Unfortunately, there are few film releases aside from Eid, and it appears that the festive season is the sole occasion that can ensure a large audience in our cinemas. The reason for this is that probably filmmakers fear being rejected by the audience, which is a nightmare for them, after all their projects are at stake. This may explain why the advice to avoid releasing films on Eid is not taken seriously, and hence recently four Urdu films Money Back Guarantee (MBG), Dor, Huwe Tum Ajnabi (HTA), and Daadal were released in cinemas to bank on Eid audiences. Now, that is quite a number for an industry that hardly churns out one movie a week or four films a month. It felt like every filmmaker wanted to cash in on the opportunity, despite affecting other films’ business, which makes one wonder what is meant by ‘support Pakistani cinema’ when such a fierce competition is created between our films.
Anticipation for MBG
Faisal Qureshi is a well-known actor, writer, director and entertainer in the world of television commercials and sitcoms. His humorous ads were a source of entertainment for many people during the 90s and 2000s. His team has established a niche for a particular kind of comedic theme that is similar to their previous shows such as Agent X and Teen Bata Teen. This style resonates well with audiences, and has become a signature feature of their work. I was excited to watch Faisal Qureshi’s recently released film MBG that is also happens to be his directorial debut on the silver screen. There are or let’s just say there were many reasons to be excited for MBG which include, but are not limited to ― the ensemble cast featuring Fawad Khan, Waseem Akram, Kiran Malick, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Javed Sheikh, and many others. Although from the trailer of MBG, it was not clear what the film would offer to its viewers that actually work both ways as it lends an element of surprise. For a moment, poor me, I thought that this is the kind of trailer that Pakistani filmmakers needed i.e. not to give away the story yet intrigue the audience. Sadly, that was not the case.
A plot that must be amazing on paper
The story of MBG deserves applause for being well-conceived and one that highlights the current scenario of Pakistan that we as a nation are witnessing since forever. The film revolves around seven to eight main characters that represent the provinces and minorities living in Pakistan. There is Ghaffar Ali Muhajir aka G.A. Muhajir who needs a white collar job, Irfan Pathan wants respect, Sanam Baloch needs gas, Ilyas Kashmiri needs freedom, Christian Bail is looking for equality, Nawaz Sindhi wants water, and Munda Punjabi wants everything and too in abundance. All these losers, as depicted in the film, plan a heist to rob a bank where corrupt politicians deposit their black money. The bank is going through an election between a power hungry, chaotic, joker-like Bux and a calm, composed and experienced Akram. What happens during the heist and how they manage to execute the plan is not all that MBG is about as a story. It is also about the people living in Pakistan and what they crave, desire and dream about. The idea, on the paper, looks fantastic and very much relatable, as it highlights the integral parts of Pakistani culture, lifestyle, residents, minorities and their aspirations along with the power hungry rulers obsessed with power play as they have been and continue to make lives miserable for citizens.
What went wrong?
Faisal Qureshi made sure that he has a lot of punch lines in every scene, and that is when he starts to stuff them with bland and boring. There comes a point where punches fall flat and sound more like way too preachy and overstressed. That’s where the beauty of the script loses its grip and audience start to feel bored. Satire is not easy, not everyone can be Anwar Maqsood or Kamal Ahmed Rizvi. Right?
It felt strange that with such an ensemble cast, it’s hard to find noticeable and impeccable performances in MBG. That is probably because the element of direction was half-baked throughout the film. From start to finish MBG offers nothing but overacting, super-excited dialogue delivery that has no subtlety infused and the diction (dialogue delivery) is a mess. In some scenes it looked like kids from school are mincing lines of Pathaan, Balochi, Sindhi etc, which is sad to witness from some brilliantly capable actors.
The biggest letdown, among others, was its super-loud and idiotic climax. It became ridiculous when dialogues repeated constantly in the desperate hope that at least any single line would get a clap but instead of creating an impact they fall flat. Every one of the actors seems to compete with one another as to who overacts more than the other. Songs in MBG hardly make sense, in fact they are fillers added just for actors to perform weird dance moves that the director thought might make people laugh. How well they achieved that is an embarrassing story.
Standing out of the crowd
Besides Jan Rambo (Afzal Khan), Javed Sheikh and Hina Dipazir (although loud again) no one excels. Gohar picks the tone right but his dialogue is below average. Fawad Khan tries hard to give a different performances, but the way he is directed, makes him look anything but impressive. Watch Fawad Khan go loud in MBG, if you want to see that for some odd reason. Mani gets on audiences’ nerves. Shayan Khan is totally lost.
Toilet humour
It’s 2023 and filmmakers are not done with potty jokes. In a scene to show Fawad Khan’s evil side, he is shown torturing a hacker in the toilet by drowning his face in the commode, during the scene he realises that the gum hacker was chewing goes down the flush and Khan picks it up and makes the hacker chew it again. Do people find this funny? If yes, then MBG is simply brilliant, if not, well you can decide yourself. The film is hardly 122 minutes long yet it seems never ending because of the mediocre script, forgetful and unimpressive performances and too much stupidity. Calling names and fat shaming are other totally lame aspects that I prefer not to discuss at all.
MBG is a undeniably and earnest attempt to make a political satire as it highlights some very genuine, realistic and hard-hitting facts from the societal happenings, but the way this film is dealt and executed is below par. It could have been better in so many ways, but unfortunately the film makers’team are in a 90s’ and mid-2000s’ hangover, who obviously think that the audience has the same intellectual level after 20 plus years. MBG is a good opportunity that is lost. Using nuances of political parties and leaders at places are impressive, which reflects the ability of the filmmaker, but the very next scene would point at amateurish filmmaking. The balance is severely disturbed.
One man army
Faisal Qureshi either seems inspired by Naya Din Nayee Raat’s Sanjeev Kumar or is super inclined to appear on screen that he appears in eight or nine different characters ranging from a chai walla, truck driver, beggar, fish monger, night guard, welder, and what not. Needless to say, in almost all the getups Qureshi remains Qureshi and is does not embrace the character. It reminds us all of his mobile-phone network TV commercials.
Impressive production quality
The production quality of MBG is impressive. Sets, lighting, camerawork and colour grading are all topnotch. The film looks grand in theaters. This perhaps is the only takeaway to cherish from it. Overall, the film offers no takeaways. Jokes do not have recall value, performances are mediocre and narrative is ineffective. It feels like a lot of things are happening at the same time and neither of them get a decent closure. The impressive moments are far-fetched and the wafer-thin plot makes MBG an undercooked meal that perfectly has all the required ingredients, but something went wrong during the cooking process, as the taste is anything but delightful.
The take home
If you have an inclination towards movies with slapstick humor, similar to the ones seen in Bollywood films such as Humshakal and Tees Maar Khan, then MBG is definitely worth your watch. The movie takes a lighthearted and entertaining approach, filled with situational comedy (gone off-track), over-the-top performances, and comic dialogues that keep the audience engaged initially and later groaning throughout the film.
The film features some noteworthy actors like Fawad Khan, Mirza Gohar, Mikaal Zulfiqar, and Ali Safina, who bring their own unique style to the characters they portray. The actors showcase plethora of their loud performances, adding a layer of humor and absurdity to the narrative.
However, it is important to note that while MBG offers an entertaining watch at least for kids, it does not attempt to be anything more than that. The movie is a lousy attempt to tickle the audience’s funny bone and does not aim to offer any deeper insights or philosophical revelations. In fact, it may even cause headache, agitation, and a regret for waste of money and time.
Shafiq Ul Hasan Siddiqui is an avid movie buff, and film and drama critic and a digital inbound marketer. He tweets as www.twitter.com/shafiqulhasan81. All information and facts are the responsibility of the writer