The Egyptian film The Harouns is confused as to what it’s trying to say. It gets the beginning right as it introduces Haroun, the devil reincarnate, who was a criminal genius, and he and Hodhod, the mob boss, make quite a fortune for themselves. Looking like an action thriller, it turns into a murder mystery when Haroun is killed, and nobody knows who did it. There are characters introduced one after the other who may be the killer, and the event for Haroun’s last rites becomes the hot seat for murders and betrayals, and it is only in the end that everybody figures out who the real killer was. I’m tempted to say that the film would have worked best as a short film, with the drama distilled down to who killed Haroun and why, after showing us the connection of the criminal genius to the rest. In this film, there is a setup that takes a lot of time to get to the point, and we are made to wait and guess who the killer could be when we are shown absolutely nothing about the characters beforehand. We go in as blind as some of the characters and have to guess how the criminal Caesar of Cairo was killed by his close friends or his enemies.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
In the very beginning of the film, we are introduced to Haroun. He doesn’t give the introduction himself, but his aura in the criminal world is described by Hodhod, who was making a deal with Dr. Jacklyn. Jacklyn was interested in knowing if Haroun could do the task at hand, and Hodhod assured her that there wasn’t anyone else in Egypt to do something of that magnitude. There was obviously something big going on, and Hodhod and Jacklyn wanted Haroun to help make that gargantuan deal a success. Hodhod had discovered a tomb, probably belonging to an ancient pharaoh, and in it were artifacts, gold, jewelry, and many other precious things that Jacklyn wanted to be a dealer for. Her cut of 30 percent had to be taken illegally out of Cairo, and it was supposed to be Haroun’s job, but he was ambushed midway and perished. Nobody knew who had killed him. His sister Mohra, brother Rasheed, and brother-in-law Taher were torn apart by his death, or maybe the killer was hiding in the family and feigning their distress. There were many other players who could have killed him, as Haroun had many greedy clients and fierce enemies. The truth came out on the day of his funeral.
Why Did Rasheed Kill The Maid?
Usually in such films, the most meek and powerless turns out to be the killer. That could be the only way to explain the introduction of the maid in the plot, who arrived at the funeral with her child, claiming it to be Haroun’s. She told Mohra that the child was her ticket to Haroun’s property, and this made Rashhed take cognizance of the matter. He kidnapped her after her fight with Mohra and made her confess if the child was really Haroun’s. If she was telling the truth, then she had a motive to get Haroun killed. But realistically speaking, she was just a maid and didn’t have the kind of muscle to send in an entire convoy to stop Haorun’s convoy and kill him. She revealed that the child was Rasheed’s, and he decided to kill her and keep the baby. He was embarrassed to admit that he had been careless and knocked up the maid. He didn’t flinch at having her buried alive. Rasheed was turning out to be a drug-fueled psychopathic killer, giving the vibe that he was the murderer.
Why Did Fares Arrive At The Funeral?
Hodhod had been merciless when dealing with people whose land he had stolen. He had all the firepower in the world, and everybody feared him in Cairo. But Fares’ father was one such fellow who spoke against the injustice. Hodhod didn’t hesitate to kill him the minute he decided to raise his voice, and Fares arrived at the funeral as he knew that Hodhod was Haroun’s good friend, and he would surely be there at the funeral. Hodhod would be relaxed, more so than at other places, as he might not anticipate somebody coming out to kill him. Fares was there to avenge his father’s death, and he was later helped by Taher, Haroun’s brother-in-law.
How Did Taher Have Haroun Killed?
‘Why did Taher have Haorun killed?’ has a pretty straightforward answer. He was jealous of him and was tired of living in his shadow. Haroun might have been killed by Hamed, as he was Haroun’s rival, but Hamed’s younger brother Saad had already been made to join Haroun’s gang by Rasheed. Rasheed had tested his loyalty by asking him to kill Hamed, and Saad didn’t disappoint. The real question was ‘how’ Taher got Haorun killed. If Taher wanted to kill Haroun, he had to do it in a very precise manner and be so tactful that nobody suspected him.
First, Taher got Zain, Hamed’s man, by his side, and in fact, it was Zain who pulled the trigger and shot Haroun. But he had done so on Taher’s request. All this was revealed by Taher himself when Hodhod took the family hostage in order to get the truth out of them. Hodhod ordered Zain to kill Taher, totally oblivious to the fact that Zain was on Taher’s side. Zain had bought into Taher’s rationale that they both were like cockroaches in their respective gangs. Together, they could bring everyone down and be kings. Taher also had a plan for Hussein, the banker, who was supposed to have the money laundered for Hodhod. So, he wasn’t leaving any wiggle room for Hodhod, in case he survived. But after Zain pointed his gun at him, it was game over. Hence, Taher came into his own and explained his master plan. For a brief moment, it looked like Hodhod would be glad to know that Haroun was planning to backstab him. Haroun and Jacklyn had already met before she met Hodhod, and she planned to con Hodhod. So, the friend who was trying hard to figure out who killed Haroun would have been duped if that friend lived. It was a lose-lose situation for him, and he must have felt quite defeated. Saad had seen Jacklyn with Haroun, and she was going to marry Haroun after duping Hodhod. But nobody won in the end.
During The Harouns‘ ending, police arrived at Taher’s place while he was lying on the huge pile of money Haroun was driving with when he was killed. Perhaps Hussein had told his wife about the dealings with Taher. The police were searching Hussein’s place for bank fraud, and his wife might have given them the address of Hussein’s accomplice, Taher. Taher had no intention to work with Hussein. He was just using him to make matters difficult for Haroun and Hodhod, but perhaps that ultimately led to his downfall. Maybe he would kill himself, as there was nothing to live for now. He hated everyone, and Zain must have killed everyone, Mohra included. Fares got his revenge by killing Hodhod, and he might be called the only victor of the Haroun situation.
