Production: Maishadda Investment Ltd.
Producer: Abubakar Bashir Maishadda
Director: Ali Nuhu
Year: 2019
Cast: Umar M. Shareef, Hassana Muhammad, Maryam Yahaya, Ali Nuhu, Yakubu Muhammad, Jamila
Nagudu and others.
Like most, nay
all, films titled after a central character, HAFEEZ revolves around the life of a spoilt adult (acted by Umar M.
Shareef). Also, the film has the mark of its “Wizkid” director, Ali Nuhu, all
over, for it is apparently modelled after a boy-meets-girl, rich-boy vs
poor-girl Bollywood paradigms. Moreover, it bears many more Indian filmic
signatures such as five or six spectacular song and dance routines, among
others. Perhaps the recent warning by the MOPPAN President, Kabiru Maikaba, on
banning romance film in Kannywood came out after this production – though I
doubt if any such sanction is possible.
Since his return
from study overseas, Hafeez, the only son to a wealthy family, snubs many
beautiful, posh girls who dream of tying the knot with him. His lovability is
infectious to the extent that two sisters fight over him, his secretary loses
her job for her persistence to attract his attention, a (female) cousin rejects
her (male) cousin’s proposal, among others unusual cases. Interestingly and
expectedly, he chooses another, Safna (Hassana Muhammad) from an impoverished family
with a hot-tempered father (acted by Ali Nuhu). While the girl loves him in
return, he has a serious issue to settle with the father or else the marriage
cannot see the light of the day.
Although the story
is doubtlessly hackneyed, for one can correctly guess its twist, climax and resolution,
the film has some things to write home about. I will begin with the casting. It
is excellent because we see new faces as parents. Yakubu Muhammad and Jamila
Nagudu act as Hafeez’s parents; Ali Nuhu as Safna’s, and Abba El-Mustapha as
Hafsat’s (Maryam Yahaya). It’s a development in Kannywood as a film industry
that suffers from a monopoly of megastars. Now, the Shareefs, Maryams, others
will be better groomed and, thus, grow.
Again, if one
fancies cinema of entertainment, Hafeez will
not disappoint him/her. Additionally, the film’s sub-plot contains a robust and
moralising message, and that is the vanity of the material world. Hafeez does
what he likes when he likes it. Nevertheless, his father’s affluence fails to
buy him a wife, or, at least, the particular one he selects. Thus, he has to
eventually surrender all the haughtiness, wealth and more in an unlikely
situation to actualise his dream. So, the thematic concerns touch on not only
love but also respect for elders and humanity in general.
The film is,
technically, not bad either. Though the lighting is not in tune with the ambience,
other cinematographic works are quite okay. The melodious song and dance
sequences were shot at scenic locations with beautiful landscapes. Likewise,
the houses are semiotically befitting of the socio-economic conditions of the
characters. However, the principal character, Umar M. Shareef, needs to work
harder to improve his acting skills and style. Or, is it the director’s
responsibility? Either way, his performance is not very impressive and, I
believe, he can do better. I generously rate the film 2.5/5 and advisedly
recommend it, especially to children born with a silver spoon.
Reviewed by
Muhsin Ibrahim
University of Cologne
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