''Azaadi'' ( ur, ; ) is a 2018 Pakistani

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

, that was released on 16 June 2018. It is written, directed and co-produced by Imran Malik with his brother Irfan Malik under the banner of their father

Pervez Malik Pervez Malik (1937 in Karachi – 18 November 2008) was a Pakistani film director. He was the director of Pakistan's first platinum jubilee film, " Armaan" (1966). He directed more than 20 films, mostly in Urdu language, and received e ...

Films. Based on the issue of

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claim ...

and freedom for

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

, the film stars

Moammar Rana Moammar Rana ( Punjabi, ur, ; born February 26, 1974), is a Pakistani actor and film director. He is known for his various Lollywood movie credits, and has also worked on the small screen in Pakistani soap operas and Television Serials. ...

Sonya Hussain Sonya Hussyn Bukharee (born 15 July 1991) is a Pakistani actress and model. She made her acting debut with a supporting role in 2011 series ''Dareecha''. She has then appeared as main lead in several serials like '' Marasim'' (2014), ''Nikah' ...

and Nadeem Baig in the leading roles. Dialogues for the film are written by Wajid Zuberi, and the film has been distributed by

ARY Films ARY Films ( ur, ) is a film distribution and production company in Pakistan, part of ARY Digital Network. 35 films including 11 Urdu, six Punjabi and 17 Pashto films have been released by ARY Films since 2013. Among them, '' Waar'', ''Jawani P ...

Cast

as Azaad, a character based on the Kashmiri militant

Burhan Wani Burhan Wani (19 September 1994 – 8 July 2016) was a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, an Islamist militant organization and insurgent group of the Kashmir conflict. He had become a popular figure amongst the local Kashmiri populace, having do ...

Mariyam Khalif Mariyam Khalif (Urdu: مریم خلیف) also known as Maryam, is a Pakistani Child-Star who started her acting career on the television drama Parchayian aired on ARY Digital. Mariyam Khalif was born on 11 April 2007, At the age of only seven ...

as Child artist *

as Zara; a Pakistani-origin British journalist, Azaad's wife * Nadeem Baig as Azaad's father * Mariam Ansari * Ali Bilal * Erum Azam as Sheena * Ali Fateh * Samama Randhawa * Waseem * Zeeshan * Saddam ul Hque as Major Sunil *

Omer Shahzad Omer Shahzad is a Pakistani model, actor and singer who started his career in 2011, and has since established himself as one of the country's top models and actors. He has been nominated for several awards with three consecutive Best Model Male ...

as Raj (cameo)

Production

Casting

Danish Taimoor Danish Taimoor ( ur, ; born 16 February 1983) is a Pakistani actor and model. He began his career in 2005 and appeared in "Mystery Series" (Do saal baad, Dracula); both episodes were directed by Imran khokhar and aired on Indus Vision. He is ...

was originally cast opposite lead female Sonya Hussain, as the lead male character of the film. But due to the fallout with the makers of the film he was later replaced by Moammar. Pakistani television actress Sonya Hussain, plays the lead female role of a Pakistani-origin British journalist. Vetern Pakistani actor Nadeem Baig will essay the father figure role in the film who devotes his life to the Kashmir struggle and passes on his vision of struggle to the youth.

Development

In an interview with ''

DAWN Images ''Dawn'' is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in British India in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and also serves as the country's newspaper of record. ''Dawn'' is the flagship publication of the Da ...

'', director Imran highlighted that a film of such a big canvas has never been attempted before in Pakistan, and that the film had elements of patriotism, action scenes and a very powerful love story. The cinematography has been done by Ben Jasper.

Filming

The film has been shot in Azad Kashmir and Northern areas of Pakistan.

Music

The music of the film has been done by

Sahir Ali Bagga Sahir Ali Bagga (born 10 April 1980) is a Pakistani singer, music director and composer from Lahore, who composes music for Lollywood and other independent singers.Jabar Abbas Jabar Abbas is a Pakistani singer-songwriter and musician who started his career in 1997 as child artist. He gained notability during his presidential tenure of Nazir Ahmed Musical Society at Government College University, Lahore from 20032007. ...

Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan ( ur, ; ; born 26 February 1965) is a Pakistani pop and classical singer, songwriter, and composer belonging to the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani pop rock band Fuzön ...

and Afshan Abbas. Singers

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan ( Punjabi, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Singer, primarily of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the biggest and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kha ...

and

Qurat-ul-Ain Balouch Quratulain Balouch ( ur, ) is a Pakistani American singer-songwriter. Also known as QB or the Humsafar Girl, she became popular for her title track " Woh Humsafar Tha" in Hum TV's serial '' Humsafar''. Career Balouch has no formal music educa ...

have also lent their voices for the soundtrack.

Natasha Khan Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of '' Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican s ...

from

Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to: * ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...

was the audio engineer of the movie.

Release

The Film was released on

Eid-ul-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

in Pakistan.

Box office

The film collected 64 million in its first week despite having tough competition from Bollywood movie

Race 3 ''Race 3 ''is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Remo D'Souza and Written by Kiran Kotrial and Shiraz Ahmed, produced under Tips Industries and Salman Khan Films. The film features Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, ...

and three other Pakistani films including Saat Din Mohabbat In, Wajood and Na Band Na Baraati.

References

External links

* * 2018 action thriller films 2010s action war films 2018 films Pakistani epic films Pakistani action thriller films Pakistani action war films Films scored by Sahir Ali Bagga 2010s Urdu-language films India–Pakistan relations in popular culture Kashmir conflict in films Military of Pakistan in films Films set in Azad Kashmir {{Pakistan-film-stub