‘Teefa In Trouble’ game changer for Pakistani cinema: Ali Zafar, Maya Ali

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LAHORE: Teefa in Trouble, which marks the big screen debut for both Ali Zafar and Maya Ali in Pakistan, is a movie many Pakistanis are looking forward to.

Despite being in the industry for a while, both the stars – playing lead roles – have taken their time to hit the big screen. The film looks promising from the trailer but one can only be sure after it hits the cinema later this month. Along with the leads, the movie features an ensemble star cast comprising Javed Sheikh, Faisal Qureshi, Mehmood Aslam, Asma Abbas and Fia Khan.

In conversation with Pakistan Today, the cast talks about what the upcoming movie has in store for us. “If you want to have a good time and watch something entertaining, Teefa is what you should be watching this month,” the lead stars said.

Deosai was supposed to be Ali’s first movie to release under the Lightingale Productions’ banner, but ‘was taken over by Teefa’ the actor claims. “Teefa was more exciting and manageable and I didn’t want to take chances with my first film,” he added.

Ever since the release of the trailer, we could tell the movie is going to be a masala one, with all the right ingredients, comedy, romance with a touch of action. When asked if the action sequences are ‘inspired’ from Bollywood movies, the Rockstar singer said, “The style for the action sequences is different from that in Bollywood.”

“Here it is mostly Kung Fu,” the singer-cum-actor said.

The movie revolves around the son of a gangster who enlists an enforcer, Teefa (played by Ali) to kidnap Anya (played by Maya) for an arranged marriage.

When asked what attracted Maya to sign up for Teefa, the star says, “Definitely Ali Zafar and Ahsan Rahim.”

“The good script was an added bonus,” she said, adding that, “My role of Anya is that of a strong headed girl, who knows whats good for her and not.”

“Moreover, it is about the journey of how she met Teefa and the ‘adventures’ from there,” she said.

Whereas Ali, who plays a ‘goon from androon shehr (inner city)’ is hired to do a task he has never done before. “Teefa does all the dirty jobs for Butt Sahab and for the first time he has been told to kidnap a girl,” Ali said, adding that “he’s freaked out as he has never kidnapped anyone before, but agrees to do so anyway.” 

Ali, who is the actor, producer, singer and writer of the movie said that working on the movie in multiple capacities ‘did not affect’ his acting. However, the Tere Bin Laden actor continued to say that he ‘would’ve preferred not to indulge in so many avenues as that’s always preferred by an actor’.

Considering the amount of effort that goes into making a movie is undeniably crazy, Maya said that ‘we rehearsed for 15-20 days to make sure our chemistries matched’.

“Ali and Ahsan sb have been very helpful throughout to make sure Anya’s character was portrayed as he had imagined it,” the leading lady told Pakistan Today

Similarly, Ali stated that he did not want stunt doubles and wanted the action sequences to look ‘real’. “Six months of training went into prepping for those sequences,” the actor said. Moreover, working with Maya was an ‘absolute pleasure’ he said. 

“Maya added the spark on the screen with her character and she did more than what was expected of her,” Ali said while commenting on his experience of working with the Diyaar-E-Dil star.

Both Maya and Ali are hopeful that Teefa In Trouble will advance the cause for Pakistani cinema. They added that the movie was made with an ‘intention to take our cinema to the next level, nationally and internationally; so if your intentions are right, one can only hope for the best’.

Lastly, when talking about the box office numbers as the recent controversy has raised concerns causing people to boycott the movie, Ali says, “I respect the decision of people who want to boycott the movie.” However, he adds that people ‘might regret the decision once things become eminent’.

As far as the box office is concerned, the actor said, “Nobody can predict the future, but you should always focus on the positive things in life and I can only hope for the best as of now.”

Produced under the umbrella of Zafar’s very own banner, Lightingale Productions, the film has been directed by ace ad-filmmaker, Ahsan Rahim.

Teefa In Trouble hits the cinema on July 20, 2018.