“Khuda Kay Liye (In the Name of God) is the revival of Pakistani cinemas and film industry”

In the Name of God (Kuda Ke Liay) is the first film written, directed and produced by Shoaib Mansoor. Shoaib Mansoor is a well known personality of Pakistani showbiz industry. There is list of successful drama serials in his credit. Sunehray Din (Golden Days) and Alpha Bravo Charlie are among his popular creations that took the nation by storm. In his new flick he once again didn’t let down his fans. In the Name of God is said to act as a milestone in the revival of Pakistani cinemas.

Review

In the Name of God depicts the true picture of present day Muslim youth and their problems. This is really a difficult subject and very hard to portrait. Furthermore there are lots of religious elements that don’t like such movies. The plot revolves around two brothers, Mansoor (Shan) and Sarmad(Fawad), who are both musicians. One day all of a sudden Sarmad quits music due to high involvement with Molana Taheri, who convinces Sarmad that music is prohibited (haram) in Islam. Sarmad also tries to persuade his elder brother that he should leave this profession, but he is unable to convince him due to his strong logical reasoning.

The story switches from Lahore to London, from Waziristan to Chicago. Shoaib Mansoor has a strong grip on whole plot and he does not leave any stones un turned. All the human sentiments are captured perfectly. As the story gains pace Mansoor goes to Chicago for studying music, meanwhile their cousin Mary comes to Lahore from London. She wants to marry a Christian guy, but her father is against this and wants to marry her to a Muslim family. Finally he agrees and promises her that he will allow her to marry after returning from the trip. It’s thought provoking point that as Mary’s father live in London without marry an English woman but when his daughter want to marry an English man he dislike this because then his Religon is in danger.

In USA, Mansoor is studying music. He falls in love with his class mate Jenny (Austin Sawyer). He is reluctant to marry her because he thinks that it will create problems in future. At climax of the movie 9/11 takes place. Molana Taheri persuades Sarmad for Jihad (The Holy War) in Afghanistan. He now thinks that Jehad will take him to paradise at the cost of killing his fellow Muslims, the Northern Alliance.

Historical background: After 9/11, the Northern Alliance started working in collaboration with US Army to overthrow Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda was once sponsored by US government to counter Russia

In USA Mansoor is captured by the FBI on account of having links with the Al-Qaeda, and being a Pakistani Muslim. FBI tortures and abuses him while in custody.

In the concluding part of the movie Naseeruddin Shah (Molana Wali) makes his appearance. Wali is a moderate Islamic scholar. Plenty of impressive dialogues here in this session and you feel a part of this movie while watching this. An impressive dialogue is “There is beard in religion, not religion in beard.” Against Wali’s reasoning Molana Taheri and his disciples are sitting ducks.

Comments

Important aspect of this movies is that it is not like traditional indo-pak films. Its end is not like other films. It raises several questions and the viewer starts thinking about them. In nutshell the movie is daring attempt by Shoaib Mansoor and it is one hell of a movie. The movie is mostly slow paced and if you are looking for hard core action than this movie is not for you. If you liked Crash, then you would definitely love this flick. As both these movies depict the confusions that lead to serious results.

If we appreciate the work the director of the movie then we also don’t forget the cast of the movie. Especially I want to mention about Shaan, he done an excellent job in this movie his style, his hair cut, every thing is superb. Now I can say that Shaan is a wonderful actor but our industry is not using him properly. Secondly Fawad Afzal and Iman Ali make debut in this film. Iman Ali looks gorgeous in this film and when you hear her British accent then you discover the fullness of her effort in this movie.

Rasheed Naz is name which really impresses the audience. A very talented actor played the role of Molana Taheri in this film. Rasheed Naz is in showbiz field for 37 years but he also confesses that this is the most wonderful character of his whole career. In the end none other then Bollywood king Naseeruddin Shah, he make a guest appearance in the film but I admit he steels the show. His dialogue delivery is so natural and real that you forget every thing and just get involved in his character. Music of the movie is impressive and no dance item, only situational music is present in this movie.

The version released in Pakistan contains offensive language in some scenes. Depending on the region in which it is released, some content may or may not be censored. if you are taking your kids along, you have to keep in mind the age group. The film has been released in Pakistan, Dubai, England, India and USA.

Cast and Crew

Written and Directed by

Shoaib Mansoor

Cast

• Shaan as Mansoor
• Fawad Khan as Sarmad
• Iman Ali as Marie
• Naseer Uddin Shah as Molana Wali
• Rasheed Naz as Molana Taheri
• Austin Marie Sayre As Janie

Music

Rohail Hayat

Vocals

• Ahmad Jahanzeb
• Farah Zala
• Zara Madani
• Shuja Haider
• Saeen Zahoor
• Faiza Mujahid
• Khawar Jawad
• Hadiqa Kiyani
• Ammar Hassan

Lyrics

• Shoaib Mansoor
• Faiza Mujahid
• Baba Bulley Shah