Night of Henna is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Hassan Zee (Bicycle Bride), and is the first Pakistani-American feature film. The film stars Pooja Kumar, Reef Karim, Nancy Carlin, Suhail Tayyeb, Ponni Swaminathan Chesser, and Craig Marker.
| Night of Henna | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hassan Zee |
| Produced by | Hassan Zee |
| Starring | Pooja Kumar Reef Karim |
| Cinematography | Hiro Narita |
| Edited by | Suzun Hughes
|
| Music by | Chebbi Sabah |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
A young Pakistani woman is forced to choose between an arranged marriage set up by her family and her true love.
Cast
- Pooja Kumar as Hava
- Girja Shankar as Abdul
- Ponni Chesser as Rafia
- Suhail Tayeb as Salman
- Reef Karim as Baboo
- Craig Marker as Justin
- Giuseppe Distefano as Shani
- Azhar Shah as Bashir
- Noor Shic as Zakia
- Nancy Carlin as Sue
- Kevin Michael Walsh as Matt
- Mary Farzaneh as Amy
- Sanjay Lovji as Mike
- Jeanette Penley as Molly
Reception
G. Allen Johnson from SF Gate wrote that "Unfortunately, the plot is much too thin to sustain its 93-minute running time, and the underwritten script and sometimes painfully awkward staging and acting make "Night of Henna" rough going at times".[1] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that "Night of Henna was obviously made for very little money, and its earnest do-it-yourself feeling gives it a degree of charm, which is augmented by Ms. Kumar's unassuming loveliness".[2] Jami Bernard of Daily News wrote that "First time writer-director-producer Hassan Zee follows a well-worn theme — the clash between generations of new immigrants — in this mildly pleasant movie".[3] Laura Sinagra of The Village Voice wrote that "San Francisco indie striver Hassan Zee's Pakistani American spin on Monsoon Wedding hobbles a likable cast with dialogue flatter than Bollywood's cheesiest".[4] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide wrote that "Were it not for Kumar's luminous charisma, the film would be unwatchable".[5]
References
External links
- "Official website". Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Night of Henna at AllMovie
- Night of Henna at Box Office Mojo
- Night of Henna at IMDb
- Night of Henna at Metacritic
- Night of Henna at Rotten Tomatoes
