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Vehli Janta Films and Omjee’s Cine World’s Mastaney (dubbed from the Punjabi film of the same name; UA) is a period film set in the 18th century in Lahore. Iranian king Nader Shah (Rahul Dev) reaches Lahore and asks governor Zakaria Khan (Avtar Gill) to present some Sikhs in front of him as he had heard a lot about their bravery. Since the Sikhs live in the jungles, Zakaria Khan sends a group of 120 soldiers to capture some Sikhs but the 120 soldiers are all killed by the Sikhs. Driven to his wits’ end, Zakaria Khan now enlists the services of Sufi artiste Qalandar (Gurpreet Ghuggi) to train four Muslims and make them appear like brave Sikhs. The four are Zahoor (Tarsem Jassar), Basheer (Karamjit Anmol), Zulfi (Honey Mattu) and Feena (Baninder Bunny). All five Muslims, including Qalandar, are now ready to be presented by Zakaria Khan in front of Nader Shah, as Sikhs.
Nader Shah asks the five Sikhs (who are actually Muslims in disguise) to battle it out with the Muslim warriors of Zakaria Khan. What happens thereafter?
Sharan Art has written an unusual story about five Muslims impersonating Sikhs and exhibiting bravery of the rarest kind. The first half moves at a leisurely pace with some light moments, romance between Zahoor and his girlfriend, Noor (Simi Chahal), drama, etc. In spite of its leisurely pace, the pre-interval portion does not bore the audience too much because there is enough indication that something unique and big is in store in the post-interval part. The second half is more tight and taut and moves at a fast pace. Sharan Art’s screenplay is absolutely brilliant post-interval. The long-drawn climax in which the five Muslims (disguised as Sikhs) battle it out with their Muslim brothers is outstanding and will be met with thunderous applause at several points. The start of the battle, when Qalandar sings the holy Ardas for seeking the courage and strength, in the five Muslims, to fight is so hair-raising that the audience might find it difficult to control their emotions. Even Qalandar’s back story, before the climax, is wonderful. It would not be wrong to say that the scenes post-interval are very dramatic and will evoke claps and deafening applause in the cinemas at many places. Harnav Bir Singh’s dialogues are extraordinary.
Tarsem Jassar does a fine job as Zahoor. Simi Chahal, as Noor, looks pretty and does well in a role that gives her limited scope. Â Gurpreet Ghuggi shines in the role of Qalandar. He will bring the house down with a thunderous round of applause when he sings the holy Ardas. Rahul Dev is impressive as Nader Shah. Karamjit Anmol stands his own as Basheer. Honey Mattu is impressive as Zulfi. Baninder Bunny is nice as Feena. Avtar Gill leaves a mark as Zakaria Khan. Arif Zakaria makes his presence felt in the role of Zakaria Khan Wazir. Rahul Jaitly is effective as Morteza. Others lend remarkable support.
Sharan Art’s direction is simply mind-boggling. He has made the film like a veritable piece of art. The first half may be a bit slow but the viewers do not mind it because they become aware quite early on that there is something sensational in store for later. Mix Singh’s music is very good, with a couple of songs being hits. Lyrics are rich. Ritchie Burton’s choreography is nice. Kevin Roy George’s background music is outstanding. Jaypee Singh’s cinematography is of a fantastic standard. Action and stunt scenes, choreographed by Ajay Thakur, Satwant Pal and Monu Kamboj, afford extraordinary thrill. Alok Haldar and Mrinal G. Das’ production designing is of a very high order. Bharat S. Raawat’s editing is sharp. Dubbing is quite nice.
On the whole, Mastaney may not do much in Hindi because there is almost nil awareness among the public about the dubbing and release, but the original Punjabi version will be a blockbuster of epic proportions.
Released on 25-8-’23 at Glamour (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Panorama Studios. Publicity: poor (for the Hindi dubbed version). Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak for the Hindi dubbed version but outstanding for the original Punjabi version.