Nostalgia is all the rage these days in the global film industry. Hollywood, in particular, is fond of remakes and reboots that capitalize on the nostalgia of the original. Lollywood is no stranger to this either, with ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ wowing audiences a few months ago, perfectly building upon the 1979 classic and modernising it for today’s audiences.
Just last week, Variety reported that Sajal Aly is set to lead a TV adaptation of the classic Urdu novel ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’ and just a few days later, The Express Tribune broke the news that Mahira Khan will be starring in a Pakistani remake of the Bollywood classic ‘Pakeezah’ with Khan filling in Meena Kumari’s shoes.
What ensued after this news broke, however, was an interesting series of events. Let’s discuss this.
Pakeezah
‘Pakeezah’ is Kamal Amrohi’s beloved classic blockbuster film from 1972 starring Meena Kumari. The film is regarded as one of Bollywood’s best of all time and also one of its most expensive ones at the time.
Pakeezah went on to become a huge box office and critical hit, winning several awards and having a theatrical run of 50 weeks. Every single frame in the film is considered a work of art. Hoping to recapture that magic would be no small feat, and fumbling it would make all involved an enemy to the audience.
Fact Check
As soon as the news broke regarding Mahira’s involvement, sources close to the production revealed to SAMAA Digital that all is not yet certain and that Khan is just one of the many actors coveted for the film.
Khan, of course, is still bathing in the success of ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt,’ another remake of an old classic, and her upcoming film ‘Neelofar’ is hoping for a 2023 release where Khan plays the titular character. Mahira’s own PR team refused to comment on the situation.
Meera’s Involvement
Shortly after all this went down, veteran actress Meera came forward and announced her involvement with the project, confirming her role as the lead character.
“I am going to play Pakeezah, 100%,” she told SAMAA Digital. According to Meera, she has yearned for this role for years and has been working on it for the past 13 years. The film star was last seen as a lead in the hit film ‘Baaji’ where she played the titular character.
All this seems like an extremely odd turn of events, all happening in a single week. Meera’s history also put into question her credibility since the star falsely claimed that she owned the rights to the original film back in 2013. Kamal Amrohi’s son Tajdar completely denied said claims. Sources close to the production have yet to confirm or deny her involvement.
Conclusion
While the news around this project has been a confusing mess, we will still be following this film and its production very closely. It is a highly regarded classic and, if done correctly, has the potential to be the next ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt.’ We wish the best of luck to whoever takes on this challenge and can’t wait to see it on the silver screen.
