‘Kahay Dil Jidhar’ trailer addresses society's rising drug problem

Junaid Khan, Mansha Pasha’s characters appear in professional rivalry to solve a complex case

After several delays, the trailer of the Junaid Khan and Mansha Pasha-starrer, Kahay Dil Jidhar is finally here. It begins with the line "Mujhe toh sab kuch badalta nazar araha hai’ (I can feel that everything will change) followed by a reassuring "Hum badlein gay" (We will bring the change). The clip follows its lead cast from aspiring college students to professionals fighting for justice. As the trailer states, this film promises a ‘journey of friendships, life transformation and self-discovery.'

The film aims to highlight the issue of drug abuse in the country and its root causes. The Lal Kabootar starlet plays the role of a journalist here while Khan essays the character of a police officer. The duo starts off with a college romance and end up facing each other as rivals in the professional field. Pasha’s character accuses Khan’s of being corrupt and having connections with the drug mafia. 

The trailer also rubs in a sensationalist vibe about newsrooms and journalists which Pasha, as a protagonist, brushes off. She is shown as an honest journalist standing up against censorship and corrupt policemen to uncover the drug abuse situation and law and order around it.

While the trailer initally portrays the police as corrupt, Khan's character is later shown to be on the side of justice, clarifying his position with the line, "Unchai se neeche ki cheezain kabhi nazar aa hee nahi sakti, chakar ane lageinge," (You can't see what's going on at the bottom from the top, you'll just get dizzy.) This dialogue gives a perceptive interpretation for both the complex case of drug abuse and of the position of power and its hierarchies.

Directed by Jalal Roomi and produced under Wijdaan Films, Kahay Dil Jidhar looks like it will be a promising watch with a strong plot and seemingly layered characters. It is high time Pakistani cinema explores real problems of our society and not stay focused on a plot that objectifies women and chases them with misogynist jokes in their damsel in distress avatar.