Paray Hut Four Weddings and a Funeral

90’s was the decade of romcoms in Hollywood. Many famous and classic romantic comedies were made in the 90’s. Hugh Grant was the male Julia Roberts of that decade. Two of his standout movies from the 90’s were Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral. This piece is about the latter one because I have just returned after watching Paray hut love which looks to be based on the movie. The loose girlfriend now wife scene or feminine friend character of Ahmad Ali Butt looks to be extracted directly from the movie and the overall story also looks to be loosely based on the 90’s movie. The writer has only indigenized the original script, which is a norm when it comes to such adaptations. However, what pained me was that the makers did not even bother to mention the original movie or thank the makers of the original movie. Interestingly, you see a poster of Notting Hill in Shahryar’s bedroom but no mention of Four Weddings and a funeral was found anywhere in the movie. So, if you haven’t watched the original one you cannot relate the two movies, which is out rightly creative dishonesty as due credit should have been given to the original makers and movie. It is something that is ethical and a right of an artiste. While debating this, I am not saying that remaking a movie is bad or wrong; my plea is simple that the due procedure should be followed. A mere mention of it in the film poster would have sufficed and due credit should have been given to the deserving.   

I know our industry is in a rebuilding phase. It is growing and mind you it is improving but let us just not become Bollywood. Their penchant for ripping apart classic Hollywood movies is not hidden. All of us in the absence of our own cinema grew up watching Indian movies and we all know that nearly all of them use to be a “charba” of Hollywood movies, at times the movie use to be a cross over between two to three movies. Those films were an insult to the original work. Above that they never acknowledged the original. Other than Kaantay no other movie can be named here that has done any justice to the original movie. This makes it rather more painful as we are following someone else’s footsteps rather than finding our own path.

The thing is Paray Hut love does not fail Four Weddings and a funeral. In fact, it is a perfect ode to the Hugh Grant classic. Cinematography is excellent. The depiction of Parsi community is applaudable and the best part is that the writer did it without forcing it into the script. In a way film teaches the viewer about our diversity which is a good thing and should be repeated and given due consideration in the future as well. Music is great. Acting is digestible. Ahmad Ali Butt and Zara shine but had very little to play with. Zara could be a discovery as an actress if given the right opportunities. She is being underused as an actress.  I read in one of the reviews of the movie that Hina Dilpazeer should come out of her Momo mould but frankly every time she was on the screen she was able to draw a smile if not laugh. It is important to understand that overdoing something or doing it right again and again are two different things. The boys sitting next to me really enjoyed the movie. Watching them was a scene in itself. I was delighted to see that our cinema is finally winning some honest fans but it is equally important that our artistes and filmmakers should also be honest to them.