The much-awaited Ali Zafar-starrer Teefa in Trouble premiered on Thursday night. Some prominent names from the world of showbiz graced the event, including supermodel Mehreen Syed, designer HSY, Kamran Lashari, Yousaf Salahuddin, Ahmed Ali Butt, Samina Peerzada and almost the entire cast of the movie.

Starring Ali Zafar, Maya Ali, Javed Sheikh, Mehmood Aslam and Faisal Qureshi, Teeefa in Trouble boasts of superb cinematography, crisp and witty dialogues, fine music and terrific acting by the entire cast, especially Zafar, who proved that he is not only a good musician, but also a power performer.

The first half of the film is gripping, while the second is a bit dragged. Directed by Ahsan Rahim, the film revolves around a goon, Butt Sahib (Mehmood Aslam), who hires Teefa (Zafar) to kidnap his friend Bonzo’s (Javed Sheikh) daughter Anya (Maya Ali). The film is an action comedy and is bound to leave an impact.

Sani Arshad’s music and Faisal Qureshi as a comedian spice up the film. In her debut film, Maya shines bright and packs a punch with her performance; it shows she just might become the most sought after film star soon.

With just a few days to go till the elections, cultural activities have considerably slowed down. However, in the near future, Lahore Arts Council and Punjab Council of Arts plan to hold interesting events, including theatre festivals, music evenings and folk gatherings.

Saleem Bismil, son of the late Jamil Bismil, is working on a project for children. This is encouraging as whether it is television, theatre, music or stage, one sees a dearth of activity for children.

Mr Bismil told Dawn that he is going to submit a proposal on Monday (tomorrow) to Punjab Council of Arts for holding weekly workshops on music, puppet and drama at Open Air Theatre Bagh-i- Jinnah. He is already running a project for children at Alhamra, The Mall for over four years, called Aladdin Aur Jadoo Ka Charagh.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2018