Not ‘super’, though certainly okay to a large degree, and definitely a lot brighter than writer-director Abu Aleeha’s prior forays into gritty, dark corners of indie-cinema, Super Punjabi is a comedy of mild errors and milder capers whose tacked-on title doesn’t make much sense, even when the assemblage of characters shout it out loud in the climax.

Sakhi (Mohsin Abbas Haider) is a decent chap whose love-at-first-sight, Sahiba (Saima Baloch), rides into a wedding on a blue Vespa scooter.

The young woman, sporting tough-guy aviator shades, however, is like all women in movies: she is mildly offended by his advances and plays hard to get until the end of a wedding number. Before leaving, out of no rhyme or reason whatsoever, she tosses her visiting card to him on the way out.

A cut later that seems like a vague dream (because it is filmed that way), they’re a newly married couple doing oh-so-cute, lovey-dovey scenes in the garden and their kitchen.

Super Punjabi is better than director Abu Aleeha’s other low-budget,dark, revenge-themed forays into cinema

Their real-life reverie turns upside down when Sakhi leaves for office that day.

His uber-rich boss Zaid Gill — Iftekhar Thakur, also the producer who perhaps gets his best role with this film in recent years — is a kind man who is being swindled by his new wife Zara (Sana). The voluptuous siren loves two things: siphoning off millions from her husband and her early morning yoga routines where Zaid gawks at her creepily, spellbound by her contortions. It’s not a fun thing to stomach.

Sakhi, the virtuous, loyal, munshi (chief accountant) and Zara can’t stand each other. Goaded by Zara, Zaid fires Sakhi and when the marginally irked young man comes home after losing his job, he hears a man and a woman’s voices from the bedroom.

Dejected and hurt, though not smart enough to open the door, Sakhi leaves the house with his head in a state of limbo. On the road, he gets nabbed by a low life with a fake gun.

Miskeen Butt (Nasir Chanioti), obviously on the dole, is unlucky in love even after marriage because of the ridiculing nature of his overbearing mother-in-law (the wife is played by Rukhma Maryam).

The two gel, loot a highway store and cross paths with low lives Jaggi and Jazzi (Adnan Shah Tipu, Saqib Sumeer), who are later hired by Zara to loot the house and kill her husband.

What we see is a likely story whose plot springs from late night B movies on cable television, and that’s weighed down by the trademark, haphazard, off-putting climaxes of Aleeha’s prior ventures.

Super Punjabi, though, is still better than Aleeha’s low-budget, dark, revenge-themed forays into cinema.

A perkier, sunnier colour palette, a better cast, a less dramatic story — though predictable and hardly refined (again, a recurring theme with the director) — surprisingly suits him. In fact, it should be his go-to style for the time being.

Of the cast, one sees likeable turns by Nasir Chanioti, Iftekhar Thakur and Mohsin Abbas Haider. Mohsin, in particular, is a capable leading man who fits nicely into the role and a great singer to boot. He sings one of the film’s best numbers, Kundi kharka with Fariha Pervez in true Bollywood style.

On the opposite end of the spectrum the two leading ladies, Sana and Saima Baloch, are quite bad in every sense of the word. They seemingly can’t pull off expressions, diction and lack a general sense of charisma and appeal.

Super Punjabi, loud in sound design and dragging in parts, is family-friendly and somewhat funny. The humour and the plot will resonate with regional and international Punjabi-speaking audiences, though the film’s title might still not make sense to them.

Produced by Safdar Malik and Iftekhar Thakur, and released by Eveready Pictures, Super Punjabi is rated U (suitable for audience of all ages). The film is playing in cinemas across Pakistan

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 14th, 2023