With all the hype that was built up and all the excitement, the wait is finally over with the release of Parwaz Hai Junoon this Eid Ul Adha. Needless to point out, the film was claimed to be a story based around the events of the valourous mission called Zarb - e - Azb. The film was expected to give insights about the happenings that occured during the whole execution of Zarb E Azb, along with recognition for the soldiers who risked their lives for peace of the country and the problems and dilemas they underwent in their struggle for victory. Instead, what we got was a love story entwined between a typical girl and a soldier pilot. The film tried to inspire patriotism but failed miserably. It was also noted to be attempting to 'break stereotypes' but as the story progressed, it was evidant that the makers had tangled themselves into something they hadn't put much thought into and so one could see the makers contradicting themselves at various parts in the film. The story was mainly focused on female empowerment, portraying a woman who despite non-stop discouragements, went ahead and became a fighter pilot. The film also highlighted at various stages how it is generally assumed that being in the forces is a Masculine Profession. The story tried to break relationship stereotypes and tried to imply modernist norms. The audience could easily be tricked into thinking that having pre-marital romantic relationships is normal and acceptable. In their attempts at highlighting different stereotypes, it can be seen that the makers messed up in a few places because when portraying the terrorists, illiterate pathans with long beards and turbans was a picture they depicted. The makers, therefore, contradicted themselves as they tried to break one stereotype while simltaneously enforcing another. In terms of production quality, in many scenes, the CGI quality wasn't very up to the mark. Especially in the shots with the lead actors in the planes. The Lighting could have been a lot better in many many scenes; for example, the scenes in the forest were too lit for the depicted environment, no source of light was evident in the Igloo scene and it was questionable how the inside of an igloo is so well lit even at night time. The costuming in the film, particularly that of the females was very objectionable (maybe just another attempt at emphasizing modernist norms). Not to mention that the injury makeup in the hospital scene near the end was very fake and unrealistic, the blood was Orange! One thing the film has done is that it has highlighted the natural beauty of Pakistan. If looked at from Tourism's point of view, Pakistan has many beautiful places and that beauty has been highlighted in scenic shots and skillfully thought angles with locations ranging from Attabad Lake and Naltar in the north, with many many more from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwan, etc. On a conclusive note, the makers tried very hard to give this film a patriotic storyline, but ended up with nothing except a dramatized romance with a hint of nationalism in it. The film was supposed to be about Zarb E Azb but in thefinal product, Zarb E Azb was merely just a part of a big romance. In short, this parwaaz didn't have enough junoon to take off...
