Shoaib Mansoor is known for projects that quietly usher a revolution. The man behind trendsetting pop-acts such as The Vital Signs and the movie Khuda Kay Liye prefers breaking new ground with his projects and, more often than not, hits bull’s eye. With the largely positive feedback pouring in for his latest production titled Dua-e-Reem it seems the director has done it again.
The roughly eight-minute-long sequence, which stars the elegant Mahira Khan, offers a clever twist on Allama Iqbal’s iconic prayer Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua, molding it into a young bride’s prayer about her husband and her new home. She is surrounded by a whole coterie of what we presume are female friends and extended family members; often breaking into a dance as she sings her take on the Iqbal’s dua.
Watching the video, you may want to pause for a minute, and take a closer look at the well-heeled vintage-era women that surround Mahira in the darbar like setting.
The hidden surprise
You would be forgiven if you fail to miss what is perhaps the most unique element of the video, i.e. its extensive cast of supporting actors which include several trans-women. Performing alongside Mahira Khan are Jannat Ali, Naghma jee, Sania Abbasi, Sonia Naz lip-syncing to the voices of Damiah Farooq, Shehnaz and Mehak Ali. No longer garishly styled and depicted as transgendered individuals usually are, these trans-women look every bit as poised, graceful and elegant as many iconic women of that era.
One of the performers in the video, Jannat Ali, who is a trans-activist in real life, said: “For trans-women to be working alongside a top-director like Shoaib Mansoor, that too for a mainstream project, is a big, big achievement. It will help to break the fixed mindset people in the society have (about transgendered people) as it presents us in a beautiful manner like never before — as actual women.”
Being the change
It should be noted that Shoaib Mansoor also highlighted the plight of trans-community in his blockbuster film Bol, and with this new video, he has proven that his social activism is not simply limited to the reel, but that he is actually very much part of the change he advocates.
Starting with official recognition by the government of the third gender and introduction of the trans-community into mainstream jobs, steady progress has been made as far as trans-rights in Pakistan are concerned. This new initiative by the legendary director will be another positive step towards reducing the stigma and prejudice that often hampers the trans community’s progress.
In case you missed out on the spectacularly shot music video, be sure to check it out here!
