Lost its way across the border

Gurnaaz Kaur

Named after his homeland, Farid Singh Brar, played by Roshan Prince, is born and raised in Faridkot. Spending time at the farm or with his best friend Maddi (Sumit Gulati) is all that’s there to his life. Unhappy with such a purposeless life of her son, Rupinder Kaur pushes him to get married to a Canadian girl and settle there. Dismayed by his parents’ demand, he prays to stay in Faridkot. His wish is granted but everything else turns upside down as he ends up in Faridkot of Pakistan. Here’s when the entire cast of the film comes to play their role. 

In short, the story really begins. Hardly shocked and not even thinking of a way to return home, Farid simply finds a way to lead his days. He acts as a dumb person so that no one discovers his identity. He lives and serves at Baba Farid’s dargah where he falls in love—love at first sight, precisely, with Mariyam (Sharan Kaur). Next we know, he manages a job of a driver at Mariyam’s place. Love at first sight is not a one-time thing in this film. Mariyam’s friend and their housekeeper’s (Karamjit Anmol) sister Nazia (Navpreet Kaur) falls in love with Farid the minute he enters the house. In all this, not to miss, Hobby Dhaliwal, Mariyam’s uncle, is the head of this family. You’ll not be able to forget even for a minute that it is a Pakistani family, thanks to the much emphasis laid on the dialect and diction. It can easily be called overdone. 

Everyone is living their lives. There are a few and far between scenes across the border. The underlying reason may be a mother crying for her son, but these scenes are perhaps meant to add some humour, which they mostly fail to do. 

Now, before one figures out whether it is a love triangle in Pakistan, there is another story that unfolds. 

So, what’s convincing here is Mukul Dev, who plays Darvesh, an old and haggard man living under a tree at the dargah. Mukul Dev too is an Indian who decided to stay put in Pakistan during Partition for the love of his life. How he grows old there, you will know when you watch the movie. Aiming to win the love of Mariyam, Farid has no interest in going home. Once he confesses his love, Mariyam suddenly is head over heels in love with him. This too is quite strange, as at no point before this, she has shown interest in him. But that’s about the screenplay and direction. As a debutant, Sharan Kaur not only looks pretty on screen but also manages to make her presence felt. Navpreet, on the other hand, does not have much to her character. Karamjit Anmol has an important part and does a fair job of it. BN Sharma, like in other films, is there to sprinkle some humorous touch but seldom succeeds. Roshan Price looks innocent and adorable mostly, but there are times when his character slips off. You can’t really blame him because those are loopholes in the script. Barring the technical weak points, it’s worth finding out whether the cross-border couple manages to unite or not.

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