If there was a film worse than Rangreza it would be this year’s first release Parchi. The film that was supposed to blow your mind came out as a blow to your mind insated because nothing in it made sense. Had it been a nonsensical comedy, people would have loved it but it wanted to cater to different genres and came out as a film made for teenagers, those who laugh on toilet jokes and are clueless about their lives. Sadly, people who can afford to pay 700 rupees for a ticket know their lives’ direction and it would be better if they stay away from such films. Had the writer worked a little harder on the film, it might have validated the PR firm’s claim that the film would blow your mind; instead, it comes out as a big blow to the industry.

A lot could be written about the movie but it would be better if it wasn’t. It is a story of four cool-named individuals (Ali Rehman Khan, Usman Mukhtar, Ahmed Ali Akbar and Shafqat Khan) who do nothing yet live in a lavish apartment; seek help from a Robin Hood-type Madam character (Hareem Farooq) whose main weapon is slapping; one of them is so stupid that he can’t think straight but is a vet, wait... what! They get involved with gangsters (Shafqat Cheema) and to save themselves from one gang seek help from another. If you are still not confused, add gang members with names based on the Zodiac signs and you get a film for the Burger crowd who would prefer watching Zac Efron in The Greatest Showman than Parchi! Then there is another gangster (Faiza Saleem) who overacts so well that you want her character to be shot dead the moment someone raises her gun.

The two good things about the movie are its cinematography by Usman Muhtar and its soundtrack Billo and Imagine – nothing else registers in your mind because it’s either too mediocre or too immature. There is hardly any character development for the actors who enter the scene like a theatre stage and then exit the same way. Ahmed Ali Akbar tries too hard for a supporting actor while Ali Rehman tries too less for a lead actor; Shafqat Khan who has written the script shouldn’t have played the role of Bhola as it didn’t suit him at all. He was too old for the role which would have suited Mojiz Hasan more who was both fat and stupid looking (characteristics of the role).

Theatre actor Talal Jilani was wasted as one of the many villains that included a blind guy (for comic relief, I am sure) and some really ugly characters. From the good guys, Usman Mukhtar was the best of the lot because of his natural and spontaneous acting but that could not save the film from being bad. Hareem Farooq was easily the star of the film, however, there were times when her character looked confused, which is where the director Azfar Jafri and producer Imran Kazmi should be blamed. In an attempt to introduce a love triangle ala Fukrey – where there was just one-sided romance between Bholi and ChuCha – they erred big time and the film lost its charm.

The film that was supposed to blow your mind came out as a blow to your mind because as nothing in it made sense. It came out as a film made for teenagers, those who laugh on toilet jokes and are clueless about their life.