Trending on Netflix Pakistan: ‘Malang’, ‘The Lovebirds’

Despite a blanket ban on Indian films in Pakistan, our love affair with Bollywood films continues. Because every time a new Bolly film releases on Netflix, it instantly starts trending. And I don’t understand that because as of late, Bollywood films have become trashy, for lack of a better word. I can’t remember the last time I saw a decent Bollywood film and thought to myself, ‘Oh this was nice’.

Read more – ‘Extraction’ & ‘Love Aaj Kal’ are trending on Netflix Pakistan but not worth the watch

Nevertheless, this weekend, the top film on Netflix Pakistan is Aditya Roy Kapur and Disha Patani’s Malang – a story about love and revenge. Advait Thakur (Kapur) and Sara (Patani) are two free-spirited (read: aimless) souls who meet in Goa and instantly hit it off. They spend their days enjoying the beachside and their nights attending rave parties featuring a lot of drugs. From ecstasy to cocaine, the film has it all. When I initially saw the scenes involving drugs, I found them to be a bit strange because audiences across the world are calling filmmakers to be more careful about the message they give out to the world. However, the makers of Malang really don’t give a s*** about that because there are no warnings or disclaimers either.

Soon enough Disha gets pregnant, bringing an unexpected twist into the couple’s life. While Advait runs away, Sara chooses to stay in Goa and raise her child. However, Advait soon realises his mistake and comes back to Goa only to discover that a police officer Micheal (Kunal Khemu) is attempting to rape Sara, thinking she is someone else. After a lot of bloodshed and marr dhaar (fighting) – which also seems to be a central theme in the film – Advait is sent to jail while Sara is killed. The rest of the film follows Advait get revenge from the police officers who covered up their colleague’s crime and assisted Micheal in Sara’s murder.

Meanwhile, Anil Kapoor plays a crazy cop Agashte with a tragic past who only knows how to serve justice by killing criminals in encounters. Think the Bollywood version of Rao Anwar. Despite a solid performance, Kapoor’s character is poorly written and there is not much he can do with it except laugh creepily in an attempt to provide comic relief.

To be very honest, a lot of the scenes in Malang reminded me of Siddharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor’s Ek Villian. The plot was not original and the film had nothing new to offer in terms of content. But to ensure that his audiences leave the cinema halls satisfied and forget about the nonsense the rest of the film was, the film’s makers added a twist in the end to give that shock and thriller factor.

Malang has been directed by Mohit Suri of Aashiqui 2 fame, which means that the music of the film is definitely satisfactory. The songs are soulful and melodious and you will catch yourself humming them long after the film ends. In case you missed it, our very own Asim Azhar composed one of the songs Humraah, though it does not feature in his voice in the film.

Read more – Asim Azhar releases his Bollywood song ‘Humraah’

The only good thing the film had to offer was lots of eye candy and spectacular views of the beach. Aditya Roy Kapur has toned his abs to perfect and missed no opportunity to show them off. Add to that an incredibly good-looking face and that is probably what will get you through the almost three-hour-long film.

The Lovebirds

Similarly, The Lovebirds, starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani has nothing new to offer in terms of an original plot or storyline. However, it will keep you entertained throughout its 90-minute run-time.

Jibran (Nanjiani) and Leilani (Rae) are a couple, who are on the brink of a breakup when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. The two spend the night dodging the police and trying to find evidence to prove their innocence. Along the way they get into hilarious messes, which can get a little lame and cliched, but Rae and Nanjiani’s comic timing, charm and chemistry more than makeup for that. This is the first time I’ve seen either of their work and I thoroughly enjoyed their performance.

The film is a light, mindless comedy, something you can watch with your family or on Netflix Party with your friends. It’s easy, doesn’t require much thinking and offers that break from reality we so need in these testing times. If you’ve enjoyed watching comic capers like Date Night or Game Night, chances are that you will enjoy this film as well. You might even catch yourself laughing out loud at some points.