A few Skimpy clothed women dancing to the tunes of item songs. Loud gunshots. Plush mansions, and a hell lot of action…Oh! And how can I forget…loads and loads of ‘melo-drama’. That’s what we can expect from this year’s Eid-ul-Fitr release, Sultanat.
Sultanat is an upcoming Pakistani film directed by Syed Faisal Bukhari, who is widely acknowledged in the world behind camera in Pakistan as someone of a master cinematographer with awe-inspiring framing in his movies as his specialty. He has some fascinating soaps like Mehndi Wale Hath and Mil Ke Bhi Hum Na Mil Sake to his credit, plus he was the man behind the action blockbuster Bhai Log released in 2011.
The person who is behind funding this 25-crore-mega enterprise (calling it a film may be an understatement) is none other than Mr. Aslam Bhatti. Known for having established business in UAE and contacts with various political personalities in India and Pakistan, Aslam Bhatti is a man of power. This could be easily seen at the launch of Sultanat, held a few years back in Dubai, which beside showbiz personalities was attended by the likes of General Pervaiz Musharraf , Farooq Sattar and Sheikh Rasheed.
Farooq Sattar talking to media on the event said, ‘hum to sirf 3 bhaiyoon ko jante hein , ek Altaf bhai , dosre Musharraf bhai aur teesre humare Aslam bhai (We only know three Bhais here, First Altaf Bhai, second Musharraf Bhai and then our Aslam Bahi).
Coming back to the film, Saltanat on its cast side is a grand mix of actors from Pakistan and India. From Pakistan, Ahsan Khan, Sara Loren, Javed Sheikh, Zainab Qayyum (ZQ) and Aslam Bhatti will be part of the action, whereas Sheweta Tiwari, Akashdeep Saigol, Deepak Shirke, Chetan Hansraj , Achinit Kaur from India will exhibit their star power. The script has been penned by Pervaiz Kaleem who is known for his meaningful dialogues, while the music of the film has been done by Naveed Wajid Ali.
Interestingly, Sultanat started out as a mega TV serial project, to be broadcasted on ARY Digtal. Later on, however, it was converted into a feature film, and by the promos we can easily say that it is the grand most action film to have come out of Pakistan. Shot in three different countries, Dubai, Malaysia, and Singapore, one can sure expect to see some beautiful locales.
Technically, the film has been shot on two types of cameras (i) 35mm negative and (ii) Digital cameras like RED Epic. This experiment in past has most notably been done in Bollywood as well; with Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani being shot primarily on Arri Alexa (Digital), while having some parts additionally captured on 35mm mode too.
Sara Loren, the gorgeous Pakistani diva who is now working full-time in Bollywood has performed a special item song for the film. Interestingly, the song was shot way back before she moved to Mumbai…and under the knife, the actress, thus, here in this movie could be seen in her ‘pre-cosmetic surgery’ avatar. Hmmm. Eye candy indeed. 😉
But hold on, there is one more song to look forward to. A special disco number, shot in Dubai, and basically a remix of the classic song ‘Sohnde Di Tavitri’. By looking at the sneak peak of it in the trailer, I can easily say that it not only seems far more powerful than the Sara Loren’s song but also beats it by miles in almost everything.
Will Eid-ul-Fitr 2014 be all about Aslam Bhatti’s Sultanat? Only time will tell.
The Writer Hasnat Afridi is currently pursuing his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from University of Central Punjab (UCP). He aims to be a film-maker and film-marketer in the future. Moreover he has been Assisting Shehzad Rafique on his projects for quite some time as well. Hasnat has a soft corner for the local Pakistani Cinema and he wants to see it thrive.
