Review of Verna

There is a scene in the film where Sara beats the hell out of Aami when he hits her and you begin to get excited but in the next scene there is utter confusion maybe because of choppy editing or a clear script and the film lets you down. The tragedy with Verna is that it is not able to sustain for long because in one scene it gets right at you but in the next it disappoints because there is nothing that goes in favour of the film Shoaib Mansoor has always been known for his strong direction that hits you right in the heart. He is one of the very few directors who know what to show and how to show it but in Verna he fails big time because he knows what to show but seems incapable in deciding how to show and in reality there is hardly any direction in the film and to be honest Mansoor's direction in the film is weak as it's hard to believe that he is the same who directed and wrote both Bol and Khuda Kay Liye. The fact I mention writing is because the script is mediocre riddled with a lot of loopholes .While Mansoor does make some points especially in the court scenes but he showed rape without sensitivity and it's hard to relate to Sara and here lies the main flaw of the film. The script didn't allow the audience to feel for the character because instead of coming off as headstrong Sara comes off as a stubborn whose decisions seem childish but here I would like Mansoor to take a bow for finally writing a character which is free from the clutches of stereotypes but lacks development and to make the matters worse the dialogues in the film are weak and this the major disappointment because Mansoor has always been known for his hard hitting dialogues. Even the dialogues which are strong go unnoticed because of the cast which barely knew how to act. The acting department of the film is weak. All the supporting cast except Zarrar Khan disappointed big time. However Mahira as always owns her own in the film. She is successful in portrayal of Sara but almost, not completely, because of the shoddy script which failed her big time because due to a weak script even a performer like Mahira couldn't give her 100 percent. And now I come to script's biggest weakness and that was its portrayal of Aami whose character was the poorest in the film Sighs. Haroon Shahid literally needs some acting classes because even his intense scenes left audience in giggles. Shoaib Mansoor has disappointed big time and all the failure of the film lays on his shoulders because every department in the film is weak whether it's direction, dialogues, screenplay, soundtrack or acting. Technicalities never mattered for Mansoor film and here they are also weak. Veran does have its moments and its a must watch because of the messages in the film but unfortunately there are more misses than hits