Salvaging snippets of Lollywood

A tribute to legendary actor Rani recreated the romance of old Pakistani films.

LAHORE:

It’s painfully obvious that the Pakistani film industry is down in the dumps at the moment. But Imtisal Zafar, a young event manager, recently endeavoured to reclaim some golden memories from Lollywood’s sinking ship, by paying homage to legendary actor Rani.

Known for her stunning onscreen chemistry with the debonair Waheed Murad, Rani was famous for her dances on evergreen songs like “Katay na Katay” and “Shukriya”. These classic melodies continue to conjure recollections of a simpler epoch of onscreen romance, when heroines would bat their eyelashes in coyness and roses were exchanged to express feelings of mutual love.

Zafar, the founder of Verve, organised a tribute on May 28 to recreate this air of nostalgia at Andaaz, a famous desi joint located in old Lahore, the hub of history and heritage.

“It occurred to me while taking this course at Lums, Cinema and Society: A brief history of Pakistani Cinema, to organise this event,” the young manager elucidated. “Andaaz is all about paying homage to our culture, history and important figures in our society. What could be more important than paying a tribute to one of our film industry’s most celebrated artists of our time, Rani?”

Zafar also managed to rope in one of his clients, the talented chef Ahmed Cheema, to whip up a buffet of old Pakistani and Mughlai culinary treats for the event. Against the backdrop of an incandescent Badhshahi Mosque, the longing for a bygone era prevailed at Andaaz, as a projector screen played stills from Rani’s films. Concurrently, the rooftop provided a platform for guests to enjoy dance performances to her most popular melodies, while sampling Andaaz’s special tribute menu. A tantalising array of desi delicacies like adraki jhingey, haryali paneer tikka, kairi murgh curry and bharwaan kareilay were laid out for the visitors at the occasion. Yet it was rather unfortunate that most patrons were fixated on the scrumptious feast, ignoring the original purpose of the event.

Muskan, a 16-year-old girl mimicked the deceased actress’s fluid grace while performing on her hit numbers like “Tha Yaqeen” and “Jo Mila Tha Wo Lotanay Kay Liay Aey Hain”. In spite of the common perception that solo dance performances are nothing more than mujras, Muskaan’s elegant moves did not display even a hint of obscenity.

Film star Noor appeared so enthralled by the young performer’s moves that at one point Muskaan  showed her gratitude by kissing the starlet’s hand. “I gave her proper attention as one should give to all artistes,” Noor said graciously, while enjoying the balmy evening with her fiancé. “I have never seen anyone from the younger generation give a tribute to Rani jee and that’s the reason why I am here, to encourage people to do more events like these.”

Noor also evaluated the performance by adding: “It was a very decent performance. And it served well to recreate Rani jee’s memories, but how far one can continue this, for you never know, any day a fatwa can be issued.”

Because of the constant threat that the country’s troubled politics poses to the arts, it was all the more heartening to see that young people are still taking steps to preserve and share our cinematic and cultural history. Film enthusiasts like Zafar have actively taken it upon himself to organise events to resurrect some splendid moments from the vestiges of Lollywood. Yet only time will tell whether such rare shows will spawn more patrons of the arts or Pakistani cinema will continue to atrophy till its eventual demise.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2011.