Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

5 hours before i left the Cinema after watching ZINDA BHAAG and i am still mentally in the story.After buying tickets me and friends were waiting for the show to start. 1 girls came out of cinema hall crying; finishing previous show and after 2 hours i also left Cenima with wet eyes.An excellent movie with mind blowing acting and music was simply owsome. Pakistani Cenima simply at its best.Its a never miss movie specially if you know Punjabi go and watch may be this will be one the best movie you ever saw. Really Oscar deserving movie.

Zinda Bhaag will not win the Oscar. Not because it is not good enough, but because it is impossible for its nuance, humour and wit to be translated into English. The very thing that will make it a sensation in Pakistan and India will work against it at the Academy: its authentic voice that speaks loud and clear to and for the people that it represents.When asked about the movie, co-director Meenu Gaur said, "We wanted to make a movie that we ourselves would like to go and watch in the theatre." Zinda Bhaag is a very distinct film that employs cinema verite along with Lollywood kitsch to create a strong narrative that is both entertaining and conscientious. It is a Punjabi film that takes pride in its heritage without compromising its integrity. With Zinda Bhaag, the Pakistani film industry embarks on its nouvelle vague while setting an entirely new standard for South Asian cinema. It is the quintessential representation of the existential crisis facing young Pakistanis. However, most importantly, the film addresses the dwindling middle class and the working poor. The film recounts the story of three friends trying to get out of Pakistan as narrated by Naseeruddin Shah's character Pehlwan, who happens to be the area godfather. In a country where gambling is prohibited by law but still quite rampant, young men are willing to gamble with their own lives in order to realise their 'American Dream'. Zinda Bhaag is a cautionary tale that somehow avoids being preachy.Pakistani cinema has revived due to the lifting of restrictions against Indian films. As film is one of the most collaborative forms of art, without cross-border cooperation, nothing would have been possible. Art house cinema actor Naseeruddin Shah invested in the industry with his participation in several hit films. With his patronage and performance in Zinda Bhaag, the industry is indebted to Shah.Farjad and Meenu derive stellar performances. Amna Ilyas plays the true 'hero' Rubina — a young, ambitious woman trying to earn an honest living in a corrupt nation. She sees the potential in Khaldi (played flawlessly by Khurram Patras) and tries to help him. In a brilliant tete-a-tete, which involves proverbs, hilarious Punjabi sayings and play on words, the entire structure of their relationship is revealed. The filmmakers pay a tribute to the industry by offering Naghma Begum the memorable role of a selfish mother pushing her children's buttons while consuming trash television.Sahir Ali Bhagga's music is an essential element in the construction of the ebbs and flows in the film. Every song is deliberately woven and moves the narrative while layering it. How would the Oscar voters understand the foreshadowing of events and the multiple associations of "Par Chana De" where the conversation between Sohni and her ghara (clay pot) are not translatable? Punjabis, however, will be delightfully reintroduced to the kinship between cinema and literature, and enjoy the language of cinema once again.Zinda Bhaag is the most beautiful and complex film to come from Pakistan in decades and proves that great storytelling does not need massive budgets or a Bollywood repertoire. This year Zinda Bhaag will run for a spot on the Oscar shortlist with the likes of other remarkable films like Omar, La Passe, Child's Pose, Cannibal, and Gloria. However, in the hearts of Pakistanis everywhere, when they see Zinda Bhaag, they already know it's a winner. Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.

I just watched Zinda Bhaag with my friends at Cinestar Lahore and to be honest, I wasn't prepared for such a good and thought provoking ride. Direction,writing and acting was superb and takes audience into the situation to feel the depth of the issue discussed. Zinda Bhaag is no doubt the one of the best efforts in struggling cinema of Pakistan.In my opinion every cinema goer should go to watch it. Those of you who don't want to watch it for its dark issue. Don't worry, issue is very lightly presented with very good laughter combo and pace of the film slowly drives you to the core. So Go for It!! To support your own cinema and for good local entertainment!

Zinda Bhaag is for sure one of the best efforts from Pakistan in 2013 ... but with 4-5 mainstream movies getting made in a year - not much to compare it against!! In a nutshell, Zinda Bhaag talks of the "Pakistani Dream" of an average Pakistani youth – the one where he is willing to take any route to migrate from Pakistan – be it to Doobai, Amereeka, Europe or Englaand!! – where all his life's problems will get solved, because that's where his Pot of Gold is waiting.Zinda Bhaag is not your mainstream masala entertainment – it is a film with a message.Go prepared with your thinking hats on and if you don't know Punjabi, with someone who can translate the dialogues for you …(because the movie is 80% in Punjabi)