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    Film Review: 'Shah'

    Written by: Dr. Dushka H. Saiyid
    Posted on: August 21, 2015 |

    Shah's journey to fame

    Adnan Sarwar has made his debut in the film industry as the director, lead actor and scriptwriter of the first Pakistani biopic. The multifaceted and talented Sarwar was a member of popular rock band Club Caramel in Lahore, qualified as a doctor, and has now made a splash with Shah. Not surprisingly, he has also done the music score for the film, although in collaboration with Farhan Albert.

    As an impressionable boy, he had followed the successes of Hussain Shah in the 80s, when Shah had reigned as a champion of middle-weight boxing in the Asian Games, and won the bronze at the 1988 Seoul Olympics for Pakistan, an honour that has not been achieved for Pakistan, before or since. However, Shah disappeared from the scene, but Sarwar tracked down this forgotten hero in Tokyo, where he has been working as a boxing coach. Adnan Sarwar revised the script for the movie after interviewing him on Skype for three days. The Boxing Federation official with his complete lack of respect for merit, brilliantly played by Faiz Chauhan, becomes a metaphor for the indifferent and corrupt bureaucrat that ordinary Pakistanis encounter in their daily struggles. Sarwar recalls that when he called up Hussain Shah to tell him about the biopic, Shah was so overcome at the recognition he was finally getting, that he broke down. Sarwar’s year long training as a boxer was arduous and demanding: he ate little and lost 12 kilos, and also ran barefoot for miles through the streets of Karachi in order to relive Hussain Shah’s experience of poverty and hardship.

    Review of Pakistani film Shah

     

    The film traces the rise of the homeless child, Hussain Shah, from the streets of Lyari, an area known for its gang warfare and criminality, to his success as a boxer earning accolades for his country. There is an intense reality to the film as Hussain Shah encounters the corrupt system of the Pakistan Sports Board. Faiz Chauhan gives an outstanding performance as the chillingly familiar bureaucrat, callous and out to exploit this hugely talented boxer, made all the more vulnerable by his illiteracy.

    Through the camera lens of Sarwar we get an ironic glimpse into the daily struggles of the underclass that lives on streets and pavements of the City of Lights. The scene where Shah arrives in Delhi for a match against his Indian opponent barefoot, because he can’t afford a pair of shoes, acquires a sharp poignancy as the crowd rhythmically chants, “Get him some shoes”.

    Review of Pakistani film Shah

     

    The film is devoid of item numbers and scantily clad women gyrating to choreographed numbers, a formula that some of our filmmakers feel obliged to mimic from Bollywood. In fact there is no woman playing a lead role. There is a Dickensian touch to the film, as Sarwar traces with some irony, the trials and tribulations of a man struggling against a society where talent and merit hold little value, and there is no redress for the poor.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021