Revenge of the Worthless (2016) Reviews

• Worthless Watch

  shafiq-siddiqui812016-07-22

  Jamal Shah is amongst the most reputed names of Pakistan Television industry. Shah even did international projects in 80's and 90's but this time he has returned with his directorial debut, "Revenge of the Worthless". With a highly potent cast including veterans like Firdaus Jamal, Ayub Khoso and Jamal Shah, what Revenge has to offer to its viewers? Let us discuss the Revenge of the Worthless. Revenge of the worthless is set on the backdrop of Swat insurgency on different levels and how multiple lives are involved and affected during that phase. Revenge shares the story of an upright progressive man Zarak Khan (Jamal Shah), who is closer to his roots; a singer Shabaana (Maira Khan) who preaches the message of love and harmony, a boy Gulalai (Abdul Raheem) who is disowned by his father due to his sexual orientation and a man Janaan (Imran Tareen) who lost his family in terrorist attacked. How their lives are affected by Talibans and extremists in Swat is what Revenge of the Worthless is all about. Despite being an ensemble cast of veterans, the movie fails to impress on the whole. Firdaus Jamal and Ayub Khoso stand out a bit, but not completely, due to the feeble script. Jamal Shah is average; there are scenes where, as an actor, he could have pulled off very well but unfortunately he doesn't leave any mark. Maira Khan overacts in most of the scenes. She falls terribly short in the diction department. She could have done her homework more effectively to portray a character which Shabaana was. Shaamil Khan has limited screen presence but again, his dialogues are badly written, giving him no margin to perform decently. Imran Tareen looks promising and can turn out to be a very dependable intense actor, provided he is given the right kind of roles. Abdul Raheem manages to portray the character as per the requirement. Noor Bukhari in a cameo is wasted. Another letdown in Revenge is that it seems that the actors worked half-heartedly during the shooting. There's not a single performance to lookout for. The music is below average. The only saving grace of Revenge is its action sequences, to certain extent. It looks like Jamal Shah made a film for himself only. The narration had many hiccups; editing is haphazard at some points; however the cinematography is good. As an entire package, Revenge is worthless as it does not leave any mark. I would rate Revenge a 2/5; a below average film, and a disappointment from old-timers.