Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: December 30, 2019 | 
| 中文
Elysee Sheikh (Extreme Left), Humayoun Ashraf (Left) and Asad Zaman (Right)
Zulfiqar and Tasmina Sheikh are a couple that Pakistan television’s audiences know as the trendsetter romantic family drama producers and actors from the 90s. They were the first ones to tell stories of the Pakistani diaspora, either set exclusively in picturesque Scotland or through crossover plots. Their dramas Castle, Aansoo (Tears), Thori Khushi Thora Ghum (A Little Bit of Joy and A Little Sorrow), and Des Pardes (Home and Away) are mostly remembered for the beautiful locales, star studded casts, and some impressive OST (Original Soundtrack).
With the current surge of Pakistani films, and a growing Cineplex culture, the duo has returned with a film in the same genre. Producer Tasmina and Director Zulfiqar had been putting together Sacch (Truth) for a few years. The production was launched in 2017 with Danish Taimoor, Humayoun Ashraf, and debutante Elysee Sheikh in the lead.
The film finally made it to silver screens in December 2019, with Asad Zaman replacing Danish in the love triangle. To be fair, Zulfiqar had a good story that opened with an intriguing first 20 minutes. The waning of Sacch came in its linear storytelling approach. It further lost its grip by being predictable and almost tedious, in the next 100 minutes. While the last 10 minutes pick up pace, but by then the plot has already run out of reel and steam.
Released under the banner of Elysee Productions and Hum Films, Sacch is also the launching pad for Zulfiqar and Tasmina’s daughter Elysee, who plays the girl next door. Elysee lives in Scotland with her single mother Sofi (Tasmina) and her father, who appears much later in the film, played by Zulfiqar himself. Unfortunately, while Elysee carries most of the burden of the film, she proves to be the weakest link. Her character had some intense emotions to portray, and her inexperience coupled with some unflattering camera angles were too challenging for her.
Elysee Sheikh as Elysee
Asad on the other hand appeared more suited for his role as a restrained business tycoon, Ayaan who is Elysee’s suitable love interest. Ashraf convincingly plays the third side to this love triangle as the hot-headed, carefree DJ Zain a.k.a. Shayyan. Ashraf looks great in this nuanced role, laced with some negative streak. Despite being the antagonist for the two lovebirds, he brings some welcome energy to the screen and makes Shayyan endearing.
Asad Zaman (Left) as Ayaan and Humayoun Ashraf (Right) as DJ Zain
Our industry can do with more stars, and both these men are obviously capable of delivering much more powerful performances with better direction. It is high time our industry should start taking advantage of this new talent, instead of betting on the safer but overused options.
Sacch also has a long line up of veteran TV actors in supporting roles, including the ubiquitous Javed Sheikh, Fazila Qazi, Nouman Masood, Ayesha Sana, and Uzma Gillani. Each delivered a powerful performance, despite the limited screen time given to their characters. Haseena Moin, a living legend, has the credit for dialogues, but disappointingly, none of the dialogues in the film standout.
Javed Sheikh as Shaziab (Center)
One thing that deserves a special mention is the background music, which is very dramatic and accentuates the mood of each scene. The songs are also pretty catchy, especially the title song sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The setting of the story and the backdrop of Scotland is undoubtedly beautiful, and the cinematographer tries to bring out the best in every frame.
Good cinema depends on a director’s vision, the best possible team to tell that story, and the need to keep the audience engaged throughout the film. While Zulfiqar had a good story to tell in Sacch, and a fairly good set of technical and artistic assets in place, he overlooked the need to take an objective view of what was in the best interest of the film. A few bad directorial choices unfortunately wasted it all, and this remains the ultimate problem with the film. I will give Sacch a 1 and an additional half, for the performances of two male leads out of 5.
For official trailer, please click here.
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