Majdhar

Rita Wolf has a fine profile. Director Jamal thinks so too: any excuse serves for a close-up of her as Fauzia, a young middle class Pakistani who's caught in an uncomfortable mid-stream ('majdhar') when her husband deserts her for an Englishwoman. Fauzia copes, and emerges as a strong person after pensively staring at the wall and having an affair with a TV researcher who's after a bit of exotica. The film is an interesting 'worthy' experiment by Retake, an Asian collective anxious to redress the media stereotype image, etc. As collective efforts go, this is not bad. The plot is rich and full of possibilities, but the script is unfortunately thin and full of missed opportunities. Embarrassingly awkward (as opposed to meaningful) silences are broken by laborious and unnatural dialogue, which is rescued slightly by Ustad Imrat Khan's moving music. Both Wolf and Feroza Syal (playing her friend) are good, but more experienced direction would have helped.