'Ghabrana Nahi Hai' review: A few good moments and plenty to rethink

The film, however, offers some of the most power-packed and well-directed performances.

KARACHI:

Neil Gaiman in his assortment of favourite horror stories titled Unnatural Creatures talks about how growing up in a world where the natural history museum existed changed him as an imaginative person. He praises the dinosaurs and the volcanoes he grew up with only to take a step further and make a case for what he likes to call the museum of unnatural history where the mermaids, the elves, the griffins, and every other mythological creature would exist. “I was never surprised that they did not have a phoenix at the display. There is only one phoenix at a time, of course, and while the Natural History Museum was filled with dead things the phoenix is always alive,” he writes.

Mythologies may not be true but mythologies live through time and tradition because they are the shorthand of the human psyche; the vivid yet murky space where the imagination expands. Mythologies are ‘real’ and necessary for any rich tradition of thought and storytelling. The answer to two big questions: Why Pakistani cinema can’t compete with Bollywood and why Ghabrana Nahi Hai doesn’t work as a holistic offering, may just lie in Gaiman’s wisdom; good storytelling comes from a place of rich and textured mythology, not a place where stunted ideas are repeated and retold with renewed vigor and a reimagined sense of morality.

This pattern leads to a risk-free approach to storytelling, an approach that has the familiarity of a folk melody and not the rapture of an epic tale. Simply because the milieu that the film belongs to, or let’s even say, aspires to break away from, has never been exposed to, let alone, absorbed, the tremendous range of archetypes a mythological world has to offer. Metaphorically speaking, Pakistani filmmakers are so naturally fixated that there’s hardly any room for anything new, anything unnatural on their canvas and in their imagination, even when a brilliantly thought-out film like Ghabrana Nahi Hai is laid out to exactly achieve that.

Saba Qamar’s character Zuby in Ghabrana Rahi Hai is set up with the ideal baggage to bring out the worst in her, in order to find the best for herself! Zuby was raised by her parents like a son and while she was quite proud of that, her world falls apart when she finds out her father Chaudhry sb (Sohail Ahmed) has succumbed to the pressures of the land mafia and traded his life for 10 lakh rupees for a plot that he legally owns and is now worth hundreds of millions. Zuby, who by the way is also a TikToker, can’t let this go so easily, so she decides to take it upon herself to get what she truly deserves.

You are exactly thinking what I was thinking, this is the ideal setup for a sinister turn, where the Tiktoker – a profession notorious for toppling views and governments – will shift gears and trick the world but that doesn’t happen at all. Zuby who could have been your perfect trickster turns out to be a rather mellow mix of a damsel in distress and the embodiment of the feminine virtue. We are just afraid to offer flawed characters, scared to even tap into that direction with a conscious effort. Later on, bit by bit, Zuby bows down to everything that is expected of a driven and ambitious lower-middle-class girl, eager for justice and equal treatment.

Ghabrana Nahi Hai offers one of the most well-directed and powerful performances in the recent history of Pakistani mainstream cinema.

Similarly, Zahid Ahmed (Sikander), who does a little too much with his eyebrows, at least for the big screen, changes from the ever-so-loyal corrupt policeman of the system into a conman with zero sense of cause and effect. All it takes is a heartbreak and a monologue about respecting the system? If you are suddenly changing the archetypes associated with the characters then you also need to explain why, and, “it happens this way in all such films” is not explanation enough. This lack of cohesion at large and the rough gelling of the plot with the romantic subplot also reminds us that the film begins at Zuby’s wedding where another baraat arrives to lay their claim. Then we go into Zuby’s flashback to explain what actually led to all this but all of a sudden, we see Sikander being established as a corrupt policeman without even meeting Zuby while the flashback was being told from her point of view.

Having commented on a lack of rich mythological tradition and a dearth of storytelling at large, one must acknowledge that Ghabrana Nahi Hai offers one of the most well-directed and powerful performances in the recent history of Pakistani mainstream cinema. Saqib Khan deserves all the credit for layering even the most basic scenes with precise attention to blocking and placement of props, so much so, that the film can be said to have a visual language of its own if not a coherent story.

Saba’s on-screen energy is infectious and her performance, not just in the loud and furious monologues, but also during the more subtle and subdued scenes, speaks volumes about why she has stayed with us through the hard end of her 30s, irrespective of being in the limelight for controversy every now and then. Her fury and build-up often get redundant in Ghabrana Nahi Hai but that also has to do with a script that limits her character after being framed to break all barriers.

As for Zahid – whose body language and gruff voice help him channel that 70s Bollywood hero’s patience and swing – we need to chat about his eyebrow game. Clearly something new and refreshing but something that also makes even his basic and straightforward dialogues seem like an act of deep thought and intellectual wandering. If he had a philosopher inside, this would have added a lot to the mannerism, but for a cop with not many motivations beyond love and cash, the animated face gets a bit distracting.

There’s a lot more that can be written and talked about regarding Ghabrana Nahi Hai but those strengths and weaknesses are endemic to Pakistani cinema. Yes, the film drags by at least 20 minutes but it does offer a semblance of a story which makes the rest of the time bearable.

Note for producers and organisers

The organisers of film premiers and producers should keep the audience’s time and patience in mind when screening films. Just because they are coming in to watch the film for free does not mean you can take them through any test, and trust me, the wait only adds to the bladder and takes away from the anticipation. You may own the cinema, it might also be your second home, but premiers are primarily a screening experience, not a networking opportunity.

VERDICT: The film is a nice family entertainer that will surely give you a few good laughs but not much to come again.

3/5

Ghabrana Nahi Hai will release in cinemas across Pakistan on Eidul Fitr.

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