kshehzad Once famous Indian film critic Rajeev Masand asked Christopher Nolan in an interview, does he find himself asking whether his audience is going to understand the content or not. Nolan's answer was simple, direct and liberating. He said he only thinks whether he himself is going to get it or not. In my opinion, Jamshed Mahmood Raza aka Jami belongs to same genre of film makers for whom their own belief in their work takes priority over expectations of audience. Directors like Jami never dumb down content and style of execution for common denominators but always gamble on intellectual prowess of his audience which in my opinion is an effort to find those few with riddle solving ability among audience. It is uplifting to see that he never takes his serious audience as granted.Current geopolitical situation in Af-Pak and hovering corporate interest in minerals of the region is a topic which has never been the subject matter of Hollywood film makers because of their deep rooted love in subjects based on "war against terrorism" but 021 intelligently ventures in to explore this unknown territory in typical Jami style where he also tingles the moral stand point of the characters involved in highly clandestine new Great Game of modern era. The most interesting part of 021 narrative is its effort to ponder common conceptions of every party involved in new Great Game such as it is believed in circles of US intelligence that Pakistani ISI always plays a double game with CIA. 021 explains this point coherently but not without valid reasons. 021 wisely shows why playing double games against big powers involved in this region goes in favor of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. After watching 021 it is difficult to grade performances of the cast because everyone has reached emotional peak with their intense portrayal of the characters. Shaan Shahid shows again why he is the number one actor of Pakistan. Hameed Sheikh's role as serious Afghan intelligence officer proves his command over versatility. In one instance he plays a commoner with no power whatsoever in other film and in second instance he is strong intelligence officer carrying ability to change the fate of whole nation. Ayub Khoso who is playing the main instigator in 021 has done excellent job. Amina Sheikh has done satisfactory job. 021 also incorporates international talents like Joe Towne, James Hallett, Wendy Haines and Summer Nicks. Joe Towne takes the maximum brownie points with his intense portrayal of CIA agent who is fully aware of consequences a failure. I think Joe Towne is a fantastic actor potential to break in Hollywood's A-List if an opportunity is provided. Wendy Haines as CIA biggie performs remarkably well. James Hallett and Summer Nicks have done OK job as some sort of whistle blowers. On the whole, 021 is 'correct' tale of corporate espionage with all the right ingredients but with no proper marketing strategy. As an avid fan of new and emerging Pakistani cinema it antagonizes me to learn that film makers of 021 have shown no spine to promote a ground breaking Pakistani film which has an enormous international appeal. Disappointment in domestic box office must not have be taken as an excuse because even films like "Interstellar" will confront same fate if it is released in single screens of Pakistan. 021 is a kind of film every Pakistani should proud of but they are not. Welcome to Pakistan, My friend.

Shani Mani Operation 021 comes as a pleasant audio-visual treat.#O21 is not for those who keep their brains at home when they come to a movie theater.Half of the people will not like it, whereas the other half will simply love it. Luckily I am from the second half.Story & Direction: It is not the usual "find the chip flick" but instead it intelligently highlights the intricacies of Geo-political scene of the region.Jami does a great job in handling the script crisply & keeps you guessing at all times. The movie is visually stunning, just a shade darker for my liking.Music Score: No songs, yes NO songs. Yet the movie has background music for at least 90% of the time. The music score gels in superbly and builds to the feel of the movie.#O21 is not a spoon feeder and requires your complete attention throughout.The Pakistani Cinema is evolving and this educating masterpiece by Jami is even better than many much-hyped Hollywood flicks.A MUST watch for the learned ! Awaiting its International release.

Naeem Ullah Khan Undoubtedly a great movie, by saying this I mean the place from which they took the banner of Pak file industry was in abyss. And the message of this film was patriotism thas what we need in this hour of time . A change of strategy from nudity , glamour towards patriotic and the challenges being foreseen . After all seeing this movie one can say we Hav the capability and he road all we need is will power and yes we can beat them all . God speed team O21 and keep doing the good job .We And we are proud of you .You just need to focus on la Guage as mostly the people seeing the.movie cudnt understand it as major portion was in English . Instead team should rely more on English subtitles so that it's well understood and the message of the movie is well received.

illusion-ali 021 To be candid about this, I think this film is a lean, mean, menacing beast of a film. It rivets your attention from the opening to the end and the screws of tension are relentlessly and smartly tightened. It also asks you to keep paying constant attention, it's not a film where there maybe scenes where one can relax on a consistent basis and yet be able to understand the action of its plot unfolding.As I am still trying to fully grapple with the film, and yet I feel like writing a response.From the release of Khuda Kay Liye (in the name of God)till date all the films released in the name of revival of cinema in Pakistan have made me respond with Khuda Kay Wastay Aisi filmain mat banaoo (Dont make boring films in the name of God), I was quite sure that we will keep fooling ourselves, people across the border will keep lying to us by looking at our pathetic craft and skill and we will blindly keep believing that we are at the zenith of our artistic craft.However, this film is in many ways remarkable. It is able to tell a fictional story provoked by something very real from reality. And it tells that story using the form of a Menacing thriller. Where the loyalties of the characters seem to swing, events don't always turn out as the characters expect them to or we.One of the main skills of Direction is to be able to construct illusion of reality and therefore allowing the audience to suspend their disbelief for the period of the film's duration. It is quite apparent by watching 90% of the films released in the name of revival had this basic ingredient missing. And once that is the case, no matter how witty, how original, how slick, how good-looking a film maybe, it is and it can only be a serious disappointment only, regardless of what genre it belongs to.The performances within this film from the smallest character such as Vajdaan Shah's character are remarkably convincing in what they do, none of the actors seem to be forcing themselves to act well and yet they do. I teach Directing actors as a course, I can assure some serious work has been put into it. And that is how it should be. Actors must bring the ring of real life behavior to the character they play and the actions they perform, even when those things may not be close to you as a person.Scoring is like another character, it participates in the effective telling of this narrative in such a crucial way, that it is heartening to see someone thinking of sound as a storytelling device rather than a tool of enhancement only.I like Jami's videos, most of us did. But since I'm in the business of teaching most of the things related with making a film, cannot help but find areas of slack and criticize it for everyone's benefit. Though when I reflect more, I might find some nagging areas of concern where things could have been better. What I am sure of, whatever I may find if I find any would not be able to take away any of the serious power of the film away for me. I may edit some bits here and there later, I'm half asleep as wrote this, but felt the urge to write it now.