'Zindagi Tamasha' captivates visually, encapsulating the essence of Lahore with finesse and palpable affection. The level of craft and dedication poured into the film is evident throughout.
However, the narrative appears to rest heavily on the inspiration of a real lesser-known video, where a maulvi apologizes for a dance perceived as 'inappropriate' in the Pakistani context.
How come a family living in the smack middle of Lahore in the 'mohalla', with a purportedly famous and reasonably sought-after naat-khwaan husband and a seemingly wise wife, is practically enjoying the isolation of an east coast metropolitan american family? Why aren't neighboring women barging in to help the ailing woman every other day? Why doesn't the mother speak to her daughters every day, telling them what their father is going through? Why aren't 25 or so mohalledaars, co-naat khawans forcefully arranging a baithak, panchaiyat, jirga, anything to let the sought-after naat khwaan, a person they knew for ages, make amends for his mistakes? In fact, why doesn't everyone already know that the guy liked Punjabi movies, songs and the dance for like 30+ years now? He didn't seem to be hiding it at all. None of it makes sense in that context, in that culture. If you have lived it, you would know that there is almost no concept of privacy in those lives.
Also, just find the original video on Youtube, and you will see people actually commending the man for accepting his fault in the comments. This culture has serious issues, it is invasive, brutally insensitive, horrible at times, but apart from that one 295C 'sin' which everyone knows, it forgives every other, even the most atrocious sins of men, particularly religious men. I seriously doubt if the original maulvi's career took more than a few months hit.
I know it is a movie, and it can take all the liberties it wants as long as it doesn't take a moral position and is simply aiming for entertainment, because when it does take a position, I believe it will be judged for its internal consistency. Here it is clearly about an issue of this society, but not remotely as grievous as it is imagined here. It would have been a completely different story altogether if it was about a woman, but here, to perpetuate a narrative about an imagined issue from a society brimming with so many real, relatable issues, it seems lazy.
Furthermore, it has that banal character of a self absorbed, young adult daughter with victim complex, who is utterly blind to her parent's struggles. Which daughter in Pakistan can break all those mental structures she grew up with, even if she wants to, to scathingly tell her father to wear her mother's clothes as hatefully as she did? I always felt Hollywood hates young women, the reason it always make them seem venomous under the garb of empowering them. Sad to see it imported here as well. It would have been far more believable if it was her in-laws that had made her to be critical, or to ostracize her father, where she would have to maneuver between saving her marriage, and her love and empathy for her old father. Instead what we get is a mindless import of Hollywood-style storytelling, which is disappointing, particularly from a director like Sarmad Khoosat, whom one expects to be more discerning about integrating foreign narrative structures.
In sum, while 'Zindagi Tamasha' is a visual delight, its portrayal of cultural nuances and dynamics leaves room for deeper introspection, but despite my strong disagreements, I would still strongly recommend it, and would urge everyone, who can afford it, to watch this on Vimeo to support the studio, and support independent film making in Pakistan.
However, the narrative appears to rest heavily on the inspiration of a real lesser-known video, where a maulvi apologizes for a dance perceived as 'inappropriate' in the Pakistani context.
How come a family living in the smack middle of Lahore in the 'mohalla', with a purportedly famous and reasonably sought-after naat-khwaan husband and a seemingly wise wife, is practically enjoying the isolation of an east coast metropolitan american family? Why aren't neighboring women barging in to help the ailing woman every other day? Why doesn't the mother speak to her daughters every day, telling them what their father is going through? Why aren't 25 or so mohalledaars, co-naat khawans forcefully arranging a baithak, panchaiyat, jirga, anything to let the sought-after naat khwaan, a person they knew for ages, make amends for his mistakes? In fact, why doesn't everyone already know that the guy liked Punjabi movies, songs and the dance for like 30+ years now? He didn't seem to be hiding it at all. None of it makes sense in that context, in that culture. If you have lived it, you would know that there is almost no concept of privacy in those lives.
Also, just find the original video on Youtube, and you will see people actually commending the man for accepting his fault in the comments. This culture has serious issues, it is invasive, brutally insensitive, horrible at times, but apart from that one 295C 'sin' which everyone knows, it forgives every other, even the most atrocious sins of men, particularly religious men. I seriously doubt if the original maulvi's career took more than a few months hit.
I know it is a movie, and it can take all the liberties it wants as long as it doesn't take a moral position and is simply aiming for entertainment, because when it does take a position, I believe it will be judged for its internal consistency. Here it is clearly about an issue of this society, but not remotely as grievous as it is imagined here. It would have been a completely different story altogether if it was about a woman, but here, to perpetuate a narrative about an imagined issue from a society brimming with so many real, relatable issues, it seems lazy.
Furthermore, it has that banal character of a self absorbed, young adult daughter with victim complex, who is utterly blind to her parent's struggles. Which daughter in Pakistan can break all those mental structures she grew up with, even if she wants to, to scathingly tell her father to wear her mother's clothes as hatefully as she did? I always felt Hollywood hates young women, the reason it always make them seem venomous under the garb of empowering them. Sad to see it imported here as well. It would have been far more believable if it was her in-laws that had made her to be critical, or to ostracize her father, where she would have to maneuver between saving her marriage, and her love and empathy for her old father. Instead what we get is a mindless import of Hollywood-style storytelling, which is disappointing, particularly from a director like Sarmad Khoosat, whom one expects to be more discerning about integrating foreign narrative structures.
In sum, while 'Zindagi Tamasha' is a visual delight, its portrayal of cultural nuances and dynamics leaves room for deeper introspection, but despite my strong disagreements, I would still strongly recommend it, and would urge everyone, who can afford it, to watch this on Vimeo to support the studio, and support independent film making in Pakistan.
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