Pakistani cinema is growing – and growing by leaps and bounds. But unfortunately, once in a while, we get a flashback from the past. A movie that reminds us why we needed a 360° revival in the first place.
This early Eid, however, we have not one but two such movies that are a painful reminder of the bad cinema days gone by.
We have Shafqat Cheema’s production, Geo Sar Utha Kay and we have Syed Noor’s Chain Aye Na. The trailers and promotional activities for both films gave us little to no reason to watch them. But since both veterans, Shafqat Cheema and Syed Noor are from Lahore, expectations were high in the city.
The only hope about this box office showdown is the diversity in their themes and cast.
Chain Aye Na and Geo Sar Utha Kay are bringing in fresh new faces into the industry. Cheema’s son Shaheryar is the male lead in his film and will be making his debut alongside three new female actors including Areeba Khan. Besides this, fans will get to see senior actor Babar Ali return to the screen after a long time. Chain Aaye Na, on the other hand, boasts a stellar cast including veteran artists such as Mustafa Qureshi, Nadeem Baig and Atiqa Odho.
Geo Sar Utha Kay is losely based on the Chottu gang debacle while Chain Aye Na is an intense romantic drama with a love triangle.
Box Office Predictions
Despite a 3-day long weekend advantage, both movies are expected to have a dull start. If you have watched the trailers, you’ll know why.
Boxofficedetail.com predicts their early business in these numbers:
We predict even lower Weekend for both as Geo Sir Utha Kay going around 30-40lacs over four day Weekend whereas Chain Aye Na going around 25-30lacs over four day Weekend..
Movies Twitter Reactions
According to early reactions, Syed Noor’s Chain Aye Na has not only disappointed but riled the movie-goers. People who’ve had the displeasure of watching it call is a regressive attempt at normalising harassment.
Here are some reviews:
The kind of films #pakistan can do without: https://t.co/ReeCwzG1RJ #chainayena
— Sharmeen Obaid (@sharmeenochinoy) August 11, 2017
@ShahrozSabzwari your movie is so triggering for victims of abuse & violence & yet you have the audacity to justify this film #ChainAyeNa
— Seerat Khan (@seeratkhan92) August 11, 2017
Syed Noor's #ChainAyeNa seems like the cinematic embodiment of the ongoing social backlash of patriarchal violence. https://t.co/Rn21qMMWmY
— Ammar Rashid (@AmmarRashidT) August 11, 2017
Everyone involved in the production of #chainayena should be ashamed of themselves
— Shmyla Khan (@shmyla) August 11, 2017
Stay tuned to find out box office collections for both the movies.
