Review of “Dum Mastam”: A promising Eid film that progressively loses its allure

The film abandons the solitary most significant conflict in its ambitious endeavour to juggle several conflicts.

KARACHI: The late author and screenwriter Raymond Chandler famously remarked, “A good tale cannot be conceived; it must be distilled,” and Dum Mastam came dangerously near to becoming a lesson in how not to weave a storyline together.

The Imran Ashraf and Amar Khan starrer gets off in the artistic streets of Lahore, characterised by the urge to display all of its colours and characteristics at the same time. The producers made a wise choice by strategically placing Imran and Amar’s characters at their most impassioned in a city that inspires the same feelings, before bringing them to Karachi after they hit rock bottom to assist them rebuild. Dum Mastam is well-planned, especially with the dance it features, until it falls apart.

Bao, portrayed by Imran, is a singer and a love loser who is borderline infatuated with Alia, played by Amar, a dancer with various smart comebacks and obsessions of her own. He tells a joke, she laughs, he flirts, she laughs even more. Bao rides his bike to and from Alia’s college with his guitar slung over his shoulder and his heart on his sleeve, both unattended. Alia, on the other hand, is overly concerned with advancing her profession. She has huge goals despite coming from a tiny family. And the greater her goals get, the more she resents being forced to marry someone who doesn’t share them.