We’ve been harping on and on for a good part of a decade on the never ending ‘revival of the Pakistani film industry’. That this revival stage never seemed to end made all of us wonder if it had ever begun in the first place.
Cake,right here, is that. Everything before it Khuda Ke Liye, Bol, Waar, Moor, Manto and others from the same bracket have indeed left their mark, but there’s one movie to truly signal the – let’s not call it revival – progress of Pakistani cinema.
And considering that we’ve run out of cliches to often egg numerous movies on when they didn’t quite merit it, or indeed the industry as a whole, there is no better way to describe Cake’s splendour than another cliche: keep it simple, stupid!
Cake is a simple story that brings together all the arsenal of filmmaking that has traditionally eluded Pakistani films
Cake is a simple story that brings together all the arsenal of filmmaking that has traditionally eluded Pakistani films – even the very best ones that have been offered in recent years
It is a storyline that virtually every family in the country would be able to relate to, even those that might not be close to the economic demographic of the elite showcased in the movie. For, we’re all a part of the same emotional demographic when it comes to family and emotional relations.
Zareen (Aamina Sheikh), the middle sibling among three, lives in Karachi with her two elderly parents (Mohammed Ahmed and Bee Rao Rana Zafar) plagued with varying health issues that come naturally at their age. The father has a cardiac arrest, which prompts Zara (Sanam Saeed) the youngest of the three, struggling with a broken marriage, to return from London.
A still from the trailer
Romeo (Adnan Malik) also joins the household to serve as the father’s nurse, with his family and himself having served them in the past as well. Zain (Faris Khalid), the eldest, who lives in New York with wife and son is asked by Zareen to not come initially. Eventually when the mother falls critically ill, he too along with his family returns to Karachi, with the family deciding to go to their village to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of their parents’ marriage, even as the mother’s health is aggravating.
There are several subplots linked to the story which at the heart has this family – which, like all families, is a web of yearn and resentments, especially among those that are divided between countries and continents.
Not only does Asim Abbasi’s direction and writing shine in his debut, the cast absolutely nails everything – from suppressed emotions to sudden outbursts and from simple everyday gestures to challenging expressions – to the tee.
Aamina Sheikh is the absolute star of this movie, but Sanam Saeed isn’t far behind, in a movie where the sister bond takes over as the protagonist relationship amidst the many intrinsically woven together in the family.
The relationship showed between the parents is priceless and perhaps that many mightn’t be able to relate to, unfortunately considering how it beautifully unravels throughout the movie.
The film stars Sanam Saeed, Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Malik
How subtlety is the steel on which this magnificent superstructure is constructed is depicted by the film’s portrayal of women. They’re strong, independent, living embodiment of women’s empowerment and feminism, without the film ever needing to make banners to highlight any of it.
And guess what? The background score of the film is absolutely top-drawer as well, meaning that virtually no stone was left unturned, making the film appear a cakewalk for filmmakers, which when you do – and you should, if you haven’t already – watch the movie, you’ll realise isn’t the case at all.
You’ll want a piece of this cake, even if you’ve never watched a film in your entire life, let alone the fact that if you’ve like many of us been making your ‘contributions’ to Pakistani cinema, when you haven’t really believed in it.
Cake will bring back your faith in the local film industry, leaving you wanting more, and hopefully giving the peers a blueprint on how there are light years between not trying at all, and trying too hard – that have been crying out to be filled for a decade.
