By: Aayan Mirza
The past few days have dominantly been about Operation 021 and Na Maloom Afraad, the two Eid releases of Pakistani cinema this year. But that doesn’t mean at all that there hasn’t been any other activity in the film camp of the country. There have been several in fact. Lets get to all of them one by one.
Moor has its first private screening:
Whether you liked O21 or not, one thing that you can’t disagree on is that, visually, O21 was the most powerful film to have come out of Pakistan film industry. And well, who to thank for that but, its director Jami. So now if you are a big Jami fan, and are eagerly waiting for his next, embrace yourself for this great news. Jami’s next feature, Moor, is all complete and ready to be released anytime soon. The film has even had its first private screening.
Yes, you have received that right, Moor is complete and recently had its first private screening for Mr. Nadeem Mandviwalla, who is also the co-producer of the film alongwith Jami himself, besides of course his more known trade, Atrium and Nishat Cinemas.
No date for film release has been announced yet, and as per the most recent post by Jami’s official Facebook page, the release date announcement rests with Mr. Nadeem Manviwalla and not Jami. So for now, let’s just cherish the news of film completion, the biggest of all challenges in the whole process.
Maula Jutt in 3D?:
Oh yeah, you heard it right. The cult classic comes back, Maula Jutt comes back.
So before you confuse it with the remake project of Bilal Lashari of the same film, here is the actual news. The 3D conversion project is not the same as Bilal Lashri’s take on the film, but is in fact a step by the original producer of this classic, Sarwar Bhatti.
The cult classic is currently being converted into Blu-Ray and 3D format and a reported investment of Rs. 4 and 5 million respectively is being done on it. The converted film will be presented in cinemas soon, and the trailer for its promotion will be released in coming weeks.
‘No Pakistani Artists:’ A rising voice in India:
Cine and Television Artist Association (CINTAA) is a body of television and film artists in India that has recently urged all the existing production bodies in the country to discourage casting foreign artists, specially those from Pakistan.
CINTAA calls for it to be made legally binding on all foreign artists working in India to posses ‘Employment Visas,’ instead of just the simple ‘Business Visas,’ that currently most foreign artists work on in the country.
The Body also urges Indian producers to discourage casting Pakistani actors, as the relations between the two nations are not cordial. While bodies like IFTPC and IMPPA in India are endorsing CINTAA’s call, director Mukesh Bhatt, brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and President of The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd. has already opposed CINTAA’s call and said, “I have not received any letter as yet but we will not allow this to happen.”
For a detailed read, click here.
Shaan to be a Keynote speaker at International Showbiz Expo (Abu Dhabi):
You may agree or disagree with his stand on ‘Pakistani actors flying to India,’ but he is still the most internationally presentable voice among the film actors in Pakistan, a recognised fact not only in Pakistan but internationally as well. And thus, this news.
Superstar Shaan Shahid has been listed as a Keynote speaker at International Showbiz Expo; to be held in Abu Dhabhi, and where showbiz identities from all over the world will be flocking from 21st to 23rd October 2014.
Shaan is among the seventeen keynote speakers from all over the world and will be attending the exposition with the identity of a ‘Pakistani actor, writer, model and director.’
More on it, here.
Azaan Sami Khan all set for his next:
O21 is still running in most of the cinemas all over the country, and despite an initial hiccup of being screened off from three single screen cinemas on its debut run, people are still watching the movie. His film maybe still running, but Azaan has already started working on his next. There are, in fact, two projects that Azaan and his company, One Motion Picture (OMP), are currently working on.
Talking to a post-release O21 press conference held recently at Karachi Press Club, Azaan regarding his new projects said, “We have made O21 and we’ll keep making films, no one can hit down that passion of ours…we are currently working on two new scripts and trying to team up again with Shaan, Jami and my mother (Zeba Bakhtiyar) along with a lot of fresh faces for that new project.”
It has also come to our knowledge that for his next, OMP has acquired the rights of Omar Shahid Hamid’s famous debut Crime Fiction novel, The Prisoner. When asked by Galaxy Lollywood representative at the press conference for any comment on this particular news, Azaan, winking his right eye, said, “I can’t say much on it at the moment, but we’ll formally announce our new projects within coming few weeks.”
All we can say for now is that if it is really true, then it would be the single most interesting factor about the OMP’s this new project, as the novel itself is a big hit in the reading circles of the country and quite realistically paints the actual hidden picture of Karachi and the life within.
Billi is back. In the music video of her sister’s new single:
The lesser the words said, the better it would be. So, watch below Mehwish Hayat performing on the video of her elder sister, Afsheen Hayat’s, new song, Alsai.
This is amazing,to read all the latest ablut pakistani cinema in a single article,loved the writing,loved the information,you guys are doing great work