Recently released Pakistani film Betabiyan is an effort to revive Lollywood style of cinema with advance features and techniques.
Directed by Abdul Majid Khan and written by Wasif Burney, the film stars Babar Ali, Hiba Ali, Saima Baloch and Syed Ariz in lead roles. The veteran Javed Sheikh, Saba Hameed and Sangeeta are also present in important roles.
The story of Betabiyan revolves around a young girl named Nida (Saima Baloch) and her father Hasan (Babar Ali). Nida is brought up by his father after her mother Rida (Saima Baloch double) died while giving birth to her daughter. The only child in the family of a very influential class, Nida got all the luxuries of life but at the same time was leaned to high moral standards from her father. Hasan is also over protective of Nida in trying to fill the gap of a mother in his child’s life. Some of this gap is somehow bridged by Hasan’s college friend Niggy (Hiba Ali), who helped him a lot in bringing up Nida, and eventually becomes very close to her. Another parallel story of film is the one sided love of Niggy for Hasan from her college, which did not end even after Hasan chose to marry their common friend Rida. Time passes and Nida falls in love with his class mate Zain (Syed Arez). The story unfolds in second half that how the both young lovers get each other and Niggy confesses her affections to Hasan. It is quite an intriguing story with some loopholes at places.
It is first film of Lollywood star of 90s Babar Ali in lead role after the gap of almost eight years, in which he is also set to be debuted on screens of multiplexes all over the country. Rest of the lead cast comprises of new comers. Saima Baloch seems a promising addition in industry with her distinct looks and soft accent. She has flair of art of dancing as well which can be seen in some shots of films. Syed Arez though adorns his charming looks still has a room of improvement in appearance and acting skills. Hiba Ali remained constant in her performance throughout the film while Babar Ali proved that he is still the star with his natural talent of acting.
The most notable and worth mentioning thing of Betabiyan is its music. The film has eight songs, all composed by Ahsan Bari Khan. The lyrics are written by Sabir Zafar and writer of film Wasif Burney, to which veterans Shafqat Amanat Ali, Humaira Channa, Jawed Bashir, Shiraz Uppal, Sara Raza Khan and Sara Hyder gave their voices. Most of the songs are filmed on younger couple of the film, while some flashback glimpses were shot on Babar Ali and Hiba Ali.
The idea of Betabiyan is a bit deifferent but the treatment of the storyline could be more engaging. Talking about direction, the framing and cinematography looks quite professional except some scenes in the end which were blur. Produced under Prodigy Art Studios, Betabiyan has a distinct identity because of its 90s style of family drama, in the new wave of Pakistani cinema.
