''Balu Mahi'' is a 2017

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by

Haissam Hussain Haissam Hussain is a Pakistani television and film director known for television serials such as '' Noorpur Ki Rani'' (2009), ''Akbari Asghari'' (2011), '' Durr-e-Shehwar'' (2012) and '' Aunn Zara'' (2013). He made his cinematic debut by direct ...

, produced by Sadia Jabbar and written by Saad Azhar. A-Plus Films handled distribution of the film in Pakistan, and Grand Showbiz Media handled it internationally.

Plot

The movie begins with Bilal "Balu" (

Osman Khalid Butt Osman Khalid Butt () is a Pakistani film, television and theatre actor, writer and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Wali Sohaib Khan in '' Diyar-e-Dil'' (2015), Faaz Ibrahim in '' Chupke Chupke'' (2021) and Malik Shahzain in '' Eh ...

) gatecrashing a wedding with the goal of preventing it. He mistakenly believes the bride is his former girlfriend, whom he still loves. The plot thickens when he discovers the bride is Mahi (

Ainy Jaffri Ainy Jaffri Rahman () is a Pakistani actress and model. Career Ainy initially started her career at an advertising company. Later on when she came to Pakistan she started working in drama serials. She made her television debut with AAG TV' ...

), not his ex, and that she is being forced into an arranged marriage by her family. Mahi sees Balu's gatecrashing as an opportunity to escape the arranged marriage. They are both on the run now. And try as Balu might, Mahi is not leaving him in peace.

Cast

as Bilal 'Balu' Malik *

as Mahi Jahangir *

Javed Sheikh Jawed Sheikh (also spelled Javaid and Javed; born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, film director and producer who works in Lollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for working in the Hindi films ''Om Shanti Om'', '' My Name Is Anthony G ...

as Hasan's father *

Hina Rizvi Hina Rizvi is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas ''Tishnagi Dil Ki'', '' Umeed'', '' Hari Hari Churiyaan'', '' Neeli Zinda Hai'' and '' Quddusi Sahab Ki Bewah''. Early life Hina was born on 16 March 1980 in Lahore, Pakis ...

as Hasan's mother *

Sadaf Kanwal Sadaf Sabzwari, Kanwal (), is a Pakistani actress and model. She has played the role of Sharmeen Mukhtiyar in 2017 movie '' Balu Mahi''. As a model, Kanwal has established a career and has been nominated for several awards including Lux Style Awa ...

as Sharmeen Mukhtiyar * Aliee Shaikh as Polo Coach * Zeeshan Ali *

Durdana Butt Durdana Butt (9 May 1938 – 12 August 2021) was a Pakistani actress known for her work on Pakistani television. She appeared in a few films as well. Butt is best known for her portrayals in PTV's '' Fifty Fifty'' (1978), ''Aangan Terha'' (1 ...

Shafqat Cheema Shafqat Cheema is a Pakistani actor and producer. In a career spanning more than three decades, he has particularly become known for his fine acting in negative roles and has been called "Pakistan’s favorite villain". Early and personal lif ...

Adeel Hashmi Adeel () is a Muslim male name in South Asia. Given name * Adeel Ahmed (born 1983), Pakistani footballer * Adeel Ahmed, Pakistani politician * Adeel Akhtar (born 1980), English actor * Adeel Chaudhry (born 1988), Pakistani-Canadian singer-songw ...

* Khurram Pataras

Production

The film is directed by

. The film has been written by Saad Azhar. Other well-known and credible names associated with the film include producers Sadia Jabbar & Muhammad Ashraf Chaudry Muhammad Arshad Chaudry, and Executive Producer Mian Yousaf Salahuddin HKC Entertainment chairman Hammad Chaudhry, owner of Cinestar in Pakistan, will distribute the film in Pakistan while Grand Showbiz Media is the International Distributor of the film (they have recently distributed the blockbuster Pakistani Film '' Actor in Law''). Other leading industry names associated with the project include music composer Sahir Ali Bagga, who has composed five songs for the film.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Punjabi singer, primarily Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the most popular and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kha ...

sung a

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

titled "Rang De Chunar" where he makes an exclusive cameo for the film. It starrs

and

in the lead cast. The soundtrack is composed by

Sahir Ali Bagga Sahir Ali Bagga is a Pakistani singer, music director and composer from Lahore, who composes music for Lollywood and other independent singers. Recently he has composed music for the Lollywood, Pakistani movie, ''Zinda Bhaag (2013)''. He also ...

. The dance in the film is choreographed by Pappu Samrat and Wahab Shah, whilst Saleem Daad served as the Director of Photography (DOP).

Filming

The shooting of the film began in January 2016. The film was shot in scenic locations of

Northern Pakistan Northern Pakistan ( ) is a tourism region in northern and north-western parts of Pakistan, comprising the administrative units of Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly known as '' Northern Areas''), Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad Capita ...

Release

The film is released in Pakistan on 10 February 2017.

Home media

World television premier of the movie was held by

Geo Entertainment ''Geo Entertainment'' or Har Pal Geo is a Pakistani entertainment television channel owned by Geo Television Network was established in May 2002. Its test transmission started on 14 August 2002 on the PAS 10 digital satellite whereas on 1 Octob ...

Eid ul Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

2018.

Digital media

The film was released later on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

as VOD.

Box office

The film collected approximately at the worldwide box office.

Critical reception

Rafay Mahmood of ''

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Lakson Group'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the '' Intern ...

'' rated 3/5 and commented, "''Balu Mahi'' is long but not tiring. Watch it so see Pakistani actors shake a leg in style". Mehreen Hasan of ''

DAWN Images ''Dawn'' is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in British India by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and is widely considered the country's newspaper of record. ''Dawn'' is the f ...

'' also rated 3/5 and said, "''Balu Mahi'' is a rom-com with some dark, dramatic moments, but perhaps it's better described and digested as a fantasy film." Buraq Shabbir of '' The News'' praised its cinematography and said, "While the narrative isn't extraordinary or truly original, ''Balu Mahi'' has a comedic undertone that keeps the viewer intrigued throughout." Shahjehan Saleem of '' Something Haute'' gave it 3 out 5 stars and said, "the film ends up confused between what it wants in a lot of places, where forced drama, equally confusing moments of conflict, and dance sequences come in." Mehar Khursheed of '' Newsline'' commented, "The movie has several moments of hilarity and the acting is more than adequate, worth watching for pure entertainment value." Hamza Shafique of Dubai Desi Reviews gave film 1.5 out of 5 desi stars and commented, "''Balu Mahi'' feels like a teen YouTuber's halfhearted attempt to create a parody of ''Jab We Met'' and ''Dil Bole Haddipa''."

Accolades

Soundtrack

All music is composed by

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 5370442
Sadia Jabbar Productions
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

2017 films Pakistani romantic comedy films 2017 romantic comedy films Films scored by Sahir Ali Bagga Films shot in Gilgit-Baltistan 2010s Urdu-language films Urdu-language Pakistani films