After a harrowing struggling phase against a vehement pandemic, the Pakistani cinema has its eyes set on one glimmer of hope – Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad. The film comes from the same producer-writer/director duo – Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza, that gave the rather parched local cinema of Pakistan a major crowd puller back in 2014 in the shape of Na Maloom Afraad. Since then the team has established itself as one of the leading forces of the modern-day commercial Pakistani cinema.
And judging by the first teaser of their next cinematic venture, it looks the Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad will be just the film that Pakistani cinema needs to catapult itself into the new era of commercial cinema.
A promising teaser
Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad seems to have all the ingredients that are rather signature of the earlier works created by the prolific director-producer duo of Pakistani cinema. That and the fact the film is a cop action drama, one of the most popular genres in the subcontinent’s cinema adds further commercial appeal to the film.
The film features two of the biggest names of Pakistani cinema i.e Fahad Mustafa and Mahira Khan sharing screen space for the first time. The teaser shows us glimpses of a plane crash scene with huge stacks of money loaded on it, a dashing cop played by Fahad kicking butts in elaborately choreographed action sequences, Mahira Khan stepping up to face the danger with a fierce look in her eyes, colorful sets, a huge dance number, and an intriguing shot of money raining down from the sky.
The teaser has all the reasons to be the talk of the town. It is slick in its treatment and is beautifully cut. It gives glimpses into the storyline of the film hinting at a cop with grey shades, and a struggling past, fighting against the rampant corruption and the baddies associated with it. It finishes with a catchy one-liner leaving us wanting more.
The comparisons
Being the first official look of the film, the teaser is surely going to grab attention as it promises that the film is going to be an escapist, larger than life, relatable action drama. The kind of film that Pakistani cinema desperately needs in this time of despair and gloom.
The action-romantic-drama genre of films, which feature a cop character as its protagonist, is a very successful one in Indian cinema. Therefore, the comparisons of Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad with its Bollywood counterparts is quite inevitable.
Having said that the comparison should not come as a surprise as similar discourses have happened before with Nabeel-Fizza’s earlier works. Na Maloom Afraad was compared to the popular Bollywood comedy Hera Pheri. But it all stopped when the film was released and widely appreciated as Na Maloom Afraad turned out to be a film with a purely Pakistani soul.
The teaser of Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad might seem similar to films like Singham of Bollywood, however, we can’t help but trust Nabeel and Fizza to adopt this genre in a fully Pakistani manner. After all, being faintly Bollywoodish yet undeniably Pakistani are what most of Nabeel’s films are.
According to the makers, the film is all set to be released once the cinemas in Pakistan are re-opened properly and functionally. Stay tuned to Galaxy Lollywood for all the latest news and developments regarding all things Pakistani cinema!
