Shoaib Mansoor is without doubt one of the most, if not the most, important individual when it comes to the revival of Pakistani Cinema. It was his directorial debut ‘Khuda Kay Liyay’ which kick started this new wave back in 2007 and it was his second film Bol, released in 2011, which took things a few notches higher.
However, after having made these two groundbreaking films, the director was missing from the film scene with no announcement of his next film and fans waiting in desperation. But all that changed today as the showman announced his next venture ‘Verna’ which will release on Eid-Ul-Fitr 2017.
Starring Pakistan’s sweet heart Mahira Khan, Verna is about female empowerment, and as it is common with all Mansoor films, the film will tackle a social issue while providing wholesome entertainment.
Talking to Images (Dawn) about the movie, Mahira said, “Shoaib sahab called me for this just like he had called me five years ago for Bol, wondering if I’d be interested in working with him, I was just happy to hear from him after so long. It’s a film tackling a certain social issue… [I’m] taking it up as a challenge.”
Shoaib Mansoor on the other hand commented on the content of the film in these words, “This film is being made by a man of Pakistan, to urge the men of the world to listen to women. It will encourage women to speak up. Khuda ke liye bol verna… (For God’s sake, speak up, or else…)”
It is important to mention here that while the last two of Shoaib Mansoor films had Geo Films as their distributor, it would be Hum Films this time around.
Talking about her association with Shoman Productions for Verna, Sultana Siddiqui, President Hum Network said, “We at HUM are very happy to have signed up as distributors for Shoaib Mansoor’s film Verna. He is a brilliant director and his views on subjects that are close to our hearts as well, are similar. Shoaib’s films are commercial but at the same time focus on topics that carry a strong message.”
The rest of the cast is not announced yet but the mere presence of Mahira is enough to get us excited for this film.
