Reham Khan receives flak for questioning ‘Cake’s’ entry to the Oscars

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As Pakistan celebrates Cake as its official entry to the Oscars 2019, Reham Khan questions whether the entry has anything to do with its producer Zulfi Bukhari who is a close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Expressing her thoughts on Twitter, Reham wrote, “Who says you can’t have your ‘Cake’ and eat it too? Zulfi Bokhari friend of the PM now gets his film selected to be sent in as Pakistan’s entry to the Oscar’s too.”

Reham’s comments did not go down well with the fans and one of the lead actors of the film, Adnan Malik, responded to her tweet saying, “What an odd and unfair assertion, completely disregarding the integrity of the respectable Oscar committee members with diverse political ideologies, as well as the calibre of the film itself, which was critically acclaimed across the board (including 4 stars in the Guardian, UK).”

Moreso, the director of the film, Asim Abbasi also came forward and slammed Reham for her comments.

“I understand that our storytelling (unlike her storytelling) lacked nautanki and masala but still… what a strange insinuation discounting our hard work and committee’s decision making,” Abbasi wrote on Twitter.

Asim also shared how when he first shared the script of Cake, no one was willing to produce it because it had no “songs, dances, drone shots or gori chitti actresses.” He shared that Bukhari was the only one who offered his assistance and did not demand any changes.

“Cake is, creatively, one hundred percent me,” Abbasi said concluding that he hopes to close this topic forever and ever.

Reham’s comments also invited the distaste of acclaimed novelist Kamila Shamsie who was part of the selection committee.

“I was on the selection committee. I had no idea (and wouldn’t have thought it relevant if I had) that anyone involved was a friend of the PM. I just knew ‘Cake’ was the best movie in the running,” Shamsie tweeted.

Ali Rehman Khan, who starred in Reham’s production, Janaan, also did not hold himself back from sharing his thoughts.

He wrote on Twitter, “This is why entertainment and politics shouldn’t mingle. People will do anything to get noticed, even by devaluing the hard work, creativity and passion put into exceptional films like Cake in order to get attention. Rest assured, audiences and critics aren’t blinded so easily.”

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee officially selected Cake starring Sanam Saeed, Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Malik in the lead, for Oscar consideration in the ‘Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 91st Academy Awards scheduled to take place on February 24, 2019.

The selection committee, chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, included notable personalities such as Kamila Shamshie, Hadiqa Kiani, Ali Sethi, Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Nabila Maqsood, Khalid Malik and Faysal Qureshi in the panel.

Directed by Asim Abbasi, Cake follows the lives of two sisters, one of whom lives abroad and the other is ‘left’ behind. Burdened with guilt and resentments, the sisters confront old secrets and realize that sometimes the only way for a family to move on, is by finding a way back.

Meanwhile, members of the Pakistan film industry, including Mahira Khan, Meera Jee, Meesha Shafi and Ali Rehman Khan shared their excitement on social media over the film’s success and its selection for the Oscars.

Previously, members of the entertainment industry had also lauded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government’s decision to appoint Bukhari as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development.

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