KARACHI:
Zinda Bhaag, a comedy thriller with debut performances by non-actors and
featuring one of India’s finest actors Naseeruddin Shah, premiered at the Ocean
Tower mall on Wednesday evening.
The
Pakistani Academy Selection Committee has selected it as the first Pakistani
film in over 50 years to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the Foreign
Language Film Award category at the 86th Academy Awards.
Mazhar
Zaidi, the film’s producer, said: “We are releasing our film on Sept 20 all
over the country including cities such as Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan.
Later, we plan to also release the film in Sialkot and Sargodha among other
cities."
“Prior
to the film’s release we did test screening with 50 viewers and we received a
fantastic response. Hence, our expectations are quite high and some people have
even said that Zinda Bhaag may set a new trend in film making.
“We
are lucky that we made the film at a time when Pakistani cinema is coming of
age,” said award-winning documentary filmmaker Farjad Nabi, the co-director of
the film.
When
asked if at any point the film had to be stalled due to lack of finances, Mr
Nabi said: “It is interesting that I am being asked this question because I
learnt while making the film that sometimes your writing can be determined by
funding and vice-versa. Ours was a low-budget movie and the only way we did
cost-cutting was by having the actors rehearse the script thoroughly before we
shot their scenes.”
About
choosing non-actors for his debut movie, Mr Nabi said the choice was deliberate
as he and his co-director Meenu Gaur wanted actors who the audience could
relate to.
All
the three non-actors Salman Ahmed Khan, Zohaib Asghar and Khurram Patras were
quite thrilled to be part of the movie and especially the fact that they got to
work and interact with Mr Shah.
“It
was a surprise for us for we had no idea that he was a part of the film. We
were just so happy to be selected for the movie. The acting workshop that he
conducted was a wonderful experience as he taught us acting tips in an
affectionate manner,” said the three excited young actors.
Mr
Patras, a salesman, and Mr Asghar, a mobile accessories dealer, said that they
intended to continue acting after Zinda Bhaag.
According
to Gaur, casting the female lead for the film was a challenge. “For male leads
we were able to get at least 100 boys for auditions but for girls we barely got
three. Our casting team even went as far as Multan to find girls for the role.
Luckily, we found Amna Ilyas who we auditioned over Skype. She was just the
kind of spunky female we were looking for.”
Ms
Ilyas, a well-known model, said that initially she was hesitant to sign the
movie but when Mr Zaidi, the film producer, said that he was going to tell her
a secret which she could tell no one and that secret was that Mr Shah was going
to be a part of the film.
“That
was a clincher for me and I immediately agreed to do the movie,” said Ms Ilyas,
who looked striking in a funky Fahad Hussayn sari.
About
her future movie plans she said that she had already acted in another movie
Good Morning Karachi, formerly known as Rafina, directed by Sabiha Sumar and
awaiting its release in early 2014.
The
movie’s music that has also won Best Music award at the Mosaic International
South Asian Film Festival in Mississauga, Canada, has been generating a lot of
buzz.
“Sahir
Ali Bagga [of Cocktail fame], the film’s music composer, has created music that
is warm and real. Mohammed Hanif, journalist and author of ‘A case of exploding
mangoes’, has written the lyrics of song Dekhaingay and journalist Hasan
Mujtaba has penned a qawwali that has been sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan,” said
Ms Gaur.
The
filmmakers said plans were under way to release the film internationally.
“Zinda Bhaag’s release plans for the US and UK markets are at an advanced stage.
In fact, by October the film will be released in the UK,” said Mr Nabi. “We
have already spoken to a couple of distributors in India, so hopefully we shall
release the film in India as well,” said Mr Zaidi.
Article By : MALEEHA HAMID SIDDIQUI (DAWN)
Original Source : DAWN
No comments:
Post a Comment