They say that in Bollywood, romance is dead. It isn't, really, but romantic comedies don't have the same box office draw that they did in the days when King Khan reigned supreme. However, things are different on the other side of the border; apparently the Pakistani film industry is happy to turn out wholesome romances like Mumbai used to make twenty years ago. Exhibit A: Lahore Se Aagey (2016).
Lahore Se Aagey is apparently a direct sequel to a movie I have not seen, Karachi Se Lahore, and picks up right where the previous movie left off, so I was initially very confused, but I soon realized that Moti (Yasir Hussain), a stocky, bearded guy with a pronounced stutter, is our romantic lead. Moti is on his way to see his rich uncle (Behroze Sabzwari), but he is being chased by hitmen A and AB (dunno who plays A, but AB is Omer Sultan.) You can tell they're serious and scary assassins because as soon as they show up onscreen, gratuitous slow-mo doves appear.
However, they aren't very good at assassinating people; Moti loses the killers by mugging a passing fashion designer for his clothing and then ducking through an outdoor concert being held by aspiring rockstar Tara (Saba Qamar). After the concert, and after Tara breaks up with her annoying boyfriend, she nearly hits Moti with her car, then saves him from A and AB. And that's basically the plot; Moti is on his way to see his uncle, Tara is on her way to a big concert which turns out to be basically "Pakistani Idol", and they travel together, fighting, talking, dodging assassins, singing songs, having adventures, and inevitably falling in love.
Even for a road movie, Lahore Se Aagey is very episodic; Tara and Moti stumble into a strange situation, sing a song, grow a little closer, and move on. Most of the time this works, but there is an extended sequence involving offensive tribal stereotypes, a secret jungle rave, a dance-off to the death, and a whole lot of product placement for KFC which drags on for far too long. (And, again, the treatment of tribal people in the scene is genuinely terrible.)
The humor is hit and miss; many of the jokes rely on references to or cameos by various Pakistani celebrities that I have never heard of. I did catch the occasional Sholay reference, and there is a lovely gag involving a power drill that transcends cultural boundaries.
The romance is a bit more interesting. Tara acts tough, but deep down she's just hoping to find someone who will actually listen to her. And Moti is spellbound by Tara, but he's so insecure that he sometimes hides his feelings by acting like a sexist jerk. I think the relationship would be an absolute disaster in real life, but that's often the case with romantic comedies.
In the end, I'm not sure what to make of Lahore Se Aagey. I feel unprepared; I think I really need to see the first movie and pick up a working knowledge of Pakistani pop culture before I can judge it properly.
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