Get tons of hankies before you watch this!

First things first. I knew how this film would end prior to watching it, yet in noway was I prepared for the emotional punch it packs. I've never cried this bad after watching a film, and the credit goes to the film makers for making a film which draws that kind of reaction from the audience.

The story is simple enough -- The good son Faizan (Ahmed Butt) happens to be a bright kid and wants to live up to his father's dreams of making a grand career and improving the way of life for his family. Mum and dad wait eagerly for that day, until one fine day, all their dreams are shattered as Faizan is implicated in a crime while writing his exams (watch to find out how that happens!). Dad dies of shock, mom goes insane, while Faizan ends up in jail until he finds a friend cum benefactor cum mentor in the influential cellmate Zaigham (played by Saud). Zaigham gets Faizan out of lock-up, and Faizan has only one thing on his mind -- to get his revenge on those who destroyed his and his parent's dreams.

The story does have tons of plot holes, but the good acting, great background score and at times effective cinematography do help it in making it a pretty engaging experience. However, there was NO need for the cheap comedy sequences (fast forward material, basically) and some awful songs (Where do you see "pop stars" performing like that in Lahore, dammit???). The film suffers technically, some of the crane shots are jittery and the lighting is shoddy in certain shots too. The use of multiple cameras would have definitely helped too. But really, if you watch it till the climax sequence, you'll be in for a surprise. The climax - mainly due to some effective scriptwriting - is seriously an emotionally draining (no pun intended) experience, and puts the rest of the film into perspective if you have not been able to make sense of the previous proceedings. Like the other reviewer said, if you love your parents, you'll cry like mad. 

On the whole, good job by Shehzad Rafiq. Rukhsati was effective enough, but badly executed. This is a marked improvement. Ahmed Butt has made a solid debut, I only wish he actually dubs his own dialogues in the next films he stars in. On the actress front, Meera and Zara both do a decent job portraying their respective characters. But this film belongs to Shafi Mohammed who makes a solid impact in his brief role -- he makes a great cinema debut. We need to see more of him in films definitely. And the film makers in Lahore need to take a few notes from this film. And you should definitely be well stocked with hankies and napkins before you watch Salakhain!

Urdu cinema, especially in Pakistan, is known for its poetic dialogue, musical traditions, and melodrama, often exploring romance, morality, and class. Historically, it thrived on musicals and romances that shaped national identity. In recent decades, it has undergone a revival, balancing popular appeal with more socially conscious storytelling.

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The action genre features fast-paced, thrilling, and intense sequences of physical feats, combat, and excitement. The characters of these stories are involved in daring and often dangerous situations, requiring them to rely on their physical prowess, skills, and quick thinking to overcome challenges and adversaries.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

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Salakhain tells the story of an innocent, hardworking student who comes from a lower middle class family and who is in love with an equally innocent and sweet young girl. A strange twist of events lands him in a dispute with the booty mafia (people facilitating cheating during exams), resulting in his arrest, his father's death and his mother going mad, one following the other in quick succession. In jail he meets a man who knows his enemies well and has his own issues to pick up with them. The rest is a story filled with love, action, revenge and closure.

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