Pakistan film industry has not exactly been having a month to brag about. The last couple of releases have not done well at the box office, including the highly anticipated films ‘Rangreza’ and Shaan’s ‘Arth: The Final Destination.’
The much-hyped film Arth-The Destination, directed by Shaan Shahid, starring Shaan, Umaima Malik, Uzma Hassan and Mohib Mirza, has been cooking up a storm since its release, being handed an ‘F grade’ from the audience and critics alike. Despite the fact that the box office figures have not yet been released to the public, it is now common knowledge that the film failed to attract cinema-goers.
Shaan Shahid, however, has taken upon himself to defend his film amid negative audience reaction and poor box office sales. His desperation is evident by a Facebook post that was later deleted.
So Shaan Shahid ko Karachi Aur Karachi walas say problem hai… pic.twitter.com/OaWx60ozwV
— Fahim Farooq (@fahim_parekh) December 25, 2017
In the post, Shaan wrote that Arth was a nicely made movie but it was dissed by some critics ‘from Karachi,’ deliberately as it was made by a director from Lahore. He further wrote, “Why against something that is released from Lahore and what is the problem with ‘Karachi walas’ going against something which was in my view a very well made movie.’ Shaan obviously did not want to believe that the movie had apparently not been received well.
He further blamed ‘a lobby discouraging Pak cinemas,’ for dissing an otherwise outstanding film.
Shaan is noticeably not very happy about all the criticism he has been receiving for his passionate undertaking, as the film star has now taken upon himself to aggressively respond to each and every tweet criticising the film, on the social media.
He has also been incessantly retweeting and posting praises for his film.
Comedian Ali Gul Pir’s tweet especially did not go down too well with him, in which he said, “Our so-called artists need to grow up. Ever heard of Meryl Streep or Christian Bale bitching about critics on their social media. No because they believe in their art and don’t care about others. Unlike our celebs who haven’t even done half as good work but act like they invented film form.”
Our so called artists need to grow up. Ever heard of Meryl Streep or Christian Bale bitching abt critics on their social media. No cuz they believe in their art n don’t care abt others. Unlike our celebs who havnt even done half as good work but act like they invented film form
— Ali Gul Pir (@Aligulpir) December 23, 2017
Responding to him Shaan tweeted, “And with all due respect, I will not compare you to any artists anywhere because I can’t find a suitable comparison anywhere. I hope you understand.” He continued, “We are grown-ups but not for lies. And the choice of words is loathed with arsenic, hate and disrespect. It’s time we strike back at not criticism but lack of knowledge.”
Our so called artists need to grow up. Ever heard of Meryl Streep or Christian Bale bitching abt critics on their social media. No cuz they believe in their art n don’t care abt others. Unlike our celebs who havnt even done half as good work but act like they invented film form
— Ali Gul Pir (@Aligulpir) December 23, 2017
The tweet was apparently not even directed towards him.
In another Facebook post, he called all those people who did not like the film, losers. “To all the haters who are trying so hard to write and spread negativity, if you guys understood the film techniques, you would be making films and I would be writing columns in the newspapers,” he wrote. “A film has its own flight, a flight of belief on the hard work, prayers, and the love of the people who don’t have access to write but to see and enjoy the film.”
He concluded the post, saying, “Croak as much as you can with your hate words and analysis. It helps us rise above. But seriously I wish you had a better job. Losers.”
In response to one tweet he wrote, “my managment handel’s the account and this is not what we wrote but a local journalist wrote it and we posted it,” suggesting that the facebook post was written by a local journalist and they just reposted it on Facebook.
My Managment Handel’s the account and this is not what we wrote but a local journalist wrote it and we posted it
— Shaan Shahid (@mshaanshahid) December 25, 2017
In response to one tweet, he even said, “Aapkee zaban tau kaali hay, aik din face bhi hoga.”
Shaan’s sheer incapability to handle criticism shows that the Pakistan film industry and its actors, directors still have a long way to fully mature since one very obvious sign of maturity is the ability to handle criticism well.
