Adam Khor: For Fans Of The Bizzare

Adam Khor (1991)
Cast: Badar Munir, Shahnaz, Asif Khan, Naimat Sarhadi
Director: Qaiser Sanober
Synopsis: Horrible hairy behemoth on a gruesome rampage in this wild Pashto shocker

Reviewed by: Omar Khan

Yet another grisly death in the locality leaves the police totally baffled and the villagers increasingly irate and frantic at the inability of the law to protect them. Everyone speaks in hushed tones about the bloodthirsty "Adam Khor" who is supposedly responsible for the mounting death toll.

Who is this marauding Adam Khor and how can he be discovered and stopped from perpetrating further horrors on the innocent populace?

To make things worse, for the poor villagers, Haibat Khan -- a deranged worshipper of black satanic rituals -- enters the scene, haunting the villagers from the nearby forest. Every now and then, whenever the whim takes them, Haibat's men trash the village and carry off the women, slaughtering anyone who dares to stand in their bloody path. Haibat is in the habit [no pun intended] of hanging his victims upside down before hacking their heads off, spilling the blood into bubbling vats of flavorsome broth - (the apparent secret of his potent virility - take note Ma's Army).

Hauntingly, Haibat puts any chances of his apprehension to a halt by unleashing his fury on the local police inspector. Babur, the honest but, naive cop is savagely ripped to shreds in an orgy of violence as his wife gunned down in cold blood by Haibat's savages. The police officer's young sister, the plump Shahnaz witnesses in horror as her family is butchered before her eyes. Moments later she emerges, eyes sparkling with the fire of vengeance as she vows to devote her life to the sole mission of seeking out and destroying Haibat Khan once and for all. Off she goes into the forest to prepare herself for her one woman guerrilla operation.

Fabulous Poster of Adam Khor

Meanwhile, the village gets a new cop; the wrinkled but, virile Asif Khan. Haibat Khan's fearful goons abduct Asif's nubile younger sister. In a thriller packed scene, chasing her through the forest where they eventually corner her. But before they can make their final move an incredibly dramatic chain of events triggers, the earth begins to rumble and shake and cracks appear in the crust, in what appears to be a violent earthquake tremor the earth explodes and out comes a rather dusty savior in the form of the unflappable Badar Munir. Brushing off the earth from his clothes he single-handily thrashes Haibat's goons with the superhuman power [that he always seems to possess, Ah, Bless!].

However, while he is busy beating the goons to a pulp in the wilderness of the forest, the blood thirsty creature awakens. Within moments the girl is left bleeding and dead, eventually the police arrives to find Badar overlooking the corpse and he is immediately apprehended and locked up as the reviled "Adam Khor".

Fortunately for Badar his pet monkey launches a fearsome grenade attack on the police convoy [for real] and Badar is able to make a getaway to the jungle where he joins up with the vengeful sister of Babur.

Badar recalls the story of being vilified as adam-khor and watching his life being destroyed. The villagers' mobs set upon his poor parents and bludgeoned them to death for having spawned the evil "Adam Khor". Even the young brothers and sisters are hacked to pieces right in front of Badar's eyes.

After a grim struggle against the odds, Shahnaz and Badar eventually manage to track down Haibat Khan. However, they find far more than they ever bargained for as they discover that Haibat is more than just a maniacal trigger-happy psychotic Satan worshipper. In a telling moment Haibat behaves very strangely when offered some pulpy red ketchup for dinner one night, it seems to send him into rapturous throes of lustful ecstasy!

Clearly all is not well with Haibat Khan and his devoted wife soon begins to worry for her crazed husband who takes midnight strolls in the forest for reasons best known to himself.

Here is another delirious Pashto shocker that takes film-making to the very edge. The special effects are hysterical and the marauding fanged hairy behemoth, a sight for sore eyes. The gore levels are spectacular with man eating wooden dogs, flying bats, fanged monsters and demons, spinning heads and intestine ripping all being part of the delicious scenery - what more could a horror freak ask for!

Alas, the sleaze factor is minimal for a Pashto film though we do get one or two full-fledged Lycra clad bum shots being thrust in the camera lens on one or two tasteful occasions. This fabulous slice of pseudo werewolf delirium is a gem of rank awfulness and ineptitude. It takes considerable skill and talent to be able to conjure up a film with such an amazing lack of qualities.

Another quite astounding fact is that this film waltzed away with the Nigar award as the Best Pashto language film of 1991. Says volumes for the "quality" of local films. The movie was released on the 14th of April, 1991 and managed a fairly successful run at the box office and has often been released to steady business.

For fans of the bizarre, surely life can't be complete without having witnessed at least three Pashto films. Try to make this one of the three if you possibly can!

Jam Saqi: The forgotten rebel

“I don't believe in the dictatorship of the proletariat” Jam Saqi

An exclusive interview conducted by Zaman Khan

Mohammad Jam, commonly known as Jam Saqi, is one of the few Pakistanis who have become legends in their own lives. He was born on October 31, 1946, in Janjhi village of Tharparkar district in a family of teachers. His father, Mohammad Sachal, was a dedicated educationist, who was instrumental in the opening of many schools, particularly those for girls, in Thar. Jam Saqi's mother Menhbai was illiterate at the time of her marriage but Mohammad Sachal taught her to become a teacher as well.

Afrasiab Khattak: An Unlikely Crusader

-originally published in 2000 by Pakistanlink

by S.A Hussein

A few weeks ago I had the rare opportunity to meet one of the most remarkable men from Pakistan. Though I had known him for over ten years through his lucid and incisive commentaries on social and political issues and had talked to him on the phone, I had not met him.

Afrasiab Khattak is that rare breed of Pukhtun intellectuals who having come from a feudal background, has transcended cultural, religious and social barriers to become a liberal crusader for the rights of women and minorities in Pakistan. In a patriarchal society where ancient tribal codes and narrow and often skewed interpretation of religion leave very little room for civil debate, his unabashed stand for human rights is refreshing if surprising. In these uncertain times many Pakistani liberals have either changed their stripes or have decided to remain quiet.