A glance at Good Morning Karachi

Good Morning Karachi, formerly Rafina, is really a GOOD movie. I'd rate it as 3.5/5.
It's a nice drama genre venture featuring the gorgeous Amna Ilyas as Rafina. Viewers' response is not satisfactory because most of them are mentally rather aesthetically conditioned to appreciate PK like crap pieces.

Well, Releasing this much late in Pakistan too has caused a dent to its reception at the common viewers end.

The progression of the story of Sachithanandam Sathananthan's and Sabiha's Good Morning Karachi went on with a logical affirmation until it reached the concluding moments. 
The cinematography complemented the genre, though drifted a little at places. The standard of acting was so good especially Saba Hamid, Beo Raana and Atta Yaqoob performed really well.
Lighting, mostly low-key, endorsed the story, but didn't put a manifold meaning of the frame in question. The use of steady and handheld cams delivered. In addition, a few long shots of the old Karachi's life in flats and the ECUs of the characters n props were a feast with the photographic precision. 
The sound design was good, nevertheless the editing of both sound and pictures was poor. Sudden cuts weren't adding something to the story, instead they left an unpleasant mark on the face of the film.

The abrupt end disappointed the viewers. If it was the novella's conclusion of which it's an adaptation, a piece friendly to the film medium could have been chiseled and appended to the story while writing the screenplay. So that the end might have been made more dramatic and convincing.

What damaged the film the most was adding the mullah dimension into an otherwise impressive story of the personal success of an ambitious lower middle class girl to become a modeling talk-of-the-town charisma.

The climax of the conflict was really good. At one side it was the funeral procession of the protagonist's practical sympathizer and her mother in law to-be and it was mandatory for her to attend it; while on the other side, it was the final launch of the protagonist's ramp walk which was her ultimate dream too. Rafina was to select one event and miss the other due to the simultaneity of the two. And Rafina selected to miss the funeral...

I'm sure, documentary expert Sabiha, the director of Good Morning Karachi, would do much better in her next feature film. 

Review by Ahmad Hammad
 

‘Good Morning Karachi’ makes glitzy premiere

 The lobby of Cinepax cinema glittered with stars as the showbiz fraternity gathered to watch Sabiha Sumar’s ‘Good Morning Karachi’ premiere show.

Among the glamorous attendees were lead actress Amna Ilyas Beo Rana, Yasir Aqueel, Farhan Aly Aga, Bushra Ansari, Humayoun Saeed, Deepak Perwani, Mohsin Saeed, Hina Khuwaja Tapu Javeri, Wardah Saleem, Fayezah Ansari, Tara Uzratullah Dawood, Zurain Imam.

Wearing an ink blue gown Ilyas was delighted to talk about her movie. She revealed her love for her  role in the film.

“As soon as I read the script I fell in love with the role – it was challenging and demanded me to put my best into it.”

Ilyas also disclosed that she has three film projects in hands but she really can’t reveal the details right now.

The film director Sumar said the film not only narrates the story of a struggling model but it also talks about our lifestyle and sociao-political impacts on the lives of the people. The talented director also stated that GMK is just the beginning for her and she wanted to continue her journey with much more bigger projects at her credit.

She also said that there are high chances that she may team up with Ilyas in her next film too.

Veet Super Model Contest winner Beenish Khan broke into tears while watching the movie and when HIP inquired her about it she admitted that she found Rafina’s character quite similar to her real life.

“While the visuals were going on the screen I couldn’t stop myself recalling the struggles and problems I have faced to reach at my current position.”

Considering Ilyas as a great idol she said:

“Amna Ilyas has always been a great inspiration for me as a model but now I am also in love with her acting.

GMK is a story of a girl who chases her dreams to become a renowned face of fashion world. Filmed at the time of former Prime Minister Benzair Bhutto assassination it captured the spirit of Karachi in the best way possible.

The movie will be screened at all the cinemas from Jan 1st, 2015. The film premiere was organized by THOR – House of Rana. All the female models spotted posing on the red carpet and observed to be very eye-candy at the premiere were dolled up glamorous and chic by none other than Angie Marshall salon and institute, and were carrying the very customized made, COCKTAIL outfits, just for this event by Asim @ THOR.

YOUR REACTION?

‘GOOD MORNING KARACHI’ TO RELEASE THIS JANUARY

 Director Sabiha Sumar’s ‘Good Morning Karachi’ is finally set to see the light of the day in Pakistan. After doing rounds on the international film festival circuit for almost two years the film is slated local release in January 2015.

The film stars Amna Ilyas as Rafina  an ambitious girl who leaves behind the small lanes of Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony and joins the glamorous but cut throat world of fashion.

Sawera Nadeem, Saba Hameed, Farhan Ali Agha,and Khalid Malik are also among the cast.

In an interview with HIP, Farhan Ali Agha talked briefly about the movie and his character.

Earlier titled ‘Rafina’, the film follows the journey of a model. Agha plays the role of a shrewd, street smart advertising agency head in the movie who hires Rafina (Amna Ilyas) and gives offers her a job.

“I worked for this movie around two and half years ago. It is predominantly in English and was made overseas only. It first released in Europe and was later featured in quite a few foreign film festivals. But it’s finally going to release in Karachi on January 1^st and I’m sure you must be as excited about it as I am.”  

The actor also shared that his wife, Uzma, who is often his biggest critic loved his performance in ‘Good Morning Karachi’.

Agha says that working on the film was a challenge but he learned a great deal from the experience as the international crew forced him to push him to do his best.

“Who is Fahad? the assistant director would ask me when I was on set. He did not want to here rote learned lines but a deeper understanding of who I perceived this man to be. I described the character that was not written in the dialogue or stage direction,” he said. According to Agha working on the film was a step in the right direction in his long term goals of breaking.