Written by: Ayesha Amir
Posted on: December 27, 2022 | 
| 中文
Poster of Teri Meri Kahaniyaan and Poster of Taxi
Through the decades we have seen that the genre of horror does not seem to sit well with the Pakistani audience, while the genres of comedy, melodrama, drama and romance do. Although, the reasons for this require a detailed content analysis of Pakistani horror films over the years, it will still not be wrong to say that the religious and cultural understanding of the supernatural and extraterrestrial beings within the Pakistani cultural context makes the genre of horror a difficult to believe. However, when one looks at the recent short films advertised as horror, it comes as a surprise that they are not entirely horror in the conventional sense of what this genre implies.
A scene from the short film, Taxi
Looking at the example of Jin Mahal, which was recently incorporated as one of the three short films in the anthology of Teri meri Kanhaiyan, it is portrayed as a horror comedy fit for families to watch. Starring Hira Mani, Mani, Gul-e-Rana and Irfan Motiwala amongst others, the first comedic relief that the audiences are faced with are the names of the characters themselves. Each of the character is named after a historical Mughal figure: Mumtaz Mahal, Shahanshah, Razia Sultana, Jahangir, Anarkali and Alamgir. The grandeur attached to these historical figures provides the comic contrast with the actual condition of the family portrayed in the film. They are poverty stricken and have lost their home as well as jobs, due to the lockdown imposed by the spread of the coronavirus. Despite the shabby conditions under which the family is living (a dilapidated train box abandoned in a remote area of the Karachi city), the audience is hooked due to the occasional quips and jibes that each of the family members makes at each other. It is ironic to see the poverty-stricken condition of a man called Shahenshah, literally meaning king of the world. It so happens that the character of the grandmother is an old wizened woman, who is also blind. The family consists of the couple, their two children, the wife’s young sister and the husband’s mother. As much as one would want to feel sorry for the family's condition, the film does an amazing job of juxtaposing a slight melodrama with excellent comedic effects that leaves the audience confused and overwhelmed, in a good way. Despite this onslaught of back-to-back afflictions upon the family, there is a perpetual undertone of anticipation and anxiety in the film led by the presence of ominous music, foreboding sound effects, and the constant reminder to the audience that something horrific is about to happen. The fact that the audience is anxious, is because they have come to watch the film with this preconditioned notion that they are in for an experience of horror.
Jin Mahal, where the family resides
Despite the actual elements of horror, such as having a backdrop of a haunted house, the presence of a supernatural being, adds to the horror. It turns out that the film does not have any actual ghost related story. Surprisingly, the horror aspect of the film turns out to be the family's subterfuge attempt at hiding themselves for the sake of having a home, and making a good living for themselves. The neighborhood where the family resides, is made to believe that their house is haunted, when actually, it was the family attempting to remain hidden. Their endeavors of keeping the neighborhood away from Jin Mahal is what makes for a very good comedy. It is then that we realize why the film was advertised as a horror comedy, for while it has a horror backdrop but was a comedy. The film does an excellent job of portraying that the real horrors of this world are embedded in reality, instead of coming from some made-up, fictitious or supernatural beings. Real life can be described as one big horror film. The plight of the poor in a city afflicted by drugs, no clean drinking water and constant threat of mugging with corruption at every level, hence telling us that the scary things in life are not fiction, but the real vices and injustices that afflict the society.
The kid in Jin Mahal
Similar to this theme of portraying horror as a vice embedded in reality within the context of society, we come to see an important message imparted in the short film called Taxi. Under the production of Studio Vision Films, it is written by Hamna Afzal and directed by Jasim Abbas, and stars Sehrish Faryal, Rebecca Abdul and Sophia Mahmud. Like Jin Mahal, the constant foreboding undertone of anticipation comes from the brooding setup of the short film. The main character, Mariyam, works at a call center at night. She has an old mother who is sick and needs her daughter to be home. However, as is the plight of the women in our society, it is always considered dangerous for a woman to be commuting on her own. What the audience anticipates at the beginning of the film is when one of Mariyam's colleagues shows her the harrowing news of some woman having been assaulted and killed by a gang of men. Mariyam is preoccupied and does not pay heed to this piece of news, showing that the news of this kind is what has unfortunately become the norm. When she decides to leave the office to go home is when the audience anticipates that something ill will befall her. The horror effect comes from the fact that she is chased and approached by men with ill intentions, until she stumbles across a taxi driven by a woman driver.
Sehrish Faryal and Rebecca Abdul in Taxi
The female taxi driver named Rani appears dejected, but has a long conversation with Mariyam on their way to Mariyam's house. We get to know that Rani has two children whom she dotes on, and that her husband had passed away and she now drives his taxi to provide a living for her children. Upon dropping Mariyam to her house, Rani suddenly disappears. The element of horror comes in when Mariyam realizes that Rani is the same woman who was assaulted and killed a few days ago, and that the woman she had come home with has not been alive. The realization hits her, and the audiences are left to understand whether it was Rani's ghost that had come to Mariyam's aid. In a flash we suddenly see Rani looking at Maryam and her appearance has changed to what she looked like on the day that she was assaulted, bloodied and battered. The audience and Mariyam share the emotions of shock and horror in those last moments of the film.
Sehrish Faryal and Sophia Mahmud
Again, like Jin Mahal, the short film Taxi also shows us that despite the horror backdrop, the real horror element within the plot of the story is not some supernatural being but the real horrors that exist within the society, such as the insecurity and violence that women face in our society. These two short films thus have a reimagined take on what horror means, and portray horror elements in the guise of comedy and social commentary.
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