It is always exciting to find Pakistanis — be they artistes, sportsmen, performers or what have you — making a name for themselves outside this country, and more so across the Wagah border.

Perhaps, the kicks are greater when they are recognised so close to home, because though we share the same roots, the Indians have undeniably managed to make progress in almost all spheres a lot more rapidly. Hence, it is a high indeed when local talent manages to make a breakthrough, especially into their greatly developed Indian entertainment industry.

When I received the invitations almost at the eleventh hour for a preview of the Indian film Jashnn starring Humayun Saeed in a major role, I decided to join in the celebrations — excuse the pun — of Saeed's triumph. To Saeed's credit, he did not disappoint, and there must hardly have been anyone at the premiere at Karachi's Nishat Cinema who thought he did not do justice to his role.

Unfortunately, the event had little else to boast of aside from the fact that Mahesh Bhatt had especially flown in for the show. Always a charmer and a great talker, he has shed 20kgs since he was last here, so much so that it was difficult to recognise him. Although half of the Grand Circle remained unoccupied till the end, most of the press were asked to sit in the Gallery, to which they took umbrage and some even walked out. It seems our people still haven't realised that if they want free press coverage, they have to at least show some respect to the journalists they invite.

The film itself didn't have much to offer. A low-budget film with an uninspiring storyline, it was reminiscent in parts of the earlier Bollywood release, Rock On. Aside from Humayun Saeed, there was no big name in the film and as for the Indians, probably he was not much of a pull either as I am sure Saeed was not as well-known there prior to this film. As for the hero, Adhyayan Suman, he was quite a dud, especially in the looks department. However, he acted well, at least better than his female counterpart, who scored more in looks but didn't have much acting talent.

The music, though by no means a write-off, should have been much stronger keeping in mind that the entire theme revolved around a youngster wanting to make it big in the world of music. So, it is not surprising that the film bombed in India. It was apparently released in Lahore prior to Karachi's premiere, but was pulled off after a week when it failed to create any ripples.

The plot is simple enough. Aman Bajaj (Humayun Saeed) is a married man with a family who also supports a mistress, Nisha (Shahana Goswami), and her younger brother (Adhyayan). Both of them maintain a lavish lifestyle thanks to his generosity, but are treated with great contempt by him. Akash, who dreams of becoming a musician and has his own band, meets Sara (Anjana Sukhani), a wealthy US-returned girl and they fall in love.

However, he soon discovers much to his horror that she is Aman's sister, and decides to give her up as he does his sister, who he finally realises is living a life of luxury at the cost of her self-respect. But Sara remains adamant, and braving the wrath of her brother, begins to live with Akash in his studio in a garage. It takes a number of twists and turns and a lot of hardships before finally things work out in the end for all.

While the plot was realistic enough in the beginning, somewhere along the line I felt the Bhatts (it's a Mukesh Bhatt production) and the director duo of Raksha Mistry-Hasnain Hyderabadwala failed to develop the characters sufficiently to make their actions seem plausible.

Akash is shown as a self-righteous brother who can't take the crap dished out to his sister by her lover, yet has been living off her without any qualms for a very long time. Aman is shown as a hardened businessman who has no love lost for Akash, yet all his anger and hatred melts when he hears just one song — which sadly doesn't even move the audience to tears. And considering that he is so powerful and has such great means, it is difficult to understand why he does not bring back his sister by force, or live up to the threats he had made to Nisha.

But be that as it may, one can proudly say that the two redeeming features in the movie are Humayun Saeed, and to an extent, Nouman Javaid, who plays the triple role of singer, composer and lyricist with Dard-i-tanhai, the song marking the climax of the film. A great break indeed for our local talent. — S.R.