Armaan’s remake and Tarang Housefull; the bigger picture

With a struggling film scene in the country, the only thing that is left for people to cherish about is the golden past the industry once lived in. Pakistan in last decade saw ‘Television Industry’ being developed as one of its strongest pillars, this obviously includes the vibrant news media that is now seen as the third force for justice in the country and is flourishing day by day. With so much cheap entertainment available in your room’s TV set and almost no applaudable effort on cinema side, Pakistan film industry went deep down in the pit of failure.

There seemed to be no ending, solutions were there, they still are, but the road to resurrection seemed too rough to travel on. Then came a news few days back that Waheed Murad’s Armaan, a classic from 60’s, is being remade and it is Abdullah Kadwani who has taken this job into his own hands.

The picture got clearer as more and more details poured in, bringing us to a position where now we can present our readers the most authentic and extensive note on the project.

Let’s start it from here, the movie is basically a part of the promotional strategy of Engro Foods. Promotional because it is after all a part of their marketing campaign for different products. Tarang (Engro Foods’ tea whitener) being a popular product of this corporate giant is the main sponsor of this whole activity, thus the whole effort is named as, Tarang Housefull.

Partnering with Tarang here for the promotional and distributional purpose of the project is Geo TV. Unlike initial reports, it is now clear that the remake is not going to be a feature-length film, instead a big budgeted telefilm which will quite uniquely be promoted the feature-film-way.

Another interesting fact is that Armaan is not the only film being remade, instead, there are five other Pakistani classics that Engro and Geo have partnered to turn into telefilms and televise to the new generation. These five films include, Nadeem Baig and Shabnam starrer Aina, Abhi to Main Jawan Hun of 1978 starring Shabnam and Shahid, 1968’s Waheed Murad, Sabiha Khanum, Santosh Kumar and Rani starrer Dewar Bhabhi, Dil Mera Dhadkan Teri of Waheed Murad and Shamim Ara, and an another classic of Waheed Murad, Sabiha Khanum and Santosh Kumar, Anjuman (1970).

In order to do proper justice to all the selected classics, Geo TV passed down the job of their production and direction to six different parties; a mix and match of people from film industry and small screen, each of them wholly responsible for a separate film alloted to them.

The remake of Armaan, now having Fawad Khan and Aamina Sheikh in lead roles was directed by Anjum Shehzad and produced by 7th Sky Entertainment. Mahnoor Khan of Bol will also be seen playing an important role in the film. The 90 minutes telefilm will include the same romantic feel and a still to be tested chemistry between Fawad Khan and Aamina Sheikh. With so much interesting stuff already in the film, Ahmed Rushdi’s Akele Na Jana from the original movie has been renditioned with the vocals of none other than Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The famous Ko Ko Koreena along with Jab Pyar Mein Do Dil of Ahmed Rushdi are also part of the remake. It must be remembered that the original film was directed by Pervaiz Malik.

Shaan was given the task of remaking Aina, an other classic from the good old days. The original starred Nadeem Baig and Shabnam and was directed by Nazr-ul-Islam. Shaan himself along with Humaima Malick will be seen playing the lead role in the remake. During the music launch ceremony, Shaan expressed his desire to release the film in cinemas, he said he agreed on taking this project only on the condition of giving the film a cinematic release before its run on television, even if it is for few days only.

Dil Mera Dhadkan Teri, which originally starred Waheed Murad and Shamim Ara is now remade with a refreshing cast of Ahsan Khan and Sarwat Gillani. Sanam Saeed of currently running Zindagi Gulzar Hai will also be seen in this telefilm. The original film releasing in 1976 was directed by M.A. Rasheed while Mehreen Jabbar has steered the directorial wheel this time. Mehreen in past gave Pakistan film industry a success in shape of her 2008 released Ramchand Pakistani, the movie was highly appreciated in the film circles locally and internationally and thus, expectation are high this time around too.

TV director Nadeem Baig (not to be confused with Pakistani acting legend Nadeem Baig), was given the task to remake the famous 1978 Pakistani film Abhi To Mein Jawan Hoon, starring Shahid and Shabnam. The original was directed by the legendary Pakistani director S.Suleman. The remake, however, stars an interesting combination of actors like Meekal Zulfikar and Ayesha Khan in lead roles, and, Usaman Peerzada, Bushra Ansari, Atiqa Odho and Saba Hameed in supporting characters. The reditioned version of Madam Noor Jahan sung Abhi to Mein Jawan Hoon from the OST of the original film is getting positive reviews on different forums and the film has made its own unique space in the whole project.

Man reshaping the famous Waheed Murad starrer Dewar Bhabi is Syed Noor. And guess what. Yes, we have got Saima yet again in his this project, but at least this time in a different avatar than a college girl or a diva in her early twenties. This time around she will be seen playing the role of Bhabi, which the living legend Sabiha Khanum originally played in late 60’s. Sami Khan will be seen paying tribute to Waheed Murad, while actor Saud will also be seen in a supporting role.

Last but not obviously the least, famous television director Yasir Nawaz has directed the remake of another famous Waheed Murad film, Anjuman. The remake includes actor Imran Abbas in tributary role to Waheed Murad, whereas Sarah Loren and currently Pakistan based Indian actor Aly Khan will be seen playing the roles that Sabiha Khanum and legend Santosh Kumar originally played, respectively. Yasir along with Shaan and Syed Noor also expressed his desire to see the film being played on cinemas before its television release.

All these remakes, as per the announcement of Geo TV, will be telecasted every Firday from the month of April. Alongwith Geo Television Network, the state-run PTV has also been seen doing promotions of the film on different forums. Thus, it is quite possible that these remakes will be given space on PTV as well.

Music Launch of all the remakes was held on 20th March and was promoted as the biggest activity of that sort in the history of Pakistan Film Industry. Below we have compiled the list of songs that have been retuned to the modern requirements and will come as a package with all these remakes.

Shaan having a deal with Geo TV and Engro Foods hasn’t released much details and material on the movie yet and he; as mentioned earlier, plans to give the remake of Aina a cinema release.

Tarang has been associated with the entertainment fraternity for a long time, you saw them producing Hero Bannay Ki Tarang and then a tributary advertisement to Madam Noor Jahan with her grand-daughter Sonya Jehan and Fawad Khan featuring in it. We have also seen the TVC appearances of many film actors, including Moammar Rana, Saheba and even Meera. And now with this, we hope Tarang will once again manage to portray a completely different image of Pakistan film Industry and all these remakes will mark a turning point for Pakistani films.

For the song teasers, snaps from Music Launch ceremony and BTS Pictures of these remakes, visit the official Facebook page of Tarang Housefull by clicking here.