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!
