Blog: 'Actor in Law' a must watch

Just saw Actor in Law at a local cinema, a brilliant experience in a nutshell!

Before going into detail as to why the film worked at the box office and how different it is from other releases, one thing is for sure that the team of Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali –( directed by Nabeel Qureshi and written by Fizza Ali Meerza ) is here to stay. Many examples may be cited here whereby after stupendous success of the first venture by many successful teams it is seldom seen that they are able to repeat the same success in their second venture; either due to over sheer confidence or they make the mistake of repeating the tried formula. Nabeel’s team did not sit on their previous laurels nor did they repeat the same successful formula of Na Maloon Afraad –for which they should be credited.

Na Maloom Afraad, an original story, was their debut production. Keeping with the same idea of an original story they came up with Actor in Law and captured the cinema scene in such a shining way...Kudos!

The film had everything to offer - from entertainment to content to acting and most important crisp editing. They kept the movie just a little over two hours, managing to add all the needed ingredients for a successful venture. Fahad Mustafa stole the show this time, he has definitely evolved as an actor and has been able to carve a niche in the present stars galore which is not easy, he looked dapper confident and definitely hero material – he is a star and there is not any doubt now.

Mehvish Hayat on the other hand, had limited screen time but her role of a young Parsi girl was beautifully enacted. She has come a long way when it comes to cinema, her item number as ‘Billi’ in Na Maloon Afraad and her role in the biggest blockbuster of all time Jawani Phir Nahee Ani capitulated her into the big league but her role in Actor in Law will categorise her in the serious star bracket since the role demanded acting rather than just looking great.

She is naturally beautiful, which obviously goes in her favour but she acted superbly and did justice to a complex role. The third and most important role was of the hero’s father played by Om Puri – our recent import from Bollywood. What one can write about him, he is definitely super but since his role did not demand any histrionics so the subtlety that he brought to his role justified his short screen presence, the benefit of having him on board made the canvas of the film so huge and definitely helped the film reaching to every class due to the star appeal factor. Aly Khan the fourth protagonist in the role of a shrewd anchor of a leading TV channel gave us insight that grass is not always green on the other side.           

The premise of the film is very simple, it depicts the story of a family where a son wants to pursue a dream to become an actor and his father wants his son to follow his footsteps. It sounds cliché but how the team managed to build the story from there is praiseworthy.  The film focuses on Shan Mirza (Fahad Mustafa) who is an aspiring actor but without any lady luck shining on him, keeps giving auditions but never makes it big.

Rafqat Mirza being Om Puri, a lawyer his USP being that he has never won any case and does not approve of his son’s choices and makes it very obvious through  his actions and dialogues that he would never accept his son’s lifestyle. Meenu as Mehwish Hayat plays a journalist who would not succumb to any sort pressure in this male dominated society, she plays her part aptly and comes across as a firebrand mature actress. 

Actor in Law is a winner all the way, the dialogues are witty and for some references in dialogues one may feel that we have heard some of the dialogues in the past but the way they have been enacted is a realm of a true cinematic genius. The film had serious competition from local cinema and cinema from the across the border, and has won the race purely on the basis of its content, story, music, sound, acting and crisp screen play. 

Go watch it – it is definitely the entertainer of the year, the business will grow manifolds and if the trend continues, this could be the biggest draw of the current year till date.

The views of the author do not reflect that of Geo News