LAHORE, JUL 6: Lahoris have responded well to the film Awarapan that was screened at three cinema halls in the city on Friday.

Crowds of families, students and others thronged Plaza Cinema, Sozo World and Empire Cinema to watch the film produced jointly by Indian and Pakistani producers.

Tasadaq Hussain, Plaza Cinema booking manger, told Daily Times that his hall had been totally booked in advance. He said it was decided during a meeting that the film would be screened thrice every day and that the first show would be for the general public and no booking would be entertained.

He said the decision was taken because people had booked seats in advance and the general public would not have the opportunity to watch the film. He said Plaza Cinema would charge the same rate for tickets as Pakistani films.

The city has taken great interest in Awarapan; much more than it did in Taj Mahal and Mughal-e-Azam.

Umer Khan from Defense told Daily Times that he had brought his family to Plaza Cinema because he liked the ambiance and the whole aura behind it. Senior citizen Ismail said he has bought the tickets and was waiting for the first show. Jehanzeb Baig, Film Exhibitors Association chairman, said Awarapan had made history because it had been screened in 22 other cities of Pakistan. He said the West had responded well to the film and now people in Pakistan would have the opportunity to watch it.

Sohail Khan, one of Awarapan’s producers, said he had co-produced the film with Mahesh Bhatt. He said Awarapan was an effort to revive the Pakistani film industry. He also said he would try to co-produce more films with Indians by the end of the year.

Qaisar Sanaullah, Cinema Management Association of Pakistan chairman, said Awarapan was a relief for people associated to the Pakistani cinema industry. He said that as the film industry was on the verge of collapse and cinemas were about to be closed, such films would at least revive the people’s interest in cinemas.

He said many cinemas had been converted into theatres and that it was the need of the hour to co-produce films with other countries to revive the Pakistani film industry. Qaisar said that because of the screening of Awarapan, cinemagoers would develop a taste for good films and the Pakistani film industry would be compelled to produce better films, which would also give impetus to the cinema industry.

Warning, spoiler: Awarapan tells the story of Shivam (Emraan Hashmi), the henchman of a Hong Kong-based gangster Mallik (Ashutosh Rana). Mallik gives Shivam a job of keeping an eye on his mistress Reema (Mrinalini Sharma), a Pakistani girl who was trafficked and sold to Mallik in the flesh trade. Reema’s only dream is freedom.

Meeting with Reema only brings back memories of Shivam’s past.

The story goes into flashback. Shivam, a criminal, meets Aaliya (Shriya Saran) in a chance encounter and is stirred by her beauty, simplicity and good nature. The criminal in Shivam begins to get reformed in Aaliya’s company. But then, one day, Aaliya’s father catches them. What follows devastates Shivam’s life.

Back to the present, Shivam is haunted by demons from his past. He lives an aimless existence, doing his job for his boss Mallik.

While keeping a close watch on Reema, he discovers that she has a lover. With Reema’s secret revealed, Shivam’s boss orders him to kill her. For the first time the trigger-happy assassin goes weak within to pull the gun on the innocent girl who hopes to live a free life. The Awarapan of the protagonist ends. His conscience is woken. What follows is Shivam’s rebellion against the oppressor. That is his way of inner redemption.

(Daily Times)