Pakistani cinema
has fresh and entertaining movies to offer in 2013. With a handful of upcoming
movies being the talk of the town, the country’s first sports film titled Main
Hoon Shahid Afridi is all set for release on Eid. A press conference held on
Sunday at Atrium mall highlighted the film and the cast.
The film’s writer
and host of the night Vasay Chaudhry elaborated on the kind of cinema
actor-producer Humayun Saeed and his team support. “Song, dance and drama is
the style of cinema that we believe in,” said Chaudhry. “From 1947 to 2001,
more than 4,300 films were released in Pakistan with dances, songs and drama.
This is as much our style of cinema as it is our neighbour’s.”
After Chaudhry’s
brief on the film, film distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla shared his views. “On
all such jubilant occasions, we should never forget to pay tribute to and thank
people like Nadeem Baig and Javed Sheikh who have seen the industry go through
thick-and-thin and have been resilient,” said Mandviwalla. According to
Mandviwalla, Main Hoon Shahid Afridi is expected to do a great job at the local
box office.
Like every
cricket-loving citizen of Pakistan, Saeed also expressed his love for Shahid
Afridi and how this film is a tribute to him. “I would have easily made a
shaadi biyaah type of a film, but I always wanted to pay tribute to one of our
own Pakistani stars in their life time,” said Saeed.
“Whether he
performs or not, Shahid Afridi will continue to be Shahid Afridi for us,” said
Saeed. He then thanked all the cast and crew for their continuous support and
hard work but failed to mention Mathira, who performed an item number in the
film. She walked out of the conference in protest. Main Hoon Shahid Afridi also
features Javed Sheikh, Nadeem Baig, Shafqat Cheema, Humayun Saeed, Mahnoor
Baloch and Noman Habib, who plays the lead role.
Saeed, who invested
$1 million into the film, initially had asked the legendary cricketer himself
to act in the lead role. “They offered me the role but my elders didn’t let me
act, but I happily gave them permission to use my name as this film will bring
a positive message,” Shahid Afridi later told AFP.
Veteran actor Javed
Sheikh talked about his experience in contributing to the new age of Pakistani
cinema. “I must assure you that Humayun Saaed and his team will bring you a
pleasant surprise on the first day of Eid,” said Sheikh, who also believes that
if Pakistani dramas can beat Indian dramas, then Pakistani films can also beat
Indian films. “The new wave of Pakistani cinema will come from Karachi and the
new film-makers will make better films than India in much more limited
circumstances,” he added.
Senior actor
Shafqat Cheema, in his signature aggressive style, explained his character,
which is significantly different from the one in Bol. Being one of the most
senior cast members, Nadeem Baig said he is hopeful of the new Pakistani
cinema, while he grieved over artists going to Bollywood. “There is nothing bad
about going to Bollywood, but not at the cost of your own cinema,” said
Baig. “Respect your soil and culture
because it’s a part of you and you are a part of it.”
Director Syed Ali
Raza had a more proactive approach towards the new wave of Pakistani cinema.
“We are not here to compete but to walk hand-in-hand with our neighbours, for
the cause of entertainment,” he said. “Whether you win or lose doesn’t matter,
but play with such a spirit that you can look into each other’s eyes after the
game,” said Raza, using one of the lines from the film.
The evening ended
with the unveiling of some very catchy songs from the film after which we can
easily say that the audience is definitely in for some good surprises.
Published in The
Express Tribune, July 10th, 2013.
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