Laal Kabootar, an upcoming Pakistani crime-thriller inspired from the streets of electrifying Karachi released its teaser trailer earlier this week, unveiling its cast.
The unveiling, which took place at the FiLUMS Festival held at Al-Hamra Arts Council in Lahore, was a first for Pakistan’s film industry as the sneak peek of the teaser and its cast was done before a captivated audience in a Comic-Con style, exclusive for the festival goers.
The film stars Mansha Pasha, Ahmed Ali Akbar in the lead, along with Ali Kazmi and Saleem Mairaj. As the anticipation for the film’s release builds up, Pakistan Today spoke to the star cast and the off-screen team who are all set to bring their feature film to life.
Mansha while talking about the movie said that “the movie is very different and realistic and straight from the streets of Karachi”.
She further said that as “the city of Karachi hosts all sorts of people and this movie is about all the different people coming together and interacting.”
While talking about her character, Mansha said, “my character Aliyah is a strong-headed, independent protagonist. At the same time, she is going through struggles which have an emotional impact on her and overcoming those is a challenge for her.”
Ahmed, on the other hand, shared: “Laal Kabootar had a very preparation based process and Kamal is a fantastic director.”
He continued, “When your director pushes you, himself and the team to an extent, you start to learn new things about yourself and your limitations. And that is when you know that the movie is directed well.”
Sharing details about his character, Adeel, Ahmed said that he belongs to a humble background from Karachi and during the course of the movie faces certain circumstances due to which he ends up meeting another character and is “forced to take certain decisions which further the focus of the movie.”
Akbar said that his “character is completely different from who I actually am and thus, I had to be someone completely different and I hope the audience like the performance.”
Meanwhile, Ahmed and Mansha while talking about their experience shared that they had a fantastic time shooting for the movie.
“All of us came together for the movie and by the end of it, we left with great memories and friends,” Mansha commented.
Similarly, while talking to Hania and Kamil about producing the movie, they said that “it was a collaborative effort and all of us put in equal efforts in making this a success”.
The director, Kamal, on the other hand, said that “it was an inclusive process, considering that Hania and Kamil did things for me, which I couldn’t and vice versa”.
In addition to that, Kamil said, “As first timers, we faced a plethora of difficulties and challenges, but it was Kamal who made it easy for us. He went all out in making sure all of us were comfortable and had our thinking hats on all the time.”
According to the team behind the camera, they said that “the main challenges were before the camera started rolling,” adding that it was all about getting a good story across to the audience.
Mansha further said that “Laal Kabootar is something like Sacred Games, so if people enjoyed Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s performance in that, there is no reason that they shouldn’t come to watch this movie,” adding that “this is new genre that the Pakistani cinema is set to explore and we hope that it makes an impact”.
Kamal and Kamil while talking about why people should watch the movie said that “if they want to see something new and for a new experience, it’d be nice to see the audience come to support us”.
Whereas, Hania concluded the discussion saying, “People should just come to enjoy the movie, not to support us or anything but just to enjoy it.”
With lots of rom-coms being released as of lately, it is pleasant to observe there are still filmmakers and producers who are willing to go an extra mile and experiment with different genres and give the audiences a new cinematic experience. Laal Kabootar, produced by Nehr Ghar Films and directed by Kamal Khan plans to bring that change in the Pakistani film landscape.
Nehr Ghar is co-founded by Hania and Kamil Chima and Laal Kabootar is their first film. The movie is set to hit cinemas early in 2019.
