Manhun megh malhar

Mubarak Ali Mallah shares his collection and love for gramophone records in this beautifully shot film.
Published November 24, 2019

This film by Halar Khoso, Uzair Shah and Danial Shah won the judges' honourable mention prize of Rs100,000 in Dawn.com and Deutsche Welle's video story contest, #ItHappensOnlyinPakistan on the theme #OurDiversePakistan.

Mubarak Ali Mallah shares his collection and love for gramophone records in this beautifully shot film titled 'Manhun Megh Malhar'. Mallah, who lives in a small town named Tarai, 20 kilometres away from Badin in Sindh, cherishes his love for old, classic songs playing on his gramophone while repairing old radios.

"Manhun Megh Malhar is from the heart! It touches the soul, this is a true depiction of Our Diverse Pakistan in my opinion. People like Mubarak Ali Mallah are the only living testimony from a past life where love reigned supreme. He is a warrior of rhythm, melody and memory." — Babar Sheikh


It Happens Only In Pakistan is a nationwide video story contest organised by Dawn.com and Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international broadcaster. This time, the theme for the contest was sharing stories under the hashtag #OurDiversePakistan, and invited filmmakers from all over Pakistan to submit short documentary-styled videos that captured stories of unsung, unique Pakistani heroes. Jury for the contest included noted Pakistani documentary filmmakers Jami and Babar Sheikh. The contest accepted entries from July 5 to August 25, 2019.