By Hamza Shafique (Instagram / Facebook)
Pinky Memsaab is an experience, it’s a bouquet of unique characters and their emotions/personal journeys put together by debutant director Shazia Ali Khan. As a Desi expat living in Dubai one can relate to it on so many levels which makes it even more interesting.
Story revolves around four main characters (Mr. and Mrs. Hassan, their Indian driver Santosh and newly arrived maid Pinky from Pakistan) and their struggles in realizing their dreams / efforts that goes in calling a place like Dubai their home. It covers Dubai from elite life of Jumeirah villas to low income class of Bur Dubai perspective. Tag line of Pinky Memsaab is “A Dubai Story” and honestly I was a bit skeptical of that because shooting a film in Dubai doesn’t make it a Dubai story. But after watching the film I realized that its truly a Dubai story because Dubai is not just used here as a back drop in form of high rise structures or flashy cars but elements of an expat life in Dubai are beautifully mixed in to the storyline to form the soul of the project.
Performances by the principal cast are the life of this drama, especially by the leading ladies Hajra Yamin playing the role of an ambitious girl named “Pinky” who has come to Dubai to provide better life to her family back home and Kiran Malik playing her beautiful socialite employer “Mehr”. Hajra Yamin performance is so convincing that as an audience you connect to her in a heartbeat. Her portrayal will remind you of the Kangana Ranaut from the movie Queen, as she displays the same sort of naivety and innocence with Kangana's matching conviction. On the other hand, Kiran Malik as “Mehr” demands your attention with her realistic portrayal. Her resemblance to Anushka Sharma is evident on screen and not only in looks but talent as well. As her screen presence and charisma matches the level of the Bollywood A list star equally. Sunny Hinduja as Santosh the indian driver in this Pakistani film delivers as well, he embodies the character to perfection and will remind you of all the taxi drivers you find in Dubai.
Shazia Ali Khan’s story telling definitely has some flaws which are more evident in second half. Where the first half is crisp and solid, second half gets slow and messy. Seems like Shazia Ali Khan’s ambition takes over the narrative's requirement which impacts the run time significantly. Second half could have been more refined with lower run time. Also, I understand this subtle close to reality form of storytelling doesn’t conform to normal masala cinema standards but still we can blend few elements from regular cinema to make it a more pleasing experience, “Kapoor and Sons” is a prime example of this form of cinema, I believe Shazia should have looked in to the narrative from that perspective.
Adnan Jaffar even though a brilliant performer ,here feels out of place, while as an audience we connect instantly to other characters, its his character Hassan we find struggling to convince us. But this shouldn’t stop you from going to cinema, as perfectly etched characters, performed to perfection, with backdrop of Desi life in Dubai will cover for all the flaws and will take you on an emotionally satisfying journey.
If your idea of entertainment is Rohit Shetty kind of cinema with loud music, flashy visuals and exploding cars then you may not like this one but if you enjoy interesting characters flourishing in relatable surroundings then this is a must watch especially for Desis living in Dubai. Overall a sweet, well performed, full of emotions film. I go with 3.5 stars.
Pinky Memsaab is an experience, it’s a bouquet of unique characters and their emotions/personal journeys put together by debutant director Shazia Ali Khan. As a Desi expat living in Dubai one can relate to it on so many levels which makes it even more interesting.
Story revolves around four main characters (Mr. and Mrs. Hassan, their Indian driver Santosh and newly arrived maid Pinky from Pakistan) and their struggles in realizing their dreams / efforts that goes in calling a place like Dubai their home. It covers Dubai from elite life of Jumeirah villas to low income class of Bur Dubai perspective. Tag line of Pinky Memsaab is “A Dubai Story” and honestly I was a bit skeptical of that because shooting a film in Dubai doesn’t make it a Dubai story. But after watching the film I realized that its truly a Dubai story because Dubai is not just used here as a back drop in form of high rise structures or flashy cars but elements of an expat life in Dubai are beautifully mixed in to the storyline to form the soul of the project.
Performances by the principal cast are the life of this drama, especially by the leading ladies Hajra Yamin playing the role of an ambitious girl named “Pinky” who has come to Dubai to provide better life to her family back home and Kiran Malik playing her beautiful socialite employer “Mehr”. Hajra Yamin performance is so convincing that as an audience you connect to her in a heartbeat. Her portrayal will remind you of the Kangana Ranaut from the movie Queen, as she displays the same sort of naivety and innocence with Kangana's matching conviction. On the other hand, Kiran Malik as “Mehr” demands your attention with her realistic portrayal. Her resemblance to Anushka Sharma is evident on screen and not only in looks but talent as well. As her screen presence and charisma matches the level of the Bollywood A list star equally. Sunny Hinduja as Santosh the indian driver in this Pakistani film delivers as well, he embodies the character to perfection and will remind you of all the taxi drivers you find in Dubai.
Shazia Ali Khan’s story telling definitely has some flaws which are more evident in second half. Where the first half is crisp and solid, second half gets slow and messy. Seems like Shazia Ali Khan’s ambition takes over the narrative's requirement which impacts the run time significantly. Second half could have been more refined with lower run time. Also, I understand this subtle close to reality form of storytelling doesn’t conform to normal masala cinema standards but still we can blend few elements from regular cinema to make it a more pleasing experience, “Kapoor and Sons” is a prime example of this form of cinema, I believe Shazia should have looked in to the narrative from that perspective.
Adnan Jaffar even though a brilliant performer ,here feels out of place, while as an audience we connect instantly to other characters, its his character Hassan we find struggling to convince us. But this shouldn’t stop you from going to cinema, as perfectly etched characters, performed to perfection, with backdrop of Desi life in Dubai will cover for all the flaws and will take you on an emotionally satisfying journey.
If your idea of entertainment is Rohit Shetty kind of cinema with loud music, flashy visuals and exploding cars then you may not like this one but if you enjoy interesting characters flourishing in relatable surroundings then this is a must watch especially for Desis living in Dubai. Overall a sweet, well performed, full of emotions film. I go with 3.5 stars.
Wow. Nice
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