Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
Posted on: December 19, 2023 | 
| 中文
Adnan Shah Tipu as Nabi Bakhsh in Dhai Chaal
You rarely see feature films in Pakistan based on true events. When I watched the trailer of Dhai Chaal, two things appealed to me the most: one was the title which involved the knight’s move from my favorite game of chess, the other was the mention of ‘true events’ that were going to be shown in the film. What I failed to check were the names of the writer, director and producer. Presence of actors of the caliber of Saleem Mairaj, late Rasheed Naz and Shamoon Abbasi in the cast, and finally Humayoun Ashraf in a lead role, a television actor who started acting in 2010, persuaded me to see the film.
Late Rasheed Naz in the film
You may find the facts in textbooks, but not in reality. A good director could have done justice to the dragging script and hopeless screenplay, but the trio of Farheen Chaudhary, Taimoor Sheerazi and Irfan Ashraf seemed clueless from the start. Showing the events that were set in the region of Balochistan, needed expertise and in-depth knowledge, which was missing from Dhai Chaal. An avid reader of newspapers or a person who had basic knowledge of regional affairs could have done a better job. It is still unclear whether the makers wanted to praise Pakistani security forces or portray the good and bad sides of Baluchistan tribes, or show the involvement of RAW in Pakistan. At one point, they seemed to bring to the fore brainwashing of youth, but it ended up highlighting both sides of the media. The film failed to portray the sacrifices made by Baloch people, and ended up making mockery of the forces.
Ayesha Omar as a reporter
What started out as a spy-game action-adventure film, ended up as Kulbhushan Yadav-Abhinandan celebrating television commercials (TVC), with a very obvious tagline. Dream of a macho victory over enemies ended up as a nightmare for the viewers. The director may have been fascinated by Bilal Lashari’s film, Waar, and wanted to make something similar in Urdu. In order to earn fame and respect, he decided to add some daring action sequences, obviously shot from another camera, and joined them. Usually, films that are under-production for a long time, fail due to the delay. Had Dhai Chaal been released on time, even then it would have turned out to be pathetic.
The film began with RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) planning to sabotage CPEC and disturbing peace in Baluchistan. RAW wanted to divert Pakistan’s attention away from Kashmir and bog it down with issues of Baluchistan. Five university students from Quetta make an appearance in the film. Of this group, Faraz Marri and Taqi Ahmed showed some acting skills, but the roles they were playing were not properly developed. Faraz Marri as a confused Mirian Baloch was good, but he failed to come across as menacing as he was supposed to be. The role of Haris was played by Taqi Ahmed, who loses his fiancée in order to serve as a soldier. He later appeared as a cheap copy of Hamza Ali Abbasi’s character from Waar. A jolly fellow, whose jokes seemed to come out at the wrong places, during fight scenes, tense moments and even good byes. When his ladylove asks him what he wants at the teary farewell moment, his reply was ‘anday wala burger’ (a burger with an egg), yes, you heard it right. It simply shows the seriousness of the makers who were unaware of the sensitive topic. The way the patch up work was done, confirmed my belief and it seemed that the editor was either drunk or in a hurry during the editing sessions.
Taqi Ahmed as Haris
Saleem Mairaj (Dadda) was wasted in the film. A brilliant actor, who could carry the weight of the entire film on his shoulders, was excellent in the short role. We have seen in John, when Saleem Mairaj gave a brilliant performance as the gangster Daud. Shamoon Abbasi as Patel had panache, and reminded me of his role as a spy in Waar. Ayesha Omar as Kanwal, was a journalist who was working to promote tourism in Baluchistan. She was used by Patel, and by the time she came to know of the reality, it was quite late.
Ayesha Omar and Shamoon Abbasi in the film
Late Rasheed Naz as Haji, Adnan Shah Tipu as Nabi Bakhsh and Mehboob Sultan as RAW Chief, were promising in the beginning, yet by the end, the characters were lost. Humayun Ashraf, true to his character’s name Mujahid, appeared as a man of many talents. He not only headed a special operations unit, but could diffuse bombs, dodge bullets and look cool all the time. Surprisingly, he survived till the very end, and one wonders if he was a ghost or had a life other than special operations. The way he captured the bad guys, showed the mentality of the makers, who made sure the villains freeze when the hero gets them.
Saleem Mairaj as Dadda in Dhai Chaal
The 2-hour 48-minute film with very poor direction, seemed too long. The narrative that the makers of the film tried to create was an utter failure. The inserting of Kashmir, Baluchistan, Kulbhushan Yadav and incidents of martyrdom, could not rescue the film from being a failure. Dhai Chaal was eighteen minutes over the “Dhai Gantay” (two and half hour) duration, and it was a CHAAL (move) I would rather forget. Hyped as a film that highlighted the capture of Kulbhushan Yadav, it was not even close. The two lessons I learnt from the movie were: to go to the cinema after checking out the credits of the writer, director and producer, and never fall for feature films in Pakistan that claim to be based on true events.
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