It is the fifth season of the year in Karachi – the Shaadi season – and everyone is either busy in a wedding or preparing for one. Director Asim Raza chooses the best time to release his film Parey Hut Love that makes you fall in love all over again because of its subject, the leading pair’s chemistry and everything in between. Let’s see what makes this Asim Raza venture something to look forward to, at that time of the year when people are more likely to fall in love.
It’s All About The Shaadi Season
Every family has to attend a wedding this season and what better way to prepare for one than watch a full-blooded wedding on the big screen. Just like Four Weddings and A Funeral, this film has the same number of weddings and a funeral, but all is well that ends well, making you root for the hero who is down on his luck at the start, but has loads of luck to give him ‘wings’ as the movie progresses. And guess who dances in the wedding songs – everyone from veteran Meera to Sonya Jehan. And when Hadiqa Kiani is doing the playback, it makes it all the more wonderful.
The sizzling Sheheryar – Maya Chemistry
If you thought that Mahira Khan and Bilal Ashraf shared the best chemistry of this Eid, think again. Both Sheheryar Munawar and Maya Ali sizzle on the big screen, so much so that some publications claimed that they were dating off-screen. Dating or not, whenever the two enter a frame, it becomes too hot to handle. Be it the scenes on the Vespa, inside the Noor Mahal, during one of the Parsi weddings, in the picturesque locations of Azad Kashmir or in Turkey, they are always setting the screen on fire with their perfect chemistry. What makes it all the more interesting is the fact that they remind the audience of Deepika and Ranbir Kapoor, the perfect couple from across the border.
The indomitable Ahmed Ali Butt
And then there was Ahmed Ali Butt, the actor who grabs eyeballs whenever he is around. Just like he did in Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2, he steals the show with his unplanned one-liners, his perfect flirting with his co-star Zara Noor Abbas and above all, his ability to be angry one moment and normal the next. His role of a TV director may get comparisons from Ali Kazmi’s take in Superstar but both the actors have done justice to their roles, to their surroundings, and to their scripts. Ahmed Ali Butt’s advantage is the fact that he can dance as well, making his presence always welcome in a song.
Zara Noor Abbas making a wonderful debut
She may not have much to do in the film but the super cute Zara Noor Abbas has looks to die for, can dance like a diva and possesses acting skills of a leading lady. She might remind the audience of her aunt Bushra Ansari or mother Asma Abbas but that’s because she has learned the art of acting and dancing from them and in that order. For those who have been impressed with her acting on TV, this film is a step up where she manages to divert the audience’s attention despite sharing most scenes with either Sheheryar Munawar or Ahmed Ali Butt. Good going girl!
A soundtrack to die for
Azaan Sami Khan and Saad Sohail have done an excellent job with the songs in Parey Hut Love. Every song is hummable with some being fit for the wedding season such as Haye Dil Bechara and Ik Pal. Just like Azaan Sami Khan’s other Eid release – Superstar – the songs capture the listener’s attention and make them dance even if they don’t want to. You have Aima Baig singing Balma Bhagora, Harshdeep Kaur rendering her vocals for two numbers, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing one song and Hadiqa Kiani, Zeb Bangash and Jimmy Khan doing the honors in one song each.
Visually stunning as if filmed in Paradise
The film has been shot in the best places on the continent – some scenes were filmed at Bahawalpur’s Noor Mahal, Karachi also gets beautifully clicked whereas the moments filmed at Azad Kashmir just make you go wow. Add Turkey to the fray and you have one of the most beautifully shot flicks in Pakistan. And don’t blame me if you end up planning a visit to any of the places where the film was shot because that’s exactly what the film makes you do. Cleverly done by Asim Raza!
Some loose ends that should have been taken care of
Parey Hut Love may be a good film but it had all the ingredients of ending up as a classic; a chance that was put down by the writer Imran Aslam and director Asim Raza. There was no need to copy jokes and scenes from Four Weddings and A Funeral because everyone who grew up in the 90s had seen the film. The interval came and went without any conclusion, confusing all those who left the theatre for refreshments, because they thought they had missed some crucial scene. The back story featuring the real dad was too distracting as was the ‘half dad’ saga, especially because Sheheryar Munawar’s real father played the character and resembled him immensely. The director also couldn’t handle the many characters in the film, those who got married and those who danced on those weddings, both. And finally, why was Sheheryar, a struggling actor, sporting a beard during his audition for an extra when without a beard he could have bagged the role of the leading man. Maybe the director forgot about that in his zeal to give space to some brand placements, that are too important for a filmmaker in this day and age.
