One of the few advantages of writing for a print publication is that, on occasion, one gets to take a deep long breath, clear the head from the immediacy of deadlines, and really, really think about a movie.
Now, this practice may not be applicable for all motion pictures. Sometimes, all one really needs is five minutes (or even just the trailer) to predict how the movie will turn out.
Then there are films like Arth — The Destination, a drama-musical that prompted 11 pages of hand-written notes, and compelled a re-viewing before putting pen to paper (or in this case, fingers on the keyboard).
Set aside your preconceptions of what Shaan’s Arth is supposed to be and it will reward you with his new calling card
The revisit was a tough choice. Arth had a few things going against it — especially on the technical aspects of filmmaking.
First thing’s first though: the viewer must set aside preconceptions before watching the film. This Arth is shrewdly labeled as an “inspiration” of Mahesh Bhatt’s film for a reason. It is not the same film.
In a sense, why should it be? The first was a dark and tense character drama about infidelity and female empowerment. This one is about personal rediscovery set within sun-kissed foreign locations, pop-rock music and a different protagonist.
In his version, writer, director, producer and actor Shaan Shahid plucks a minor character from the original (played by Raj Kiran) and twirls and recalibrates the story into a modern drama about modern people, with a lot of great music (by Sahir Ali Bagga). It’s a good call.
Shaan plays Ali, a rock singer who returns to Pakistan after his divorce settlement leaves him penniless. Like most people (men or women) married to aggravating gold-diggers, he is happy to simply get away in one piece.
Ali, though, is a relic of the past. A one-hit wonder no one remembers. In one scene outside a food outlet, three women politely ask him to step away from his old Volkswagen so that they can take a selfie with the car.
Nevertheless, even failed successes have their fans. Ali’s one sole devotee is an enthusiastic, mid-thirties woman named Uzma (Uzma Hassan) — a full-time faithful wife, and part-time indecisive novelist who keeps re-writing her book’s third and fourth chapters. (As she later tells her friend, being a happy wife leaves little time for anything else).
Uzma is happy-go-lucky by nature, who believes that her husband, Umar (Mohib Mirza) is God’s perfect creation. Umar, on the other hand, is a two-faced, spineless adulterer in the middle of a hot-and-heavy affair with a clingy, bipolar film actress named Umaima (Humaima Malik).