10 Reasons Why Chambaili is a must watch

1. Ehteshamuddin:

The theatre actor and director, who has also tried his hand at television, is definitely the highlight of Chambaili. He is a perfect fit for his role at Musa, the idealist journalist-poet who leads his friends to stand up against an influential politician and his son.

2. Dialogues:

Extremely well-written lines, particularly for Ehteshamuddin, are really the icing on the cake. The Urdu is crisp and clear, unlike the terrible language we hear on TV nowadays. There is no mixing with English, neither is there the Bollywood influence. The dialogues are so good that they manage to make an impression even with Shahzad Nawaz’s sub-par acting.

3. Pro-democracy:

Although the film is certainly a little soft on the military and its role in Pakistani politics, I would disagree that Chambaili is anti-democracy. In fact, in its essence, the film is thoroughly pro-democracy as it urges the viewers to do nothing more than exercise a civic, political duty: vote.

4. Message of pluralism:

The main analogy in the film is Prophet Moses (RA) and Pharaoh and one of the main characters is quite clearly Shia. In the end, the new president specifically addresses all Pakistanis, who are shown praying in a church, a gurudwara as well as a Hindu temple. Secondly, on the wall where Maira Khan’s character has put up framed pictures of all the revolutionaries of the world, Gandhi’s photograph is prominently displayed.

5. No preaching:

Overall, Chambaili is a great, great film that successfully transmits a very strong message without being preachy. The film manages to be patriotic without being jingoistic.

6. Clever making:

Full credit to producers Shahzad Nawaz and Abdullah Kadwani, and director Ismail Jilani for the brilliant idea of setting the film in a mythical country called Mulk-e-Khudadad (Country given by God). The country has an uncanny resemblance to Pakistan, but since it isn’t Pakistan, the makers were able to say everything and anything about the country.

7. Kiran:

The character, played by Maira Khan, is one of my favourite parts about the film. She is known as a true, strong idealist who says it as it is and refuses to back down when her brothers/male family members are contemplating calling off their strike. She is the one who stands up for what’s right and is the epitome of the strength of a woman. Through her character, the film reaches out to women in a way that few other films do – even in Bollywood.

8. A well-integrated plot:

For a film that touches upon such a vast number of issues, Chambaili is very well-paced and all the issues weave in coherently to form a strong plot, without making the film a drag.

9. It’s a Pakistani product through and through:

Have you ever complained about why Pakistanis cannot make good films? Well, here’s your chance to be part of something that could spell the revival of indigenous Pakistani cinema.

10. Better than what else is available:

Aashiqui 2 and Oblivion are just bad, bad films. Your money will be better spent on Chambaili.