By Aayan Mirza
Feature Image by: Zeeshan Mahmood
For years the province of Balochistan has remained culturally invisible for majority of the country. Most of us only know about that particular province just as much as our school tablos show us on their independence day functions every year. For years the province has remained in utter silence.
But Balochistan, ladies and gentlemen, is back! Back in the scene, back in films, and back on Pakistan’s cultural map.
The PTV generation amongst us is already familiar with the great hits the channel’s provincial station has produced on small screen, and subsequently some great actors ever to have entertained us on our TV screens. For the newer generation, however, the rising film industry of Pakistan has started playing a similar role.
Amongst some of the biggest upcoming films, we see a heavy Balochistan presence in most. To start with, lets take Operation 021; the biggest and the most awaited film today, as our first example. Operation 021’s biggest link with the province comes from its producer, Zeba Bakhtiar. A household name in Pakistan, a well-followed and highly praised identity in its entertainment world, Zeba Bahtiar is the daughter of the same Baloch land.
Then, who isn’t familiar with the names, Ayub Khoso and Hameed Sheikh, two of the legends PTV Balochistan has produced, they too, strengthen the Balochistan element in O21 as part of its star-studded cast. Additionally, it has been reported that the province also plays a specific role in the story of the film, and thus, very naturally, certain parts of the film are shot in Balochistan at original locations.
But that’s about O21, furthermore in our bank of examples, we have got another upcoming film, Moor. Directed by Jami Mahmood, Moor maybe the biggest film to house this Balochistan element. From its story set to shooting locations, and then its Hameed Sheikh spearheaded cast, Moor has a beautiful tale to tell from that part of the country, brought on camera right from a heavenly set of locales in Balochistan.
Moving on, we have got two more upcoming films, Hijrat and Dukhtar. Although not much can be said about their link with the province in terms of locations and plot. But their biggest link with the province comes from their directors. While Dukhtar is directed by Quetta born Afia Nathaniel, the name of Hijrat’s director– a well-known name that is, Farooq Mengal; has got all the Balochistan in it, the name speaks itself of its origin.
This is all happening in a province where not even a single multiplex stands, and the existing conventional cinema infrastructure, too, is in an extremely sorry state. This is happening in a province whose image has probably been damaged the most with an almost everyday security situation. But it is also happening in a province that has very recently held an all Pakistan T-20 Cricket Tournament. Attended by Pakistan’s cricket star Shahid Afridi, the tournament also hosted amazing cultural performances, including those by ace Baloch folk singer, Akhtar Chanal, and Pashto’s most praised pop star, Raheem Shah.
All of this significantly and symbolically proves that in all the known unrest in that province, there is an unknown soft side of it too, perhaps and, in fact, definitely the most precious asset that mineral rich province of Pakistan possesses.
