Iranian director/actor in Pakistan-Iran co-production Jane Bond 008 Operation Karachi (1971)

Synopsis -

There is much in common between Jane Bond 008 Operation Karachi and the James Bond movies made in Western countries. Like its prototypes, this movie also starts in Scotland Yard. The central character is a woman instead of man. She (Rakshanda Khattak) is sent to Pakistan on a mission, because she is Anglo-Pakistani and knows much about the country.

She is sent to contact one Mr. Macdonald, who is a member of the Scotland Yard, his number is 002. Before she could reach Karachi, he is killed by a gang of villains (headed by Saqi). A taxi-driver (Reza Fazeli), who runs a private taxi and is attached to a posh hotel, goes to pick up Jane Bond. During his speech, he unwittingly utters the code word, and she thinks he is one of the agents employed by the Scotland Yard. He is in fact a simpleton knowing nothing about spying. He jumps to the conclusion that she is in love with him.

The two of them are attacked by a gang of villains. Action and love starts from here and continues till the end.

Jane Bond 008 Operation Karachi was perhaps the second Pak-Iran co-production. According to the publicity stills, “This was for the first time in Pakistani films that a car in running condition was burnt. The hero has jumped twenty feet from helicopter to a moving boat. He has jumped from a car moving at the speed of forty to another running at the same speed”. However, because of poor-direction and other shortcomings the film flopped both in Iran and Pakistan.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1971, Genre – Action, Country – Pakistan/Iran, Language – Urdu/Persian, Producer – F. Abbassi, Director – Reza Fazeli, Music Director – Lal Mohammed Iqbal, Cast – Reza Fazeli, Rakshanda Khattak, Tarana, Saqi, Kamal Irani, Sharafat Pasha, Shaheen, Zahoor Ansari, and Niggo

Maula Jatt (1979)

There is no need to go into the story, a gandasa, a howling musical note, fits of staccato laughter and the dialogue are the only things you need to savour the very essence of Maula Jatt. Memorably scripted by Nasir Adib, and directed with a contagiously maddening, no-holds-barred approach by Yunus Malik, Maula Jatt was made in 1979, and then never forgotten. What you do need to know is that ultimately, Maula Jatt is all about how there is no Yin without the Yang, the eternal struggle between good and evil.

Sultan Rahi as Maula Jatt is the good. Literally the mama’s boy – infamously appearing out of nowhere when his mother, at the top of her lungs, shouts his name, Maula likes to growl, scowl and yell maniacally and when the time comes – which it does, in abundance- Maula likes to shed a lot of blood and enjoys ripped off limbs flying in the air and bits of human intestines dangling from his gandasa, all in the name of honour, justice and the Punjabi way. Mustafa Qureshi (in the role of a lifetime) as Noorie Nath is the evil. A demented sadomasochist like no other, his entry is the tale of legends. We are introduced to a close-up of his foot wrapped in chains, the howling musical note, the staccato laughter and then the most menacing yet hilarious entry dialogue known to man: “Nawa ayah ain soneya?” And if we weren’t having enough fun, Chakori, as Daro Nathni, gives a spectacular performance, probably the best of her career as the sister of Noorie Nath who is as at least as demented and psychotic as her brother.

What you need to remember by heart-as many do- are the confrontations between Maula Jatt and Noorie Nath where both exchange booming one liners, the juggat as well as a number of high pitched war cries, the barrak both unique to Punjabi culture. Ok, the visual style might give some a headache-the sudden close-ups, the whiplash pan – which is very popular in Indian soap-operas today. The production values are horrible and the sound is pathetic, but who can deny the sheer menace of Noorie Nath, the electric chemistry between Sultan Rahi and Mustafa Qureshi, the last fight -where Maula Jatt slaughters at least a hundred men, and made a diehard fan exclaim that it inspired the makers of Matrix 2 to do the same with Neo – and the dialogue, which if nothing else, is street poetry (Rating – 2 OUT OF 5)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1979, Genre – Action, Country – Pakistan, Language – Punjabi, Producer – Sarwar Bhatti, Director – Yunus Malik, Music Director – Inayat, Cast – Sultan Rahi, Mustafa Qureshi, Chakori, Aasiya, Kaifi, Adeeb

    Scripted by Perviaz Kaleem, the film establishes Shaan as a good-for-nothing jobless son of a chowkidar (watchman) played by Nadeem. With some help from his mother, Shaan manages to open an auto workshop. One fine day he gets into a brawl with some people and ends up turning into a trigger-happy creature. (For a better version of the same story, we suggest you see the Indian film Vaastav).

    Scriptwriter Pervaiz Kaleem himself stars in the film playing good old ‘lord’ Nana who gives refuge to Shaan whenever he is back from his gun-totting spree. Pervez Kaleem’s acting is no better than his scripts here.

    The characters are ill defined, too badly placed and timed. Resham plays the character of a girl-next-door living with her blind mother while Zara Sheikh plays the role of a call girl. Her performance here is nothing to write home about. Nirma too features as one of the famous faces and plays the daughter of a mafia boss, who loses his life to Shaan’s gun-totting adventures one day. Saud is the honest journalist (with a Mr. Ripley look) and Arbaz Khan is the useless son-in-law (ghar damad) who has vengeance and hatred for almost everyone without a reason. The characters are baseless with hardly any convincing reason to their presence in the film. And most of them roll over dead in the gruesome action clashes in the film. But before dying they do manage to take the time out to sing and dance with campfires, waterfalls, and Karachi’s beaches as some of the backdrops.

    Despite all this the film still lacks rich production values. Which brings us to the look of the characters, which is tacky and unconvincing to say the least. Shaan is usually wearing a black woolen cap and sporting awkward moustaches. And even though Nadeem appears with a moderate look, his woolen cap and gray moustache looks no different in this film than his countless other films in which he plays the role of a father.

    After watching Punjabi reprisal operas for almost two years (and Sangeeta has been a leading director of this genre), one is not impressed with the amount of ammunition and number of explosions or the buckets of red paint smeared on almost every character in Yeh Wada Raha.

    Khalid Riaz has done good camerawork but Qaiser’s cutting work is slow and dragging (one misses Zulfi’s sharp and crisp editing here). Wajad Ali Nashad’s score may be slightly above average but Yeh Wada Raha would never be remembered for its songs (considering the mediocrity in film music around us these days). Tu Hi Mera Dil and Yar Badshah are the only saving graces of the music track of the film.

    Yeh Wada Raha is an average effort. The film definitely had the potential to become one of the better products coming the entertainment starved audience way if the director hadn’t relied too much on star cast and paid some attention to the story itself. With so many films failing to leave an impression at the box office Yeh Wada Raha turns out to be one more that bites the dust – Aijaz Gul

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 2003, Genre – Action, Country – Pakistan, Language – Urdu, Producer – N/A, Director – Sangeeta, Music Director – N/A, Cast – Shaan, Zara Sheikh, Resham, Nirma, Arbaz Khan, Saud, Shafqat Cheema, Pervaiz Kaleem and Nadeem