In the picture: Road Trip

short film review

The latest Digestive Showtime short film Road Trip goes down a worn-out path to arrive at its inevitable destination

Road Trip

Starring: Feroze Khan, Ahmed Majeed Agloria, Waliya Najib, Shees Sajjad Gul, Mehmood Aslam, and Nargis Rashid
Directed by: Sultan Ghani Afzal

The concept of the road trip has driven numerous films ever since the success of movies like It Happened One Night (1934) and Stagecoach (1939) fuelled its popularity almost a century ago. Plenty – some would argue too many – of mainstream Hollywood actors have gone on a cinematic road trip at one point or another, and even our local industry has dabbled in travelling from Karachi to Lahore and beyond. Filmmakers around the world have embraced the genre, but while the conceit has clearly shown no signs of waning in popularity, the concept needs an exceptional script or a creative turn (like the hidden camera angle of the recent Bad Trip or the robot uprising of the even more recent The Mitchells vs. the Machines), at this point, to really merit attention or praise.

Creativity, unfortunately, is in scant supply in the latest local attempt at a road movie, the short film Road Trip that is about as imaginative as its title.

Two estranged brothers are at the centre of this overlong short. The tale is told in the form of an anecdote being relayed by a father to his son.

Ayan (Feroze Khan), who has returned from London upon the news of his father’s illness, embarks on a long car ride with his younger brother, Hamza (Ahmed Majeed Agloria). How or why they have reunited before Ayan’s return to his family home where Hamza supposedly lives is not entirely clear, but the two are, at any rate, “forced to share a long ride across the country”. They, of course, eventually bond, as the film delivers the message that, well, family is important.

Along the way, they meet a group of vacationing ladies. Where that storyline heads will not surprise anyone who has ever seen a movie before.

The location and views, where they are allowed to shine, are beautiful. But a short film that is only half an hour in length has no excuse to drag, and that is what Road Trip does for several stretches. And while the acting is serviceable, something is distractingly off about the audio/dubbing which is perhaps, in part, what makes many of the exchanges feel forced or artificial.

And the point remains, ultimately, that the road movie doesn’t have to be pedestrian – everything doesn’t need to be tired or literal or obvious. You can deliver the same messages with more creativity and arrive at the same destination a lot more entertainingly. Just throw in a robot uprising or two, or at least hire writers who can make the journey convincing.

Rating: 2 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 27th July, 2021 *

The Croods: A New Age - more prehistoric fun

 movie review

The Croods: A New Age

Starring (voices): Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman, Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann, and Kelly Marie Tran

Directed by: Joel Crawford

More than seven long years after they first ventured onto the big screen, The Croods are finally back with a new adventure. The prehistoric family went on a search for a new home in their 2013 outing and they now continue their journey in the sequel A New Age.

As the proceedings commence, we catch up with the Palaeolithic pack that includes stubborn patriarch Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage), his wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), their rebellious teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone), pre-teen son Thunk (Clark Duke), and youngest child Sandy (Kailey Crawford), as well as Ugga’s mother Gran (Cloris Leachman). 

Grug is still annoyed by Eep’s relationship with Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who wandered into their lives in the first film, and worried that the pack will split up.

A series of events lead the Croods to encounter the Bettermans – husband Phil (Peter Dinklage), wife Hope (Leslie Mann), and daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran) – who live in a giant tree house and appear to be a couple of rungs up the evolutionary ladder.

At first seemingly friendly, the families soon begin to clash. But when a threat emerges that could impact both the households, the Croods and the Bettermans must put aside their differences and work together, learning lessons about unity along the way.

With many characters and way too many subplots, the proceedings quickly become quite chaotic. Luckily though, there is much fun to be had amidst this chaos. It’s an enjoyable adventure that delivers positive lessons and moments of mirth. That said, however, it doesn’t always work uniformly well for viewers of all ages. The slapstick humour is better suited for children than adults; on the other hand, Eep and Guy’s relationship drama isn’t likely to engage very young viewers.

Still, while it may not be a masterpiece, The Croods: A New Age will keep you entertained for an hour and a half, even if it doesn’t leave a very lasting impression.

The Croods: A New Age is rated PG by the MPAA.

- By Sameen Amer

Young World, Dawn - 26th June, 2021 *

PiFF 2021 – the power of women

talking movies

It is 4:00 pm on Sunday evening, the 13th of June. Five remarkable women – media mogul Sultana Siddiqui, journalist and activist/advocate Tasneem Ahmar, actor and entrepreneur Atiqa Odho, and actor-cum-filmmaker Sangeeta, along with their moderator Tazeen Hussain – are assembled at the Frere Hall in Karachi, the panellists of a seminar, awaiting the session’s commencement.

I am sitting in Lahore, streaming the event a thousand kilometres away. Isn’t technology wonderful!

It’s the third and final day of the 2021 Pakistan International Film Festival, or PiFF for short. Each day has seen panellists from the media industry come together to discuss various topics revolving around Pakistani cinema. The impending arrival of the tardy chief guest is all that’s holding up the start of the current day’s session.

*****

For the uninitiated, PiFF is an annual gathering held under the auspices of the Karachi Film Society (KFS) which itself is the brainchild of the aforementioned powerhouse that is Sultana Siddiqui. First conducted in 2018, the event offers workshops, seminars, and film screenings with the aim of highlighting Pakistan’s cinematic potential while empowering new artists and talent. It may have a ways to go before it reaches the level of its international counterparts, but the fledgling festival still has its sights set on strengthening the entertainment industry, bringing positive change, and showcasing local talent globally.

*****

After a year’s break on account of the coronavirus pandemic, PiFF has returned this year for its third outing with COVID safety precautions in effect. The three-day 2021 event has been dubbed the Women’s Edition, meant to celebrate, promote, and honour women and their contribution to Pakistani cinema. The topics under discuss, though, are wider in scope.

The first day of this year’s festival saw a seminar centred on the lack of growth of Pakistani films in the international market and the reasons and challenges behind this slow growth. The panellists – Omer H. Paracha, Sheikh Amjad Rasheed, Irfan Malik, and Selina Rashid – discussed the quality of films, low return on investment, the need to experiment with various genres, and upgrading technology and equipment. Senator Faisal Javed Khan, who is also the Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, then voiced the need to present our own ideas to the world in our films, and pledged government support for the arts in his keynote speech.

Day two saw a panel discussion – featuring Javed Jabbar, Dr. Fouzia Saeed, Ameena Saiyid, Amin Hashwani, Dr. Farah Essa Zaidi, Duraid Qureshi, and Fizza Ali Meerza – on issues and challenges related to the industry post COVID-19, and also touched on the portrayal of women in Pakistani media, access of the lower and middle class to cinema, and the need to establish a digital entertainment platform. Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, was on hand for the keynote this time which commented on the changing times and reiterated the government’s intention to lend a hand to the entertainment sector.

*****

It’s day three now, and we are waiting to hear from the panellists. The topic? “Gender stereotypes in media and what are women doing about it?” Some might find the wording a little iffy – putting the onus of responsibility on the women when it shouldn’t be – but you hope it’s nothing more than a (well-intentioned) faux pas.

Things finally get going after the belated arrival of Syed Sardar Ali Shah, the Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities.

Sultana Siddiqui – the President of KFS and the Hum Network – talks about entering the television industry at a time when very few women were in the field and subsequently helping bring other ladies to the industry. She is weary of how judgmental people are towards women but heartened by the fact that today it is a respected field for girls. Her aim is to portray issues and topics that change the mind-set of people. She also raises the importance of empowering girls, the need for more women in policy making, the change that women in power bring, and also says that the industry needs government facilitation.

Tasneem Ahmar – the founder and director of the Uks Research Center – says there is discrimination against women everywhere, including in the media and entertainment arenas. She also expresses frustration on the very limited range of topics – muhabbat, shadi, talak – in our dramas and hopes for change.

Actress and filmmaker Sangeeta, too, says she entered the film industry at a time when it wasn’t the norm for women, and how much she now appreciates the work of the youth. She also laments the backlash faced when dramas try to do something different.

Actress Atiqa Odho – who is, among other things, also the CEO of Odho Brand/Cosmetics and Odho Productions – speaks about butting heads with regulatory institutions and the censor board, and opines that PEMRA needs to change its mind-set, allow better content, and reassess their dos and don’ts. She also talks about the role of the entertainment industry in a country’s perception management and imaging, and the need to learn how to better market ourselves.

The ladies share their experiences, motivations, hopes, and frustrations. But all too quickly, the time runs out. The hour is up. A few questions with the audience – about the complete absence of film stars in Pakistan and the importance of writers – follow. Then Syed Sardar Ali Shah appreciates the efforts of the KFS team in organizing the event and creating meaningful dialogue, talks about the role of women in the history of entertainment, and assures his government’s support for the industry. As his speech ends, the seminar wraps up, and the stream comes to an end.

*****

The session may have only scratched the surface but it’s always good to see women in power raising their voices for what they believe in. And while we may not walk away from this seminar with any dazzling new insights, we are still left with the comfort that there are strong women who are trying to make things better. Good on them. And if their efforts bear fruit, it might be good for us too.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 20th June, 2021 *

Rider of destiny

interview

Singer and actor Farhan Saeed speaks to Instep about his journey in the entertainment industry, from his time with pop rock band Jal to his upcoming film Tich Button

Buried under a layer of dust in a forgotten corner of a bookshelf, I locate, after a considerable amount of searching, my old university yearbook. Each person in the 2001 batch at the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (FAST-NU) has their own page in this rather hefty volume. It takes me a while to find the entry I am looking for: roll number 1413 – Farhan Saeed Butt.

Several of his friends have shared their comments about him on his page. There is a fair degree of ribbing going on.

“A guy with a beautiful voice and zero coding skills,” one class fellow jests. “I remember the time when I spent a whole night teaching these guys assembly [language] and he got a zero in the final!”

“Jughatain jitne marzi lugwa lo, mazak jitna marzi karwa lo, bus kaam koi nahi kurna,” another japes before warning all his female fans that Farhan “sukht flirt hai and buhat dhokay baaz hai.”

“Ego honi chahiye banday mein, per bila wajha ki nahi,” yet another friend writes, a stuck-out tongue emoticon firmly in tow.

So a lot of glowing testimonials about a promising young man, basically. 

All kidding aside though, there is one thing that nearly all the commentators agree upon: the dude has an amazing voice. It’s this voice that has propelled Farhan to fame.

The story, as he recalls, begins on the grounds of the aforementioned university where a reluctant performance unexpectedly ended up changing his life.

“There was an event at FAST that my friends were arranging,” he reminisces, “and they had a slot of ten minutes which they were not sure what to do with. They asked me if I could perform. I was very dicey at the start, but when they had no other option, I agreed to sing. I did two songs and performed for about 10 to 15 minutes.”

It just so happened that one Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan was in the audience. “I, of course, knew that Xulfi was two years senior to me at FAST. Many members of the band EP studied there, including Fawad who was one year senior to me.” Xulfi heard Farhan sing and subsequently introduced him to Jal guitarist Goher Mumtaz who had, by this time, parted ways with Atif Aslam. They quickly bonded and started recording songs that would end up on the group’s first album, Aadat. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Jal was one of the best time periods of my life,” he states. “It seems like some other life now. It’s been a while. I spent ten years with the band. Some of the best times of my life were with Jal. The band life is, in itself, a great thing to experience. And yes, we had a lot of fun and Alhamdulillah, by the grace of God, we saw the best times any band could see. We toured the world, we saw hardships together, we saw [success] together. I was a teen when I joined Jal, and I left when I was 28, so a decade of my life, my prime youth, was with Jal, and I loved every bit of it! I miss it sometimes, but it’s beautiful and I want it to be like that in my memories forever.”

Did he face any challenges while navigating a solo career after his exit from the band? “It’s a new world altogether when you go solo,” he replies. “You have to do everything yourself. In Jal my role was that of a vocalist. When you go solo, you need to compose, write songs, jam with other people. In a band, when you’re working with one composer, your chemistry and understanding develops. When you go solo, you have to work with a lot of composers and teams. So yeah, it was quite challenging at the start, but by the grace of God, it worked for me. In the early stage of my solo career, Allah really helped me make good songs that people actually liked. That belief and the fans’ trust in my work – that gave me confidence. It was difficult at the start, but then things went smoothly. All that was because of fans accepting my music.”

Looking back at his early solo releases, he is proud of songs like ‘Pi Jaun’, his collaboration with singer Momina Mustehsan; the track ‘Naam-e-Wafa’ which appeared on the soundtrack of a Bollywood movie; and ‘Roiyaan’, a track he wrote with Kumaar when he was in India, and which subsequently won him the Song of the Year trophy at the Lux Style Awards and the Best Solo Single accolade at the Hum Awards.

His next musical release is a collaboration with another popular singer. “Because of COVID and lockdown, I had time on my hands and was able to give time to my music. Very soon you’ll see my new singles coming out. One of them is with Aima Baig. It’s called ‘Akhiyan’ and it will be out in a week or so. It will be followed by two to three other big releases. Fans who love my music … I haven’t done justice to them in the past two to three years, so I’m going to make it up to them. This year and next year will see a lot of music releases. I do hope COVID goes away very soon and we can return to the stage and perform for our fans, because performing on stage will always be my first love.”

Speaking of his serendipitous foray into the music industry, Farhan agrees that fortune played a huge role in the trajectory of his professional life. “I never thought that I was going to be a musician,” he says. “I think it was destiny. Nothing was planned at all.”

Singing, of course, is no longer Farhan’s sole claim to fame. Of late, it’s his acting career that has been keeping the multi-hyphenate entertainer busy.

“Just as music was destiny for me, acting was destiny for me too,” he says. “When I was doing music, both with Jal and as a solo artist, I got quite a few acting offers from India and Pakistan, and I explicitly said no because I never thought I was going to be an actor. I never thought I could act. I hadn’t discovered that side. I wasn’t thinking about that at all, so I said no to quite a few acting projects, one of which was a Bollywood movie.” 

Then the drama De Ijazat Jo Tu came along and enticed Farhan into the world of acting. “When I started doing it, then I wanted to do it perfectly. When I start something, I really want to master the art of doing it. I soon got the [hang] of it. Then came Udaari, which was one of the best projects, one I was lucky to be offered. Then Suno Chanda. Everybody loved these two dramas. So I got the confidence and I really liked being in front of the camera. Working in music and acting complemented each other. It still works for me.”

Farhan sees Suno Chanda as the highlight of his career and the project that made him who he is as an actor. “I never thought it was going to do so well. When you’re doing a project, you do it hoping people will like it but you actually never know if it’s going to be a hit or flop because there is no formula for it.” That said, he sees Udaari as the turning point of his career. “When I worked with such brilliant actors by my side, I learned a lot.”

The latest drama we saw him in was Prem Gali which is another project that is very special to him. “The script was close to me. The family values, the neighbourhood, everything … I really liked the concept. It had social messages that are very important right now. I think it was brilliantly written and above all I had such brilliant actors by my side. Each one of them was a treat to watch. So I learned a lot. Prem Gali was one of the best experiences I had.”

He hopes to keep entertaining his fans with even better performances in the future. Among his upcoming ventures is the webseries Ruswai that is being directed by Wajahat Rauf and also stars Hania Amir. And then there is the film, Tich Button. “Tich Button is a darling project. It’s the first project by our production house Shooting Star Studio. It was tough being a producer for the first time, and then acting in it while also being a producer was a tough job too. But I loved every bit of it and worked really hard. Me, Urwa [Hocane], Qasim [Ali Mureed], we all worked really, really hard. The film stars me alongside Iman Ali, Feroze Khan, and Sonya Hussain. The ensemble cast also includes Sohail Ahmed and Qavi Khan sahib. Faiza Iftiqhar wrote it.” The release of the film has unfortunately been delayed by the ongoing pandemic but Farhan is eager for the movie to be unveiled. “I have a very good feeling about it. InshaAllah people will like it. It was a very good experience and it was also very, very, very challenging. We can’t wait to share it with our audience.”

The aforementioned Urwa is, of course, Farhan’s lovely significant other. Their high profile romance has been keeping gossip columnist busy for the better part of a decade. Lately, however, there has been much speculation about their marriage and rumours have been swirling about a supposed split. That’s a topic Farhan is not inclined to discuss. Speak to him about a lack of privacy though and you quickly realize he has made his peace with it. “The only downside of fame is that there is no private life,” he says. “People can comment on your life, people can comment on whatever you do.” But he understands where that interest is coming from. “At the end of the day that’s what you work for actually. When people love you, they like you so much that they think they have the right to comment on anything you do in your personal life too, because it’s just not about your talent anymore; it’s you as a personality. I think that’s the price you have to pay and honestly I learned this a long time ago, and I live with it. I don’t mind. I know when to close my ears and I usually don’t get affected by that. What I know is that whatever we do is because of the love of the fans and the love we want to get, and all the attention they give us all the time is worth it.”

If he had a do-over, is there anything he would have done or handled differently? “Professionally I don’t know; I don’t think so. Personally, maybe, yeah,” he says before pausing and reconsidering. “Well, I actually don’t believe in regretting something. What you do right is your success. What you do wrong is a success because you learn from it. So I don’t think I would redo anything in my life [altogether], but maybe something here and there.”

Farhan has certainly come a long way from the youngster in our yearbook who was willing to trade his four years at FAST-NU for a Cornetto. He has clearly made the most of the chances luck has given him, and is disarmingly candid about the fact that he still has a ways to go. “I believe I still have to do my best,” he says. “The best is yet to come. I’ll keep improving and I hope that people will like me in the future too.”

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 30th May, 2021 *

Recap: April 2021

roundup

Nomadland continued dominating the award season; Taylor Swift released the rerecording of Fearless; and more international news from the month of April

🎥

- Nomadland won the Best Film trophy at every award ceremony that was held in the known universe.

- Production of the second Downton Abbey film commenced. The sequel will be out in time for Christmas because something good finally has to happen this year, right? RIGHT?!!

- The release of the Top Gun sequel was delayed for the 9271835th time.

- Nia Vardalos confirmed that a third My Big Fat Greek Wedding film is in the works, leaving us all with the question: there was a second My Big Fat Greek Wedding film?!

- There is going to be a fifth Indiana Jones movie? Meh.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has joined the cast of the fifth Indiana Jones movie? Ok, now we’re listening…

📺

- More anachronistic corsets and striking sideburns are coming your way. Star Regé-Jean Page may be out but the show’s creator Chris Van Dusen confirmed that Bridgerton has been renewed for a third and fourth season, even before the unveiling of its sophomore outing.

- Apparently it takes three years to make a dozen or so episodes of Stranger Things. Fans were not pleased when Finn Wolfhard revealed that we will have to wait till next year for our reunion with the residents of Hawkins. The previous season was released two years ago; that’s 24 in dog years, which is pretty much how long it feels in human years as well.

- The MacGyver reboot was cancelled. It ran for five seasons, so basically five seasons longer than it should have.

- Dominic Purcell was either angry or upset or joking or trolling the press as he announced his departure from DC's Legends of Tomorrow.

- Hank Azaria, who voiced Indian character Apu on The Simpsons for decades before stepping away from the role earlier this year, apologized for reinforcing negative South Asian stereotypes.

- Just when we thought we were finally getting rid of them, Kim Kardashian revealed that her famous family will now have a new show on Hulu that will premiere after Keeping Up with the Kardashians ends. Woe is us.

- There was drama in the world of beauty pageants. Mrs. Ireland, Kate Schneider, was appointed Mrs. World 2020 after reigning titleholder, Caroline Jurie from Sri Lanka, took the crown off the head of the 2021 Mrs. Sri Lanka World winner, Pushpika De Silva, claiming she was divorced and ineligible to win, leaving us appalled by the fact that beauty pageants are still a thing.

🎶

- Following her Scooter Braun masters drama, Taylor Swift released the rerecording of her 2008 album Fearless. Swifties rejoiced, because, being fans of Swift’s music, they clearly like listening to slightly different versions of the same song over and over again anyway.

- Following the release of a YouTube documentary that covered, among other topics, her near-fatal overdose in 2018, Demi Lovato unveiled her first album in four years, Dancing with the Devil... The Art of Starting Over. She then got into a feud with … a froyo shop (!) because … they sell options catering to dietary restrictions … which somehow triggered the singer who has battled an eating disorder.

- The Wallflowers, Twenty One Pilots, The Black Keys, and Steps all announced new albums.

🌟

- Rapper DMX died at the age of 50 after reportedly suffering an overdose that resulted in a heart attack.

- We also lost the lovely Helen McCrory, who died of cancer at age 52.

- Prince Philip, the longest serving consort in British history, passed away at age 99. The fallout from Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah, meanwhile, continued, although the problematic prince did reunite with his family for the funeral of his grandfather.

- Ashley Cain’s eight month old baby daughter Azaylia’s battle with terminal leukaemia broke everyone’s heart.

- Harvey Weinstein, currently incarcerated in New York, was indicted on sexual assault charges in California.

- The downfall of Armie Hammer continued. After dropping out of pretty much all his upcoming film projects, the actor – who is under investigation for sexual assault – will now no longer star in the Broadway play The Minutes.

- After trying to squash breakup rumours weeks earlier, J.Lo and A-Rod changed their minds and broke up. 

- Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song had a baby … is a sentence guaranteed to instantly make you feel old.

- Dwayne Johnson might run for U.S. President. Matthew McConaughey might run for governor of Texas. Caitlyn Jenner might run for governor of California. 

The rest of us might run away to another planet because this one is just getting ridiculous at this point.

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News International - 25th April, 2021 *

In the picture: Love and Monsters

movie review

With its amusing tone and touching relationships, Love and Monsters makes for fun viewing

Love and Monsters

Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Dan Ewing, Michael Rooker, and Ariana Greenblatt

Directed by: Michael Matthews

Had the coronavirus pandemic not thrown a spanner in the works, we would have had the chance to watch Love and Monsters in cinemas earlier this year. But instead of its intended big screen release, the film has now arrived for streaming on significantly smaller screens via Netflix. 

Seeing how impressive the film looks visually might leave you wishing you were watching it in a movie theatre instead.

The dystopian comedy adventure takes us to a post-apocalyptic world where giant mutated creepy crawlies – from cockroaches and spiders to crabs and frogs – have taken over the planet, sending the decimated human population into hiding. Among the survivors is Joel (Dylan O’Brien), a young man who has spent the last seven years living in an underground bunker with a colony of people, all of whom have paired up. All, that is, except him.

The lovelorn Joel – who has an unfortunate habit of freezing when faced with danger – finally decides he must venture out of the safety of the bunker and go on a quest in the hopes of reuniting with his pre-apocalypse girlfriend, Aimee (Jessica Henwick).

His journey is, of course, riddled with peril. But he fortunately finds quite a bit of help along the way as he encounters a plucky dog named Boy (played primarily by the wonderful Australian Kelpie Hero), a damaged Mav1s robot (voiced by Melanie Zanetti), and two fellow travellers, survival expert Clyde (Michael Rooker) and his young sidekick Minnow (Ariana Greenblatt).

It’s in his relationships with those who cross his path that the film truly excels. The premise isn’t exactly fresh and the route the movie takes is fairly predictable, but the writers make sure that you stay invested in the adventure through the strength of the relationships and interactions. Joel and Boy make wonderful companions. Minnow is endearing, and, surprisingly, so is Mav1s; you know a movie is doing something right when even a robot manages to elicit emotions from the audience.

The timing of its release – an apocalypse movie in the middle of a pandemic, one that suggests we should venture out of our bunkers? – may not be perfect, but with its impressive world-building and delightful Zombieland-like vibes, Love and Monsters makes for fun, entertaining viewing. Here’s hoping that by the time the inevitable sequel arrives (they’ve built a sturdy base, now they need more inventive stories), the circumstances will be more favourable and we’ll be able to watch it in all its visual glory on the big screen.

Rating: 3 out of 5

- By Sameen Amer

Instep, The News on Sunday - 25th April, 2021 *

Aria - Iran's Doctor Zhivago?

book review

Book: Aria

Author: Nazanine Hozar

Reach for just about any book on your shelf and you will find a couple of enthusiastic blurbs on its cover. Each line of praise will try its best to draw you towards the novel, each recommendation raising your expectations of what you are about to read. And when that endorsement comes from an author as well-known as Margaret Atwood, who compares the book to a tome as celebrated as Doctor Zhivago, you are bound to think that what you have in your hands is the next literary classic.

It is with these high expectations that we are introduced to Aria, Iranian-Canadian writer Nazanine Hozar’s debut novel and, as per Atwood, “a Doctor Zhivago of Iran.”

True to the comparison, the novel attempts to deliver a sweeping drama set against the backdrop of political turmoil, as the Iranian revolution collides with a young girl’s life. But the result, ultimately, isn’t quite as riveting as you might hope.

Spanning nearly three decades, Aria opens in the early 1950s in a turbulent Tehran and ends in the early 1980s, soon after the downfall of the last Shah of Iran and the instatement of Ayatollah Khomeini as the country’s Supreme Leader. At the centre of the tale is the titular protagonist, who experiences several trials and tribulations through the various stages of her life, just as the winds of change are sweeping her country.

The book is divided into four main parts, the first three of which are named after her three maternal figures — “a mother who left her, a mother who beat her, and a mother who loved her but couldn’t say so” — while the last reflects Aria’s own journey of motherhood (although none of the sections fully focuses on the character it is named after).

As the novel begins, a newborn infant is abandoned in an alleyway, from where she is rescued by a kind army driver, Behrouz, who names her Aria, “after all the world’s pains and all the world’s loves.” Not pleased with her husband’s decision to adopt a discarded, blue-eyed, red-haired baby, Behrouz’s wife, Zahra, treats the child cruelly, raising her with abuse and neglect.

A series of events eventually lead Aria to her next surrogate mother, the affluent Fereshteh, who provides the girl with a significantly better home and upbringing, but remains emotionally distant. Behrouz and Fereshteh soon start sending the young girl to help out the impoverished family of a woman who, unbeknownst to Aria, is her birth mother, Mehri.

Her parents aren’t the only source of complications in her life. Drama follows Aria wherever she goes. Her friendships — from her childhood pal Kamran, to schoolmates Mitra and Hamlet — all lead to misfortune in one way or another. And then, of course, there is the socio-political turmoil shadowing every turn of the story, as a revolution alters the life of every character in the tale.

Hozar displays a talent for bringing a complex setting to vivid life, and her ability to create unique, fascinating characters shines throughout the novel. Many interesting individuals appear in the proceedings, such as Aria’s friend Kamran — who makes beaded bracelets for her — or Kamran’s father, Kazem, who injures and infects his hand, but continues working as a bricklayer. Or Rameen, a captain in the army who forms an entanglement with Behrouz. But these characters don’t always get the satisfying arcs they deserve. Instead, they often just disappear till the story needs them again.

It is peculiar that, despite all the melodrama constantly surrounding her, somehow Aria is not the most intriguing character in her own book. Far from it. You get the feeling that someone such as, say, Rameen, has a much more interesting story to tell, if only Hozar would let him tell it.

The novel’s scope, perhaps, is a little too ambitious. The author populates her yarn with too many characters and weaves a tapestry that doesn’t quite cohere. Pacing issues plague the narrative, as the story goes from a laconic build-up to a rushed wrap-up. Some incidents are described in more detail than seems necessary, while others don’t get the space they require. Plus, the dry, distant prose makes it hard to stay absorbed in the events or really connect with the strong, but flawed, protagonist.

It also doesn’t help that, all too often, the most important development in the book relies on contrived coincidences (especially towards the jarring end) and the characters behave in ways that don’t seem entirely credible.

Where Hozar excels, though, is in creating a fascinating portrait of a complex nation — one inhabited by Muslims and Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians — on the precipice of change, her vivid descriptions relaying the stark realities of a divided region and poor populace. You will, however, need prior knowledge of the historical developments and figures to fully understand the depth and breadth of the various settings and situations.

All in all, Aria may not be an instant classic, but it certainly has its merits. The story would have benefited from some fine-tuning and the novel could have used some editing, but it is still likely to please readers who enjoy slow-paced, character-driven family sagas and are both knowledgeable about, and intrigued by, Iran’s culture and history.

- By Sameen Amer

Books & Authors, Dawn - 11th April, 2021 *