Night of Henna

Night of Henna
Night of Henna
Directed by	Hassan Zee
Produced by	Hassan Zee
Starring	Pooja Kumar; Reef Karim
Cinematography	Hiro Narita
Edited by	Suzun Hughes Jeffery Severtson; Sharon Franklin;
Music by	Chebbi Sabah
Release date	25 March 2005;
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

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.

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]