal of a seedy pan walla in Khalid Ahmed’s Ghar ki Talaash. But unfortunately, Arif Hasan was nowhere to be found as his name was repeatedly called out from the stage. Oops. Should have left a message on the answering machine. Naturally, the awkward pause that followed dampened the festivities for a little bit, but no sooner than you can say Kara, things were back on their shaky track. For the Best Supporting Actor award for a female, Deepti Naval scored for the Indo-American Leela.
As for the Best Male Lead Actor award, young Jamaluddin Torabi bagged it for his remarkable performance in In This World, while Indian Actress Kirron Kher won the same award for best female lead for her role in Khamosh Pani. Many eyebrows were raised when Ayesha Alam won the Special Juror’s Award for Acting, for her role in Daira, simply because most people who had seen the picture felt that it was an average performance at best. Best Direction went to Michael Winterbottom (In This World), while Matir Moina, predictably, bagged the Best Feature Film award. Two Lifetime Achievement awards were also presented; one went to Khalique Ibrahim Khalique, probably the senior-most documentary film-maker in the country, whose work predated the creation of Pakistan, while the other went to actor Nadeem.
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