Was it a movie? Well, many of us think so. Then let's talk about it. Metaphors or symbols are used in a film to enhance the thematic value of the story, it is not in any way used to guess what the filmmakers are trying to tell us. The message the director as well writer of the film Faisal Qureshi is trying to convey to us is that this country is ruined by politicians and we people will be going to take revenge by looting a bank supposedly where these politicians have dumped the ill rotten money from the public. Stupidity at large, isn't it?
The problem with writers in our industry is obvious. They try to use similar techniques being experienced in tv dramas and hope they will get away with it as they get away in dramas. The film is altogether a different scenario. It has its own bones, structure, story, theme, and flow.
In the film Money Back Guarantee," you have none. The star-studded film has no cinematic value to offer. It starts with a long boring sequence of two unemployed friends, doing nothing except spitting uselessly on-the-nose bad dialogues hoping to reflect laughter out of it. Anyhow, the desire is clear. They need to rob a bank to take the money back that they think the politicians have deprived them of. Is it a metaphor? An allegory? I can't figure it out. So it must be a plot. Ok? Let's then stick with the plot which critics might think would be an action-packed situational plot film where an amateur team of six unemployed people would struggle to rob a bank which may lead to circumstances that would then satisfy the theme of the story. But the writer didn't know what he is trying to do or force us to think the way he thought about it.
The plot has no coherence and it lacked emotional as well as structural wit. These amateur thieves come from different ethnic backgrounds and in doing so they over-acted almost everywhere. Who these people are? We don't know much about them. Why we must care about them? Who are they? Why they are stealing a bank? Yeah, the full flowery dialogues hint to us, one among them is frustrated about the shortage of gas supply, one guy is short of water supply, and the Pathan guy is after an intangible ego thing. The muhajir guy wants a white-collar job and he is struggling to get one and so on. How it justifies stealing a bank and how that looted money would fulfill their individual desires. The only answer the film emphasizes over and over is about the stocked money of the politicians deemed to have looted indirectly from the public. It's just a foolish approach and offers no reasonably strong link with their desires.
Then you have another plot going in the bank. There are presidential elections going on and two guys are running for it. Fawad Khan seems to be an obnoxious, witty fellow next to the current president of the bank Wasim Akram who is also running for the election and wants to elect for the next tenure too. Who is the hero in the film? There is no one. Then who's POV is prevailing so that we may judge his struggle and root with him? No one actually. How ridiculous! Wait where the plot is now? It is still there in a broken weathered-out team's flat where we left it in the beginning. Don't think about it as you have reached the interval already. Really? Yes, but the Christian Rambo gets a job as "choora" in the bank and Wasim Akram pays him extra to overhear what Fawad Khan is plotting against him. Is it another plot here? I don't know because it never dwells. But insulting a Christian and other ethnic community in the film is shameful especially when it has nothing to do with the story or plot of the film. The film also forces us to believe that we as a nation are also selfish and corrupt. That's why every member of the amateur team at one stage thinks of getting away with the looted money alone and settling his issue. Rambo accepts the bribe, the girl reveals her plan to the wrong team member, and so on.
Wait, the director of the film also emerges on several occasions which has nothing to do with the plot. It's awkward and wavered writing. He is trying to tell us that be aware of powerful people depicting him as a fish seller in one place, a mask seller or bleach seller in another, etc. Are we watching some commercials? Where is the story, where is the plot, and where is the film? Nothing. In fact, you might be seeing certain skits joined together trying to depict the 'Huge' in-depth themes of selfishness, 'safaid khoon', immorality, respect for rich in the society, and love for money. Nothing hit your heart because films are not written like this. Issues are not raised like this. Even the prostitute played by Ayesha Omer had issues with the politicians. Why? We have no clue. She from nowhere helps the amateur team to snub the politicians to fulfill their designs. Well, the double role of the team members somehow justifies initially when someone says "jesi awam ho gi wese hukmran hon ge" but fails in the next scene. How they are not caught by the security. And well you have Donal Trump in the film too. What the hell he has to do with the plot? The reason depicted is again useless and baseless.
At last, they manage to get the money but again another issue is raised. When they converted a whole truck of money into dollars, it just fits in a small traveling bag. The writer is trying to tell us he is a genius as he shifts from one point to another and shows us certain faces of our society but that's not how films are made. Better make a documentary and win an Oscar. Two dozen of the audience left the hall before the interval and the trend continued till the end. So the public didn't like it too. Even they get bored of this non-linear script, poor plot, wavered storyline, obvious theme questions, overacting, useless dialogues, and no promising goal at hand.
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