Haute Review: Was Khel Khel Mein able to shed light on our forgotten past?

With a dramatic and heart-rending climax that encapsulates a powerful message about peace and brotherhood with Bangladesh, dynamic duo Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza aims to put forward Khel Khel Mein (KKM) as a groundbreaking script, which will resonate with the youth and their passion to bring a change in the narrative. As reiterated in the promotions, the purpose was to tell “history in the form of stories, so that it would never be forgotten”. However, did the film manage to serve this purpose? That is the question.

The story is set in a prestigious and seemingly posh university, Institute of Management Sciences, where the principal Mrs. Haque (Marina Khan), teachers and the board of directors’ only solution to make pupils study is to shut down the Dramatic Society. The board also displays an extremely escapist attitude when the members argue that a musical to depict the reality of the Indo-Pak War of 1971 and Fall of Dhaka has “no place in an cultural exchange theater competition taking place in Bangladesh because they don’t need unwanted controversy”.

Two students of this institute, Zara Karamullah and Saad Salman, played by Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas Khan respectively, are the stars of the film, carrying the story on their shoulders. Zara has been given an emotional arc as her family is still bearing the brunt of the Fall of Dhaka; her grand father Karamullah (young: Sheheryar Munawar, old: Manzar Sehbai) is a stranded Pakistani in Bangladesh for nearly 50 years. Saad Salman is a privileged boy who is bad at studies and is passionate about acting. While Sajal delivered what was required, she outshines most when she puts ignorant minds in their places, at three instances in the film. She stands out the most when she courageously steps forward and admits how curriculum in Pakistan have chapters on Mughal emperors; their wives and horses but just a paragraph on the Fall of Dhaka.

What makes one enjoy any Nabeel and Fizza movie is humour with an underlining cause and Bilal is the star of the vehicle in KKM. His performance will leave a mark in every cine-goers’ mind because his comic timing registers as good as his dramatics. However, the abundance of talent in this film doesn’t contribute much, leaving a void. Nabeel and Fizza gathered a team of youngsters who are amazingly capable; my personal favourites are Hassan Bin Javed and Reham Rafiq, both of whom appear very briefly and evoke giggles in the theater, but that was it. Some of these newcomers don’t even have more than two dialogues or proper screen-time in the movie. Nazarul Hasan as Babu, of course, is outstanding as always.

Read: Video: “I don’t think I can ever do a romantic role/project with Sajal Aly,” says Bilal Abbas Khan

Not much can be written about the story because unfortunately, there isn’t much to discuss. The idea was too big and untouched for a Pakistani film, but the narrative in the film only circles around India being the instigator of the war without much explanation. There are glimpses of what happened in 1971 through gut wrenching and brilliantly-directed nostalgic scenes of the past, depicting how East Pakistanis were displaced, looted and murdered as part of a giant conspiracy. The recollection of peon Babu’s childhood memories and Karamullah’s youthful years lost in detention camp after the fateful incident were the most unforgettable scenes of KKM. Special mention for the camera work in the scenes of 1971’s mass migration and massacre as well as Babu’s home, where the story is narrated from the child’s perspective.

Sheheryar Munawar plays the younger version of Zara’s grand-father, Karamullah (Manzar Sehbai) 

Fingers are pointed towards India through theatrics, arguments and feisty dialogues, but as an audience, you will be left asking for more. There is a whole sequence on Balochistan which seems rushed and disjointed in the film. No one expects sensationalism on this subject and it was very unnecessary. The constant addition of background music in emotional scenes is also a bummer. There are also a lot of stereotypical jokes cracked on India-Pakistan rivalry that have been done to death; from Abhinandan to the famous fantastic tea, a happy sardar and an enraged Indian (Naveed Raza). At some instances, the premise feels like a counter-measure at par with India’s long skewed depiction of a stereotypical Pakistani.

Tackling the sensitive relationship between Pakistan and Bangladesh isn’t easy and not something that can be delivered, explained and concluded in few hours, however, the film desperately lacks an emotional closure. One of the many questions in mind at the end will be “was Zara unable to do anything for her grand-father except bringing a letter from him, despite having a father in the armed forces?”

Nevertheless, Nabeel and Fizza dare to dream and raise questions and even that is a novel concept in Pakistani cinema. The biggest takeaway from the film is the importance it bestows on youth as changemakers of this country, who should be given freedom to read, question, and explore, rather than rote learn the same distorted history.

Khel Khel Mein has a pure intent to let the future of this country have the liberty to discover truths and start conversations that are buried in our ancestors’ hearts. It is time to revisit the chapters of our long-forgotten past to bring the two nations closer as the finale act’s verse says: “Ek jesa hi pyar niklega, dil ki lelein talashiyan dono… ek ghalati hui kisi se bhi, mang lete hein maafiyan dono [you’ll find equal love, if you search both hearts… whoever made the mistake, let’s both apologize to each other].”

The film is screening in theaters nationwide and in the UK.