Cast: Adnan Khan, Veena Malik, Babrik Shah, Maria Khan

Director: Shahzad Rafique

Made by the director whose film ‘Salaakhen’ (superhit Pakistani film released in India last year) ‘Mohabattan Sachiyan’ differs in only one significant aspect: this one is in Punjabi, with only a smattering of Hindi and Urdu thrown in.

It’s also been shot in the PoK and the Swat valley, in the news currently for all the wrong reasons. In the beautiful ‘vaadis’ and by the gurgling streams, live two beating hearts Nomi and Salma. This girl-boy romance brings to mind all the fair-and-lovely denizens of Bollywood—the boy is a bit like Hrithik, and the girl is a blinding alabaster white, with deeply-kohled eyes, reminding you somewhat of Preity.

The villain of the piece is city-slicker Babrik, who makes the act of lighting up a cigarette a bigger sin than exploding a nuclear device. He also plays cards, drinks, and impregnates unsuspecting young girls. As he has been betrothed to Salma in their childhood, the scene shifts to lots of melodrama amongst the parents, as well as fisticuffs and broken bones among the young ‘uns, taking three hours of your time.

Our nations may be at loggerheads often, but the film making communities are tied with a common sensibility. This is illustrated by several things, and one takes the top slot—a heroine has to get wet under a waterfall, wearing transparent white saris. But this is a Pakistani film, so you get a long-sleeved kurta. The sheer expanse of wet skin is the same.