November 8th, 2009

Ishtahari (2002)

While a handful of moviemakers strive to dig out fresh faces and base movies on untested subjects, rehashing trite formulas or trying to recreate the magic of earlier mega movies wins hands down with Lollywood. The latest from Lollywood’s bag of wonders is Ishtahari – a clever cross between the above two. It was touted to be a chartbuster ever since its inception and comes from pretty much the same team that brought us the masterpiece Kalay Chore half a decade ago. However, they seem to have invested their intellect and energies elsewhere since Ishtahari has little to offer in terms of script, performances, music, choreography, and direction as compared to its enduring predecessor.

Ishtahari is the story of an ordinary family headed by Qaiser Ansari a talk show host. He has a wife (Naghma), a daughter, and a son Shan (Shaan). Qaiser Ansari, while interviewing Wajahat Mirza Chengezi (Humayun Qureshi) manages to get on his wrong side. To avenge his mortification, Wajahat sends Gabbar (Nayyar Ijaz) to the birthday party of Qaiser’s son to wreak havoc. There Laila, sister of a respectable Barrister Jehangir (Abid Ali), is giving a dance performance. Post that, Gabbar tries to kidnap Laila. When Qaiser foils his attempt and the DSP Iqbal (Iqbal Hassan) manages to apprehend him Wajahat not only arranges Gabbar’s bail, he also arranges the DSP’s murder and makes it appear as if Qaiser has committed it. Qaiser’s entire family disintegrates as Shair Khan (Badar Munir) rescues Naghma and her daughter from Gabbar’s clutches and harbors them. Shair Khan sends his ten-year-old son Afzal Khan (John Rambo) away and asks him not to return until he has found Shan.

Years later, while Wajahat is all set to join the high echelons of power, Shan has grown up to become a foreman at a workshop. DSP Iqbal’s daughters miraculously appear from nowhere, Sana (Sana) and Resham (Resham). Shair Khan’s deserted son Afzal Khan has inexplicably become their guardian angel and is still desperately seeking Naghma’s son. Sana makes her living by modelling while Resham dances at private parties to mint millions. DSP Rana (Nawaz Khan) is an honest cop who wants to uphold the law so his path often crosses with Shan.

To cut the story short, Shan and Sana meet and fall for each other after situations that are an insult to the audience’s intelligence. They sing one cheap song after the other while Resham appears and disappears without rhyme or reason. Shan’s father turns out to be alive and a captive of Wajahat. Chengaiz (Shafqat Cheema) pops out of nowhere to claim being the most ruthless killer ever. When the police apprehends Shan for killing Gabbar while defending his sister’s honor, Chengaiz coerces Jehangir to pass a verdict against Shan in an open court. In the interim, Rana rescues Shan’s father so everyone can live happily ever after.

Surprisingly enough, Shaan’s entry still elicits whistles from the audience. While Shan has not done anything exceptional in the movie, Nawaz Khan is the one who has the freshness and charm to watch out for. Resham steals the thunder from Sana in a song and a few scenes, not because she sings or dances any different, but because she manages to ooze charisma and panache that only Reema can match. She is a force to reckon with and one wonders why the industrywallahs do not reckon!

Over the years dance has become a marathon of sorts among heroines in Lollywood to see who can go further. The lyrics in themselves are suggestive to the point of being repellent.

This one turns out to be an Urdu movie made on the Punjabi format. Nasir Adeeb and Syed Noor have many things in common: they both have written numerous blockbusters, they both know how to arrange words to form an unforgettable sentence, and they both took years to finally take the reins as directors. However, Nasir Adeeb has yet to become as formidable a director as Syed Noor. Although he cast a spell on us in Kalay Chore he has yet to prove himself after that. Ishtahari recaptures the characters, the situations, and the actors from Kalay Chore in a bid to recreate the magic of Kalay Chore but fails - Jawad Daud

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2002, Genre – Drama, Country – Pakistan, Language – Urdu, Producer – N/A, Director – Nasir Adeeb, Music Director – N/A, Cast – Shaan, Sana, Resham, Humayun Qureshi, Naghma, Abid Ali, Iqbal Hassan, Badar Munir, John Rambo, Nayyar Ijaz and Shafqat Cheema

Drama