IN DEFENCE OF OPERATION 021 Do you enjoy, or cringe at ‘Oscarish’ movies? Do you avidly wait for thought-provoking art and independent films, or are films simply an escape for you and only ‘bang for your buck’ films will do? One needs to be very clear on what they are getting into with OPERATION 021. It is NOT an action film like WAAR. It is NOT a mass-appeal film, like Shahrukh Khan films or say, this year’s KICK. It is not a ‘hero versus villain’ story with a simple-enough narrative and flow that you can zone in and out in the middle. It is NOT a perfect movie. But it is crazy, ambitious, bold film-making for subcontinent standards which will either blow you away or leave you really bored depending on what mindset you go in with. Imagine putting on to watch THE BIG BANG THEORY and getting TRUE DETECTIVE instead. So don’t let the promos fool you. 021 isn’t an action-packed, patriotic affair. Don’t let the people fool you either. It’s not a snoozefest worth walking out of either. In my humble opinion, 021 is one of the most daring, unique, post-modern, and visionary films to ever be made in the Subcontinent. Yes, I count India and all of Bollywood along when I say this. 021 at its core a drama, a ‘day in the life of’ political thriller which I couldn’t have ever imagined Pakistan would be able to deliver. It’s light years away from most Pakistani films which are notorious for being too on-the-nose; it’s something so subtle in its reveal and so painfully meticulous in the unravelling of its plot that it will be a hard watch for most – but that’s how it was supposed to be. Since it was opening on Eid and was titled ‘021’ (I thought this was a Karachi-based actioner and just a nod to the city’s area code), co-directed by Jami (a renowned video director), and starred Shaan Shahid and Shamoon Abbasi, we wrongly figured it would be another action-packed debut which would be more stylish than brainy in nature. But instead of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE we got a SYRIANA; instead of a Bond film, we got BABEL. What is 021? It’s more a decompressed, multi-narrative novel across 3 countries than a neatly structured hero – villain film, an experiment in Pakistani cinema which is so ballsy and unappealing for the masses that it’s amazing that it was allowed to be made and released in theatres. 021 takes its content and characters very seriously, and it will make your brain work in overtime. The story switches from one character to another, one point of view to another, one language to another. When else have be seen a Pakistani movie juggle 3 countries simultaneously, alongside the corresponding Urdu, English, Pushto, and Dari switches alongside each geographic move? 021 follows a day in the life of a dozen or so inter-connected individuals – mostly political agents and their staff – across Pakistan, the United States, and Afghanistan. That a Pakistani filmmaker would make a movie which brings in the Afghani struggle and spend more time in Kabul and Washington over Pakistan should tell you what ambition the film holds instantly. Another first for Pakistani cinema: there is no singular ‘lead’, or hero, so to speak. There are rich, real, faulty, three dimensional characters across the 3 countries who are all inter-connected. No one’s a clean-cut hero, nor a plotting, snivelling villain. There’s Kashif Siddique, the ex black ops Pakistani (Shaan) – a family man, disillusioned with the current political-economic status quo. There’s Abdullah (Ayub Khoso); a scruffy, low-level Afghan revolutionary who is willing to put everything on the line for what he now believes in; there’s Dost Muhammad (Hameed Sheikh), an Afghani government official who’s torn between lineage and duty. There’s Stan and Nathan, the American CIA operatives who after having spent years involved in Afghanistan are starting to develop very different views. And many, many others (including Aamina Sheikh in a short but excellent role) playing their shades-of-grey parts very well and adding to the largeness of the film’s canvas. Although there might be multiple narratives packed into a 2 hours film, each essential character has at least one scene which instantly transforms them into living-and-breathing characters who truly believe what they are doing is right and worth fighting for. One for his country, another for the betterment of the people. The Americans aren’t the default villains, and neither are any of the operatives of theirs working in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Here is a movie which gives you no easy answers, and leaves a lot to your interpretation and your detective skills. No long exposition over character motivations are given, and everything that needs to be understood about a character is done through their actions and / or their discussions with those close to them. Just like war and the real world, 021 does not offer a simple, happy resolution. It just lets its plot play along, with all the puzzle pieces – national agencies, multinational corporations, free agents - chugging along until it all comes together. This kind of bravura filmmaking needs to be lauded. This isn’t a film you’ll enjoy or extract lots of ‘fun’ out of, but it is a film you will savour, appreciate, and be surprised Pakistan could come out with. Bravo, Misters Jamshed Raza, Summer Nicks, Azaan Sami Khan, and Ms Zeba Bakhtiar. Just like Mr Shoaib Mansoor (and to a lesser extent, I figure, Bilal Lashari), you’ve changed how we perceive Pakistani films and the potential they hold. To make a film which so painfully meticulous and contemplative in its structure and characters, and so uneasy to unravel shows an uncompromising commitment to make a statement rather than simply blockbuster numbers, and for that, you’ve bowled me over. Now bring on JALAIBI, Pakistans answer to Tarantino and Guy Ritchie! Naziha Umar Nimra Asad Aiza Umar Ismail Zahid Umar Hafsa Zahid Umar Sardar Xin Khan Yasir M Jaswal Saud Umar Khan Fahad Rasheed Bhatti Jamayal Tanweer Shahan Durrani
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:33:32 +0000
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