Bin Roye’s glamorous music preview event in Lahore struck the right chord.

by Momin Ali Munshi

“Mujh say chay chay saal chothi larkiyan lay leen hain. Make up ka itna khayal zindagi main nahi kiya jitna kay is film main kiya hay” said a cheeky Humayun Saeed when he was handed the mic to say a few words about his experience with the film “Bin Roye”. Not only did this statement elicit some cheering and applause from the crowd but it also set the mood of the entire event and  was surely a befitting start to the fun filled night.

Tuesday, 9 June. It was a night like none other at the Pearl Continental Hotel Lahore as it played host to the special Press  Conference/Music Preview of one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of the year “Bin Roye”. The entire mood was of jubilation as not only was the cast and crew of the film present but it seemed as is if the entire film fraternity of Punjab had gathered to show support to the magnum opus that is “Bin Roye”. Cinema owners, actors, directors, journalists and media people from all over Punjab were there in the audiences which made the event look like one big celebration.

From the “Bin Roye” team  there was Humayun Saeed, Mahira Khan, Armeena Rana, AzraMansoor, Momina Duraid, Sultana Sidique, Sahir Ali Bagga to talk about the film,  whereas the  audience included names such as veteran directors  Syed Noor, Shehzad Rafique , newbies Mohsin Abbas, Ahmed Ali Butt as well as various  cinema owners and media people from all over Pakistan.  This amalgamation  was surely something worth seeing.Moreover from Galaxy Lollywood yours truly, Momin Ali Munshi, was there to cover the event and narrate to you readers the proceedings of this filmy event.
                           

It was about 7:45 pm when Mahira Khan and Armeena Rana walked the red carpet and kick started the event. It was only a sight of Mahira and the entire hall went berserk trying to catch a glimpse of this beauty. Media bytes were given in between the selfie sessions where everyone present wanted to be clicked with the diva who has surely become the talk of the town after her film opposite Shahrukh Khan was announced . I too joined the crowd and also clicked a photo with the diva Mahira. Soon enough Humayun Saeed came and the media ran towards him. The three starts then interacted with the media and were questioned by the red carpet host Natasha Hussain. Soon after, the three main stars of the film made their way to the main stage and and this marked the official beginning of the event.

The host Shahnaz Ramzi  welcomed everyone and without much wait passed the mics to the stars who talked about their experience with the film.It was Sultana Sidique who started this session talking about the different hurdles they faced making the film and thanked the entries fraternity who had come to support them.

Then it was Humayun’s turn to speak.  Everyone in the audience could not stop gushing over this new improved Humayun who looked drool worthy hot and seemed to have found and anti-ageing potion . He also started by thanking everyone in the audience and added he now understands why it is important for a film to come to Lahore as the crowd was very enthusiastic and welcoming. He said that he will urge other filmmakers to come to Lahore too and also assured that the film will have a Lahore premiere along with the Karachi premiere. He the talked about the make up bit and passed the mic to Armeena.

Armeena, who looked really cute in her printed pants, talked about how she is really new in the industry and considers herself lucky and blessed to be working with so many big names. She confessed  how  HUM Tv’s “Humsafar” was the first Pakistani drama she saw and that now she is working in HUM’s first feature film. Then it was Mahiras turn to speak.

Mahira had a radiant glow and looked ravishing in a Feeha Jamshed ensemble. She started by saying how Bin Roye is an extremely important film for her and that how she has invested so much in the film and has even been dreaming about it. She then complimented Humayun and said that he has done a phenomenal job in the film. Mahira also urged everyone to stop using the word revival as  she believes the industry has already revived. She was interrupted by a strange man who  was crashing the event and the security had to escort him out of the venture. A visibly shaken Mahira continued talking about the film and the passed the mic to the director Momina Duraid.

Momina talked about the film and highlighted that this film is a celebration of everything Pakistani. She told how the film has  Chaand Raat as an important part of the plot and that how the Pakistani culture has been promoted in the film. She ended by urging the viewers to see the film in the cinemas as it would provide wholesome entertainment.

Then it was time for the main feature of the night i.e the unveiling of the music videos. Two videos from the film “Balle Balle” and “Tere Bina Jeena” were played and both were met with a thunderous response from the audience. I believe I was particularly excited in in the crowd when the song “Balle Balle”  was played and would you blame me? Mahira Khan and Adeel Hussain dancing their hearts out in a song which had an elaborate set,  just perfect costumes and some interesting choreography. All these elements make this song something that is surely worth seeing. I tried to make a little video for you readers but well it did not turn out that well. Anyhow here it is.

Then Syed Noor was called up on stage to say a few words and it was heartening  to see that the entire cast stood up in respect of the director. Syed Noor started of by assuring Humayun that he looked just as good as the ladies despite the age gap and also added that there is a trend in the subcontinent that it is only after 40 a hero tastes success. To this Humayun said ” matlab meray abhi do saal hain” which brought a smile on everyone’s face. Furthermore Syed Noor lauded the efforts of the team of Bin Roye and specially mentioned how he really enjoyed the songs. He went on and said that although “naach gaana” may not be a part of our culture but it is an extremely important aspect of our cinema and needs to be present as this creates a repeat value for a film and entertains the audience. He ended by thanking the team for coming to Lahore and said that it would surely prove to be beneficial for the film  and also stressed that there should be more collaborations between  Lahore and Karachi.

Then the host announced that the floor was open for questions and the mic was passed to the audience. The first question was asked by a journalist from the Urdu press who seemed to have a clear agenda on his mind to spew hatred and negativity. His question regarding the use of Indian singers in the film was answered by Momina Durraid, which received a thunderous applause from the audience as she explained that it does not matter where the artist is from as long as what he is doing is for a Pakistani film and done in a way that is  representative of  our Pakisani culture. Moreover Momina assured that the although the singers were from India the songs are very Pakistani in nature. We thought it was tome for the next question but a certain cinema owner felt like he had a few words to say on the subject and hence he asked for a mic and talked at great lengths about how one should appreciate the efforts of the makers and not try to dampen the spirits by such meaningless accusations. The face-off between the journalist and the cinema owner had to be broken down as time was of the essence here.

Then the second question was addressed to Mahira asking about the difference between Indian production values and Pakistani productions values. To this Mahira replied by saying that she honestly feels that Pakistan and India are not that different. The cameras used are the same she added, and communicated that Pakistan is no way behind India.
Then the third question was from your own Galaxy Lollywooed editor Momin Ali Munshi regrading the television show that will follow the film. The question was that whether it will be a continuation, a reboot or a retelling of the same story. To this Momina gave the answer saying that it will be somewhat of an extension but what you will see on television is not what you will have seen in the cinemas.

Then another question was directed towards Momina asking  how did she realize that she was to direct this film. The question was hinting towards the professional capabilities of Momina as a director. Mahira decided to answer this one for Momina when she addressed the journalist asking the question and said ” You know there is something called fate… God”. She added by saying that Momina had to jump on board as there was no other option.

Then came the inevitable question about how the film looked somewhat like a drama and that judging from the trailer the pace seems slow. All Momina had to say to this was that  the people who had such worries should see the film in cinemas once and that they will have their answers.Some other questions followed after which the dinner was served. The selfie sessions with the stars continued until they left the hall which officially ended the star studded night.

We, at Galaxy Lollywood , really appreciate the the efforts of  the Bin Roye team for having a press event in Lahore and hope that more film-makers follow their suit.  Film-makers need to realize the importance of having their events in cities other than Karachi as the buzz and hype generated by this is tremendous. We believe that this step taken by Bin Roye will inspire others and will also unite the film industry of Pakistan which is currently, somewhat divided between Karachi and Lahore.

All hail team Bin Roye!

Keep following Galaxy Lollywood for more updates on the film. And here are some photos from the event.