3 Braves

In the erstwhile onscreen battle between good and evil, the heroes always win, managing to overpower the diabolical, powerful villain.

We all know that and we’ve seen it in movies umpteen times. Question is, would we like to see it again, in Pakistan’s first-ever animated venture, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Waadi Animations’ 3 Bahadur?

For anybody who loves a good, well-told story, the answer would have to be yes, the crowd that gathered for the film's Karachi premiere seemed to agree.

The crux behind 3 Bahadur may be the age-old fight between good and evil, but the plot itself has been twisted, tweaked and peppered with humor, song and action so that it does not appear hackneyed. Cleverly molded, carefully constructed and candy-wrapped in fluent Urdu dialogues, this movie’s an entertainer not just for the kids, but also for the grown-ups snickering beside them.

In 3 Bahadur, Kamil, Saadi and Amna are three ‘bahadur’ children who decide to take on the evil goon ‘Mangu’ and put an end to his reign of terror. ‘Mangu’ is aided by evil powers given to him by Baba Baalam and assisting him is a band of no-good, despicable hoodlums. Together, they wreak havoc over the imaginary city of ‘Roshan Basti’, looting and killing until the once-happy locality is re-named ‘Andher Nagri’.

What happens next is inevitable.

**Our heroes’ valor induces them to gain supernatural powers of their own and they proceed to quell the bad guys in a series of often hilarious, action-packed sequences. Predictable? Undeniably. But what makes this movie work are the nuances within. A gigantic thug who practices classical dance for recreation will make you laugh; the children’s repartee is entertaining and the parents’ angst as the heroes march off to overthrow Mangu adds for sentimental value. The voice-overs are spot-on and character development is limited but interesting enough, as the children transform from ordinary school-pupils to superheroes for their long-suf...