Supergirl (1989)
Cast: Anjuman, Sultan Rahi, Gauri, Qavi
Director: M. Aslam
Synopsis: Another slice of warped feminism with undertones of bondage and S&M.
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

The film was tailor-made for Anjuman, the reigning queen of Lollywood, back in 1989. She was cast in and as Supergirl, alongside superstar Sultan Rahi, in this epic production shot on lavish locations in Manila city centre, which doubles conveniently for London when the occasion demands.

The films start as a thousand Punjabi Lollywood films have done before, with the sounds of a wedding inter-cut and shots of a horse galloping menacingly towards the festivities. Things transpire quite differently just when one thought it was the usual Daku scenario.

Sultan Rahi is the horse-bound hero who arrives (with a horse) at the house where his sister is getting dolled up for marriage. Rahi grunts his displeasure as his mother has sworn the sister’s hand in marriage to his mate, who happens to be languishing in jail. When Rahi throws a petulant tantrum, his mother retorts with a stinging reply that has him reeling. She informs him that he is also married as such because his wedding was decided ages ago by both parents to a girl he does not even know about. A stunned Rahi demands to know where his “wife” is so that he can bring her home.

Mom informs him that she is living the life of a free-spirited modern girl in London. Rahi swears to bring her home and “make her drink the water of the local village well” and to “fix” her and rid her of her debauched Western ways – but he must find her first.

So, Rahi decides to pursue the woman who was supposed to be his wife. He checks in an attaché (attatchee) case and his trademark gandaasa at the airport before heading to London to search for “his mung” (fiancé).

But before he arrives, the audience is shown that his “mung” is a gorgeous bombshell crime kingpin known as Supergirl. She commands a menacing gang of two be-paunched goons, but her skills and genius in the crime department make her the king of the mob in London, where Scotland Yard is forever running around in rings trying to apprehend her.

Supergirl works for a shady unseen hand that operates his international crime syndicate from an unknown location. In a large-scale criminal exercise, things get a little hairy, and Supergirl heeds the advice of her goons to lie low in Manila, while things cool down a bit in London. The Yard has a lead and is about to close in on Supergirl, so she decides to hike to the Philippines to check out the opportunities there.

Poor Rahi arrives to find that Supergirl has already left for the east, so he takes the next flight in hot pursuit, armed with the village belle clothes he intends for her to wear. Sultan Rahi finds that Supergirl is not quite the pushover he reckoned she might be, but that is not all he has to contend with. He discovers that Supergirl works for a syndicate run by an evil goon, who dresses nattily in black leather and goes by the name Black Cobra. One arm of Black Cobra’s network, run by a dastardly man with a terrible haircut, PJ, involves tricking innocent babes with the promise of marriage from Pakistan, only to force them into the flesh trade once they are over in Manila.

One such unfortunate woman is Gauri (Anjuman’s real-life sister), whom PJ tricks, and though she resists, ultimately, she is drugged and forced to submit.

Supergirl Will Rahi win over Supergirl, take her back to the village, and force her to drink from the hepatitis-infected water of the local well? Will he make her understand that though she reckons she is the feminist icon of her era, she is being tricked into working for a criminal organization that preys ruthlessly upon helpless women? Supergirl is a rollicking costume drama that keeps one’s interest, but only if the fast-forward button is actively engaged during the many hideously tedious comedy sequences. Black Cobra is Kinky in his leather/rubber “get up,” and Anjuman is often decked out in a highfashion bondage look… Leather, chains, Clingfilm, and Stormtrooper boots. Unfortunately, the songs are not up to scratch, though the title song, a classic ‘80s Lollywood Disco Style (think Bappi Lahiri on a bad acid trip), by Madame Noor Jehan, is annoyingly catchy and hummable and rather excellent. (Album available to download off iTunes, seriously. (Search for Jurat / Super Girl). Perhaps another crucial missing ingredient is a villain of Mustafa Qureshi’s stature because PJ and Black Cobra are barely menacing. They cannot quite match the firepower of a Mustafa Qureshi. When the forces of evil are pitted against the likes of Sultan Rahi, then they need all the help they can muster. Supergirl managed a reasonable theatrical run and kept investors happy by turning a good profit.