Post-ban: Cinemas fail to take notice of ‘Maalik’

LAHORE: 

Despite being given a green light by Lahore High Court,Maalik has failed to ride along the controversy at the box office. The political thriller has been given just one show each in Lahore’s Super Cinemas at Hussain Chowk and Fortress Stadium.

It has been facing stiff competition from local Eid releases such as Actor in Law, Janaan and Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay, as well as international films such as Baar Baar Dekho and the upcoming Raaz Reboot.

“It is true that Maalik is not being screened in some of the biggest cities of Punjab, such as Sialkot, Faisalabad and Gujranwala. In Lahore, it has been given only two shows. What can I do when cinema-owners are unwilling to pay more attention to my film?” Azeem told The Express Tribune. “I do humbly request them to increase the number of shows being given to Maalik. In the meantime, I am glad that my work is getting a very positive response, in spite of the limited number of shows,” he added.

According to Azeem, Maalik has also been doing well in Sindh. The soaring popularity is surely a breath of fresh air for the film-maker, who had been struggling against the government to have the film released in the first place. Maalik previously opened back in April but was banned soon after.

However the ban on the film was revoked ahead of Eid, a time when a slew of big-budget local and international films were already headed to the cinemas. “The reason for Maalik not getting ample screen time is that we already have super hit Pakistani films playing at the cinemas,” explained Super Cinemas Public Relations Officer Waryam Iqbal. “Local competition has cut the number of Maalik screenings. Right now, nearly 80% of film-goers are coming to watch films other than Maalik.”

A film distributor seeking anonymity echoed Iqbal’s sentiments by highlighting the entire life cycle of Maalik. “When the film was released back in April, it was generating maximum footfall and the reason behind that was a lack of other good Pakistani content. Naturally, any film will have to face competition if more films are releasing around the same time,” he explained.

Even the Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra-starrer Baar Baar Dekhois now experiencing a tough time due to the negative responses it has received from the audience. “Viewers are intelligent. When they have a choice, they will always opt for the quality films and naturally, cinema-owners will give shows to only those that will generate good business,” he said.

Mah-e-Mir selected as Pakistan's official submission to 2017 Oscars

Pakistan’s Academy Selection Committee has shortlisted Mah-e-Mir as the nation’s official submission for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film Award category at the 89th Academy Awards.

Although the film failed to flourish at the local box office, it won critical acclaim from not being a run-of-the-mill Pakistani film.

Mah-e-Mir

 also stars Iman Ali, Sanam Saeed, Alyy Khan and Manzar Sehbai in key roles. Written by Sarmad Sehbai, Mah-e-Mir is set in contemporary times. The film chronicles the life of a young anarchist poet who experiences the suffering that accompanies love, separation and poverty while denouncing tradition. Driven to madness, he discovers celebrated 18th century Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir.
Mah-e-Mir

 also stars Iman Ali, Sanam Saeed, Alyy Khan and Manzar Sehbai in key roles. Written by Sarmad Sehbai, Mah-e-Mir is set in contemporary times. The film chronicles the life of a young anarchist poet who experiences the suffering that accompanies love, separation and poverty while denouncing tradition. Driven to madness, he discovers celebrated 18th century Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir.

In 2013, the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee selected Zinda Bhaag as the first Pakistani film in over fifty years to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the Foreign Language Film Award category, followed by Dukhtar in 2014 and Moor in 2015. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will choose the final nominees for all award categories in January 2016.

“I am thrilled by the news. For an ensemble of extremely creative cast and crew this film is a labor of love. Each one of us is proud to be a part of it. I would like to thank the committee for considering our effort worthy of representation and would like to take this opportunity to thank the media, cinema owners and above all the audiences for supporting us,” Mah-e-Mir director Anjum Shehzad said in a statement.

“I am very pleased to see that we are sending a quality film to the Academy Awards for consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the fourth consecutive year. After decades of neglect, it is a matter of great pride that the Pakistani film industry has achieved so much in such brief time and speaks volumes for the inherent artistic talent of our people. I wish the makers of Mah-e-Mir the best of luck in their journey through the shortlisting process and thank them for their contribution to Pakistani cinema,” the committee’s charge d’affaires said in a statement.

Maalik barred from screening worldwide

Looks like banning Ashir Azeem’s Maalik across Pakistan wasn’t enough for ‘state control’ as the action movie is now barred from being screened internationally.

Maalik, which was slated to release internationally on August 26, has been slapped with a ban on its export by the Information Ministry.

Previously, in an attempt to save his sinking ship, the director was planning to release the film in Middle East, United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia.

“At first there were no plans [for international release] but since the judgment is reserved for our court case, we are going ahead with the international release,” he told The Express Tribune.

Following the news, a disappointed Ashir said, “I was relying on the court’s decision, but they keep delaying it, and now Maalik’s export has been banned. I’m helpless.”

Maalik lasted on the box office for not more than three weeks, running into trouble first with Sindh censors and finally the Central Board of Film Censors.

There were those in government ranks who simply did not appreciate the representation of different ethnicities and politicians as a group in the film.

Well, we didn’t expect this coming.

‘Maalik’ collects Rs20m in six days

KARACHI: Ashir Azeem’s return to the Pakistani entertainment industry does not seem to have turned out the way he would have ideally wanted. His directorial debut feature film, Maalik, has done below average business by earning only Rs20 million during its first six days.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a representative of the film’s distributor, FootPrint (Pvt) Ltd, said “While Maalik managed to earn Rs15 million [during the first three days], there was a dip in performance over the next three days with the film only earning Rs0.5 million.”

Released on only 40 screens across the country, the movie saw a relatively tough start at the local box office. Although there are several notable releases expected in the coming few days, the representative who requested anonymity, remained hopeful that Maalik will hold up. “There are a few major films releasing during the coming few weeks but we’re counting on Maalik to sustain itself during that period,” stated the official.

Aside from the record-breaking run of Fast & Furious 7 last year, not many local or international releases have managed to fare well during April. The official said so far Maalik has managed to perform well in Karachi and Islamabad, amongst other regions.

Directed by Azeem, Maalik features an ensemble cast comprising Hassan Niazi, Adnan Shah Tipu, Sajid Hassan and Farhan Ally Agha in lead roles. Released on April 8, the film follows the story of an SSG officer, who after undergoing a personal tragedy decides to start a private security company along with his retired colleagues in Karachi. Together, they aim to free the society of the evils surrounding it.

Despite the film pulling in modest numbers, other representatives of FootPrint (Pvt) Ltd are positive that Maalik will cross the Rs40 million-mark during its lifetime.

Maalik marks Azeem’s comeback to the industry after a gap of over two decades with his last notable work being the cult TV series, Dhuaan.

Review: ‘Maalik’ shines through the scratches

KARACHI: 

To say the least, Maalik is an unpolished film. It lacks coherence, makes aesthetic compromises on the stylistic side and tests the bladder’s optimum resistance. Yet you don’t feel like leaving the cinema.

While Ashir Azeem’s cinematic debut is a master class on how not to pace a film and how extended melodramatic scenes can cross the line between film and TV, it also manages to stand out from the league of extraordinarily-bad Pakistani films by getting two things right: having a soul and staying true to its purpose.

The core of the film lies in jingoistic propaganda but the fusion with human drama is what forms its essence; something we have longed for with preachy films, off late.

The skeleton however is deformed. As deformed as that of a man who after writing and starring in the country’s most popular crime drama, goes into slumber and wakes up for some action after 22 years. Unlike the passage of his film, Ashir himself has aged gracefully and sports white stubble with Asad, a retired army commando who runs a private security agency along with his father, General sahab (Sajid Hasan), an ex-army kingpin. Their team, like any other squad of heroes, has an angry bad guy, usually found in the interrogation room, a hot female officer (Tatmain Ul Qulb) who charms her way into situations and kicks her way out, and a bunch of ex-servicemen still very much in service. Together they form an untitled company that either charges hefty sums for services or does them for free if they feel it’s the right thing to do. Then one odd day, Asad tells his father that he is “going to do it” and goes to the police station to make a confession. So begins the story.

A presentation of PTV Quetta centre, Dhuwan had a huge cultural impact during the 90s. It was a moving picture of brotherhood, an echoing plea of loss, which made people laugh and cry, quite literally.  With Maalik, Ashir tries to invoke similar feelings but he only succeeds partially. Not that the dramatic tension within the film isn’t high enough; sub-plots such as the journey of the Afghan family are heart-wrenching and brutally honest, but perhaps the better days of our society have also passed and now it really takes a genocide to tickle the nerves that are so numb.

Whatever the case may be, the audience can’t be blamed and certainly not for the scenes where actors are forced to talk in English, a language they were not comfortable communicating in, at all. As much as a certain chunk of our society has become bilingual, speaking in a different language on the big screen requires a lot of fluency, finesse and more so, a situation to keep it natural and all of that was missing. One wonders why this trend started by Waar was consistent with another film with guns and C-130s; I guess love for the country sounds better in English.

Although Ashir manages to resolve most of the major sub-plots in an otherwise non-linear narrative, it is the pacing and duration of the smaller stories that make the film into a complete mishmash of ideas. While the smaller stories are complete and interesting on their own, the director takes too long to connect them with the central storyline which the audience forgets by this time.

Maalik is a film that stands out for its flashes and sparks that otherwise fail to put up a great show. Despite all its bruises and rusty weaponry, it survives like the soldier who has lost the battle but is surviving to tell the story. Maalik manages to create a sense of ownership amongst the audience while not sacrificing on attention-to-detail and sociopolitical history of this land.

Verdict: ‘Maalik’ is not a masterpiece yet isn’t something that should be missed. Watch it without any expectations and you might as well be surprise.