Pakistani cinemagoers were treated to a very different diet of; not an action-packed blockbuster; an ISPR-financed ‘war of terror’ movie or a romantic thriller. Umroo Ayyar was produced and directed by previously unknown names in the film industry; the cast picked up primarily from the TV list and no theme song as such to act as a teaser; proved to be a breath of fresh air as well as a potent food for thought.
The voice-over before the movie starts gives the viewer a peek into what is in store for them for the next two hours. The voice-over defines the ‘Ayyar’ as the elite intellectual minds of the society; who were always around to guide the polity, military, judiciary as well as the society towards the desirable course of history. The Ayyar was not a supra establishment; one might like to confuse them to be. They were the minds who were close to the corridors of power and were available for conceptual or intellectual intervention.
A probe into the old classics; “Dastan Amir Hamza” and “Tilism Hoshruba”, reveals the character of Umroo Ayyar; whose exploits, in both the classics are primarily of intelligence and military nature were instrumental in successive victories gained by the character Amir Hamza in the former classic; and were vital for the destruction of the Tilism in the latter classic.
However, the takeaway as visualized by the production team weaves around the nose diving of the society as well as the world, as the team of “Ayyar” was not sought after. Rather the narrative guides the viewer that due to the concentration of power, money, military power and resources in the hand of the mafia and unscrupulous people, the Ayyar brigade, as the narrative suggests has to go underground.
The narrative that for the last 100 years or the role of this intelligentsia has waned in the world and the society makes a very pointed reference to the world and the state we are living in. Likewise, the discovery by the now underground Ayyar cadre of the son of the fallen comrade in an elite university of the country very suggestively points out to the reference of that the world around the viewer is referred to. Similarly, the people who want to kill the hero are shown to be possessed when attacking him; equates the original evil Tilism of the classic with the fifth-generation brain washing of the current era.
The movie itself takes an unexpected trajectory where the importance of one self, the power of knowledge is quantified in a number of symbolic paradigms created by the script writer. The role of evil; best personified and acted by Laqqa played by a scion of a literary family of Lahore; Faran Tahir is shown to be influencing the minds, even among the Ayyar cadre; points out to the promotion of fifth generation warfare concepts by the deep states around the world. To put it more clearly, planting doubts in the minds of Ayyar cadre acts as a metaphor of media usage by the power structures around the world for misleading the public as well as getting the desired results as planned.
How much the crowd seems to have got the message remains to be assessed, however, the graduation of Pakistani cinema to an intellectually metaphoric art form is a pleasant and surprise development. Usually, the Pakistani cinema has been subject to an onslaught of fifth generation prescriptions as desired by the established order.
Any deviation has been usually met with harsh crackdown by the Censor Boards or the government itself. Ashar Azeem 2016 movie Maalik, Jamil Dehalvi 1977 movie Blood of Husain; the former taking a peek into the corridors of power and later; making a veiled reference to the 1977 coup by Zia. And there are many other movies which faced trouble due the increasingly intolerant social norms of the society.
In that context; the production team taken a very calculated step in presenting the age-old theme of good versus evil in a more innovative and intellectual way. The narrative as earlier said gives the semblance of a commentary on the state and society itself. Here the team allows the minds liberty to either treat the ‘Ayyar’ as an independent technocrat or that same Ayyar can be equated to the rule of learned; a system of governance of society, polity and economy; where highly intellectual minds give the necessary guidance to the populace.
However, despite a generally regimented system of governance in place, the art form gives no legitimacy to a political system based on technocrats alone. Rather it very courageously questions the reasons, why the ‘Ayyar’ has been excluded from the decision making.
The themes presented are devoid of any marked religious or social undertones, which might make one suspect of the movie, being a political agenda. It is not like that. The intellectual drain the narrative says which is in place for the last 100 years or so can guide the thinking brains of the need to have a fresh look at the things.
Here one may point out to the intellectual characters like Bahlol Danna or Bahlol the intelligent; whose presence during the Abbasid despotism in Baghdad is referred to as an intelligent swipe on how the societies and polities were managed by the leaders of the society during these days. That swipe by these figures was basically a cultural resistance to what dislocation of priorities was done by the rulers or the much-dreaded establishment. The character apparently behaving like a mystic or a clergyman used to say things, which would make the people at the top speechless, while at the same time enrich the common man perception. These persons were not among the people of the durbar or the royal court, rather were the men of the street; ready to impart wisdom as and when required.
Infact, people like him could be termed as the ‘Ayyar’ of their time; though out of favor and obviously not so effective to control the decision-making process. Coming back to the Pakistani context, the identification of movie as a vehicle for the food for thought has been reinforced by that unique art form.
Usually, movie producers go for very direct messages, which for reasons best understood land the directors in troubled waters. The fast-changing cultural landscape of Pakistan which is signified by continued surveillance like any dictatorship has inspired intellectual minds to communicate in a more subtle manner.
Conclusively, despite the fact that such movies are not common product in our cineplexes, the reception to the art form reinforces the hope that people do read between the lines and can relate to the realities with the concept.
