“…Moor is a brilliant gift to Pakistan, its Cinema and Railways”
Review by Arsalan Ali
with additional input by Danish Mughal
Bollywood movies have been doing good business in Pakistan for a long time. Some of them have even crossed Rs 25 crores land mark on box office, which not a single Pakistani movie has touched at home yet. The success formula seems quite simple, cast big names of your industry, choose an emotional subject or add some masala, and before you decide to release your film, release an item number to create some hype. For a practical, may be, a few of the recently released Pakistani movies have successfully tried this formula but Jami’s production debut movie Moor has totally refused it and rather touched an unpopular subject with a mixture of mostly new cast along with some forgotten faces. The fate of the Moor will be decided on this Independence Day but thumbs up to whole team and particularly to Jami for bringing our attention towards a forgotten issue and showing some extremely breathtaking visuals from Baluchistan.
Watch: Talabgaar OST Moor By Javed Bashir (Video Song)
Moor, a movie directed, produced and written by Jamshed Mahmood Raza aka Jami, is a drama based on the story of Railway system of Balochistan, particularly of Zhob district back in 1984. Actor Hameed Sheikh as Wahid and Shaz Khan as Ehsaan play the lead characters. The rest of the cast includes Samiya Mumtaz as Palwasha, Ayaz Samoo as Imtisal, Abdul Qadir as Baggoo Baba, Soniya Hussain as Amber, Shabbir Rana as Zahir and Sultan Hussain as Lalu. Jami, the director himself, and Eshita Mehboob Syed play cameo roles in the movie.
Moor[pronounced: More, meaning Mother] is the story of Wahid, who is a railway station master at a small town in Balochistan, and his son Ehsaan who has shifted in a metropolitan city, Karachi . It is a little complicated in first half, which might drop the interest of viewers, specifically the ones who are into Masala movies. Things are happening at different time periods, at different places, at same pace and are all linked up with one family. It takes time, almost half, to realize from where it starts and where it is going.
Watch: EVA OST Moor By Meesha Shafi (Video Song)
Unexpectedly, the second half of the movie grasps the interest of viewers with same force as it drops in first half. Everything gets cleared and become interesting. So, if you think of leaving cinema at any point before the interval, give a shut up call to your brain, wait and enjoy the catchy songs and never seen before breathtaking visuals of Balochistan.
The acting of all the actors is remarkable and you don’t feel anywhere as they are trying hard to get into their respective roles. Industry Veteran Hameed Sheikh is truly a gem who makes powerful appearance through out the movie. New comer Shaz Khan who plays the role of Ehsaan also impresses with his acting skills. He is certainly going to places after his fabulous debut. As for supporting roles, Samiya Mumtaz and Ayaz Samoo do justice with their roles but one guy who stole the show is Abdul Qadir who plays the role of Baggoo Baba. The character of Baggoo is amazingly placed and it makes you smile whenever you start feeling bore or think the movie is being dragged. Indeed, Baggoo’s light comedy and epic soundtrack save the movie.
Watch: Ku Ku Ku OST Moor By Strings (Video)
MOOR’s Soundtrack
The movie has a total number of seven tracks, all of them produced by Strings, the current producers of biggest music show in Pakistan, Coke Studio. The lyrics are done by arguably the most recognized Urdu writer of current time, Mr. Anwar Maqsood. Some big names which include Javed Bashir, Strings themselves, Rahim Shah and Meesha Shafi have lent their vocals and made it the most remarkable music album of a Pakistani film so far. For example, Rahim Shah’s Gul Bashri, which is in Pashto, is type of a song in which you may not understand a single word but yet, it touches your heart. Full marks go to Strings, Anwar Maqsood and all the singers.
Verdict!
Moor is a very serious movie inspired from real events. Watch it to experience an alternate cinema which doesn’t believe on formula movies and which has the capacity to awe struck you with its strong content and powerful performances.
It won’t be wrong to say that Jami has struck three birds with one stone. Moor is indeed a brilliant gift to Pakistan, its Cinema and The Railways system which unite us as a nation.
Moor releases this Independence Day (August 14th) in Pakistani Cinemas. Make sure to watch it to experience an amazing untold story with a visual awesomeness.
Rating:
Acting: 5/5
Direction: 4/5
Story: 4/5
Music: 5/5
Visuals: 4/5
