LAHORE: In the early phase of the promotion of Asim Abbasi’s Cake, we saw some animated or abstract posters. Light colored inoffensive posters with outlines of cast members digitally painted (if that makes any sense) were released. The cast had household names but not the ones which qualify as ticket sellers. So, Asim Abbasi tried to sell the narrative and Cake delivered everything it promised, but it couldn’t really garner the right response.
With ZEE5 involved, director and writer Asim Abbasi and his team decided to go another way this time around. Zindagi’s platform, provided them with the space to explore, expand, and be creative without any boundaries. The OTT platform was a plus for a story like ‘Churails’, which would’ve never worked on television or film (something you can only understand after watching it).
The idea perhaps was to under-promise and over-deliver. After having watched the trailer and the 1st episode, you might feel a bit underwhelmed. Cake was perhaps the best film to come out from Pakistan in recent years – and given this was Abbasi’s project, the expectations were high. The trailer and first episode of Churails sold a Hollywood style, where a crazy idea turns four women into Charlie’s Angels and then how things go wrong for a bit.
Well, Churail isn’t that. It has so much more to offer. The first few episodes set up the main premise introducing us to the four lead characters, Sara (Sarwat Gilani), Jugnu (Yasra Rizvi), Batool (Nimra Bucha) and Zubaida (MeharBano). On its face and from the first few episodes, the idea of Churails in Pakistani society sounds a bit farfetched. Though, as you dive further and further into the story – Churails really takes you on a roller coaster ride.
Without any spoilers, we would like to say that Churails isn’t just a thriller drama – it is a feminist masterpiece. Right from the very start, it brought something quite extraordinary to the Pakistani audience: an incredibly feminist story that both celebrates the strength and resilience of women from all circles of life and contradicts the typical misogynistic stereotypes.
Asim Abbasi has certainly shown to the world that he isn’t a one-hit wonder. If Cake was a slow-burning saga, Churails is punchy, wild, and haphazard by choice. This is the kind of intelligent film making we deserve as an audience.
