It makes for a sad
story; Lamha director’s involvement in a murder case, the tragedy that befalls
its lead characters and the audio-visual quality of the film itself are all
unfortunate. But amidst the darkness, there are moments that can take your
breath away.
Photographer Raza
(Mohib Mirza) and painter Maliha (Aaminah Sheikh) are a husband and wife
fraught by the difficulties of dealing with a disaster — the death of their
seven-year-old boy. In the course of recovery, the two abandon their careers
and become estranged. On the other end of the spectrum, is the culprit,
rickshaw driver Anil (Gohar Rasheed), who looks for better financial
opportunities to support his pregnant wife.
Tackling
complicated psychological issues amidst a rather anti-climatic narrative is not
easy. It is even tougher when a Pandora’s Box of narrative threads is unraveled.
But as a debutant director, Mujahid shows a lot of promise by bringing forward
one of the sharpest and most immaculately-performed illustrations of
story-telling.
While the movie’s
foremost aim is to focus on the overwhelming feeling of failure to get over a
major loss, the loss itself ends up taking dominance over the complexities of
psychological issues at hand. This is where a rather traditional and risk-free
approach by cinematographer Faraz Iqbal comes in handy. He creates a cathartic
experience, by using better-framed TV shots in film, for an audience that is
accustomed to TV. The closing shot, where the camera tracks out of a garden, is
by far one of the most consequential closing shots we have seen in Pakistani
cinema, as you actually feel the process of being relieved from a rather
discomforting life of a wounded couple. The multiple narratives may seem
unresolved at places, but are joined together well on the editing table. The
pace of the film, as a whole, is disturbingly bumpy and things do happen
against your expectations but there is no shock value to them. That is probably
the reason why a predictable story like Lamha appears flatter as time passes
by. If we had watched the film before Bollywood’s Talaash, which has a similar
story base, the impact would have been much greater.
Aaminah Sheikh’s
performance is her best in cinema thus far.
As Maliha, she is so powerful that she often overshadows her husband.
The other characters, too, add to Maliha’s agony. As Anil, the talented Gohar
Rasheed, who we recently saw in Main Hoon Shahid Afridi, is consistent, raw and
plays his character inside out. He is by far the only actor who balances out
Aaminah’s strength when he shares limited screen time with her. Hira Tareen,
sadly, is not the right choice for her character. Despite the fact that her
role was small, she was unable to expose the depth given to her character.
Apart from these
performances, the appropriate use of a ghazal is another win for Lamha. Mehdi
Hasan’s Gulon Mein Rang Bhare comes near the end of the film and enhances the
overall grand and piercing sound design of the film.
Having said this,
your Lamha experience may be interrupted the poor quality of the film with
respect to audio-visuals. It is a flaw that could have been easily avoided, but
powerful and moving scenes are undermined by occasional grainy visuals
(especially in night scenes) and awkward sound balancing.
Still, the beauty
of Lamha, unlike contemporary narratives, is that it doesn’t set very high
ambitions for change. It’s a film that goes for a controlled psychological
study of two people instead of a larger-than-life story. What is even more
refreshing is that for the first time, a Pakistani movie is not solely about
the country and its done-to-death challenges.
Verdict: With
powerful story-telling and a relatable story line, the film beautifully depicts
the anguish and suffering of the lead characters. If only it were not marred by
technical glitches.
Score: 3.5/5
Published in The
Express Tribune, September 19th, 2013.
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