Zinda Bhaag is Pakistan’s successful experiment with commercial cinema, which came as a surprise to people (considering the performance of previous commercial movies). The movie is a narrative of three lower middle class individuals named Khaldi, Chitta, and Taambi, portrayed by Khurram Patras, Salman Ahmad Khan, and Zohaib respectively. The plot of the movie revolves around the aspiration of the main characters, trying to relocate to a western country for a better life.
Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi did a splendid job of mix-matching Pakistani talent with Indian technical craftsmen to come up with a movie that was worth an Oscar nominee. The movie is set in Lahore and depicts the life of lower-middle class individuals. The main characters of the movie lack the resources (or full fill the requirements) to legally migrate to a developed country; upon hearing stories of other successful migrations, they turn to illegal means of achieving their goal. The directors also explore the reasons for the mindset of “West promises better life’ of the youth in Pakistan. The movie, although talks about a serious issue that our society faces, takes a humor oriented approach of telling the tale; making it stand out of the art cinema.
Naseeruddin Shah was perhaps one of the main reasons for the hype of the movie, other than the Oscar nomination. Phulvan (Mr. Shah’s character in the movie) would be viewed by many as the main antagonist; however you will soon develop respect for the character due to his principles. Due to the presence of Naseeruddin Shah on every advertisement of the move, I had expected Phulvan to have a more prominent role. In the end I was left a little disappointed due to the disappearance of Naseeruddin Shah from majority of the scenes, since he was a member of the supporting cast. On the contrary, there is no movie without its flaws and considering the novelty of the story; this setback can easily be overlooked.
All in all, Zinda Bhaag has set new standard of Pakistani cinema, the movie has an amazing rating of 8.6 on IMDB website. I recommend everyone to watch this home-grown marvel at least once.
Cast
Naseerudin Shah as Puhlwan
Amna Ilyas as Rubina
Khurram Patras as Khaldi
Salman Ahmad Khan as Chitta
Zohaib as Taambi
Produced by
Mazhar Zaidi
Directed by
Meenu Gaur
Farjad Nabi
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harune Masse
Original Music by
Sahir Ali Bagga
Cinematography by
Satya Nagpaul
Film Editing by
Shan Mohammed
Sound Department
Tony Babu Sound editor
Vipin Bhati Sound
Boby John Sound re-recording mixer
Playback Singers
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Amanat Al
Jabir Ali
Abrarul Haq
Arif Lohar
Saleema Jawwad
Sahir Ali Bagga
Other Crew
Mithun D’Souza Technologist
Nigel Xavier Script supervisor
harimirchein 