Parwaaz Hai Junoon

Parwaaz Hai Junoon (Soaring is Passion) was released on Eid al-Adha in Pakistan on 24 August 2018. This combat-war romantic film serves as a tribute to the Pakistan Air Force. The film outlines the journey of a few brave soldiers of the Pakistan Army, focusing on their relationships, hardships and duties to the Pakistan Air Force. Parwaaz Hai Junoon gained widespread popularity throughout the country and eventually became the fourth highest-grossing film in Pakistan.
Watching the trailer for the first time gave me the impression that the movie might not be very impressive. Moreover, the trailer gave me a fair idea of what the film’s storyline would be like. However, it wasn’t until last week that a few friends made me change my mind and I finally watched the film. Having read mixed reviews regarding the movie beforehand, I prepared myself for a confusing storyline that wouldn’t be impressive enough to hold my attention.

Parwaaz Hai Junoon focuses on the journey of Sania (Hania Amir) and Hamza (Hamza Ali Abbasi) and shifts back and forth between their past and present lives. Hamza, a fighter pilot for the Pakistan Air Force, is immediately smitten with Sania the first time he sees her during his best friend’s wedding. They start seeing each other and soon fall in love with each other. Despite going on regular missions for the PAF, Hamza and Sania take out time to go on motorcycle trips and enjoying several cups of tea by the mountainside. Hamza asks Sania to marry him but her mother doesn’t approve of their relationship at first because Sania’s father died in an airplane crash when she was a child and she doesn’t want her daughter to go through the same painful experience as her. She asks Hamza to give up his career but he refuses to do so. Seeing his loyalty, she agrees in the end. However, when Hamza comes back from a difficult mission, he finds out that his parents want him to get married to someone else. Hamza and his father get into a serious fight when Hamza remains adamant on his plan to marry Sania. Thereupon his father disowns him and Hamza leaves the house. The same day, Taliban militants attack a friendly convoy of Pakistani soldiers. Hamza, along with his best friend Nadir, is chosen to handle the mission. While protecting his country, Hamza gets badly injured. Even though he is rushed to a hospital but he doesn’t make it and dies.

After his death, Sania dreams to become a PAF fighter pilot like Hamza. She gets selected at the PAF academy and reaches the academy along with a group of young hopefuls which include the bold and arrogant Saad Khan (Ahad Raza Mir). Sania, along with the entire group of new trainees, undergo a rough physical and mental training. Throughout her time at the academy, she remains at odds with Saad but they warm up to each other eventually after they get lost during one of their training sessions. In the end, Sania graduates from the academy receiving the award for being the top academic performer. She then pays a visit to Hamza’s father and tells him that his son died as a martyr. The film’s final scene shows Sania and Saad exiting their JF-17’s and walking by each other’s sides in a friendly manner, hinting at a possible romance between the two.

Despite being subject to both positive and negative reviews, Parwaaz Hai Junoon turned out to be a good movie. The film’s soundtrack became a huge hit and featured many great artists such as Shuja Haider, Atif Aslam and Farhan Saeed. I think that overall the film was a huge improvement as compared to other movies produced by Pakistani cinema.