Teefa In Trouble is no more in trouble as the film released to packed houses all over Pakistan today. Ali Zafar’s first Pakistani film has him don several hats and he doesn’t disappoint with one.
The film may seem a typical boy-girl-l-love-story but there’s more than meets the eye for those who plan to go and watch the film. There is a party of protesters that want people to boycott films but I urge the audience to think rationally and watch the film because it will prove to be a game changer for Pakistani cinema.
The film has gone to a level where hardly any Pakistani film has gone before and if the buzz is to be believed, it is going to be a smash hit in coming weeks.
1. Ali Zafar – The Rock Star
We all know that Ali Zafar is the biggest Rock Star we have in the country; however, we didn’t know that he could write a film, compose its songs, pen the lyrics, sing them beautifully and produce the film at the same time as acting in it.
The film revolves around his character and he proves that if given the chance, he can carry the whole movie on his shoulders. He looks Teefa than Ali Zafar and that’s one of the reasons why his fans will watch the film again and again!
2. Maya Ali – The Innocent ‘Victim’
She can act, she can dance and she can definitely look drop dead gorgeous without trying hard. Yes in some scenes Maya could have done a better job but hey, it’s her first film in which she plays the bone of contention between 2 friends.
Like a Runway bride, she runs away from her own home so that she could elope with her gora boyfriend but her views on love change when she falls in love with the kidnapper. She displays the kind of innocence which we usually don’t see in our film heroines and if she tries on different roles, she might even have a big career ahead of her.
3. Ahsan Rahim – The Showman
He has been around for over 20 years but Ahsan Rahim didn’t venture into films despite being an ace ad maker and a brilliant sitcom director, not to mention his acting stints in the mid-90s.
He must have been looking for an actor who could act as if his life depended on the role; a writer who could pen super dialogues; a team of music composers, lyricist and singer who could match the scale of his production and a producer who could understand his love for films.
In Ali Zafar, he found the perfect partner and went onto pen a story with him, then direct the flick to perfection and edit it like a pro, making it look shorter than the original 2 hours and 35-minute duration.
Not once do you realize that you are watching a Pakistani film and not many films have managed to give you that impression in a long long time.
4. Zain Haleem – The Ace Cinematographer
He has been around for quite some time but Zain Haleem announced his arrival as a world-class cinematographer with Teefa In Trouble.
Only a person with command over his work would go for the different angles that Zain did – the scene where Ali Zafar is talking to his conscious, where he is recovering after a fight, where he goes underwater, every scene is fabulously done.
He enjoys a good rapport with his director as well since they were part of the team that produced possibly the best TV commercials in the last 10 years.
5. Shani Arshad – The Background King
Veteran film director late Javed Fazil used to say that there is no background score in Pakistan but foreground score and he was dead right because background score wasn’t given much importance, until now.
Shani Arshad the music composer who has been a big part of the film revival gave a background for Teefa In Trouble that is of international standard. You don’t feel the music taking over dialogues throughout the film as it complements the scenes in the best possible manner.
Be it the score when everything is dull or when action is taking place, it is near-perfect and one of the reasons why you would love the film even more.