''Khel Khel Mein'' () is a 2021 Pakistani

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed and written by Nabeel Qureshi and produced by Fizza Ali Meerza. It stars

Bilal Abbas Khan Bilal Abbas Khan ( ur, ; born 4 June 1993) is a Pakistani actor who primarily works in Urdu television. He made his acting debut with a supporting role in the religious drama ''Saya-e-Dewar Bhi Nahi'' (2016). His debut in a leading role was i ...

and

Sajal Aly Sajal Aly (; born 17 January 1994) is a Pakistani actress noted for playing a variety of characters in a range of serials—from contemporary social to romantic dramas. Career Sajal's first appearance on screen was a minor role in one episode ...

. The story of the movie is related to the

Liberation War of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali n ...

, the country which was formerly known as

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

. The film was theatrically released on 19 November 2021. The film revolves around a drama club in a university taking its production based on 1971 war event to a drama festival in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

Plot

''Khel Khel Mein'' revolves around the ever growing myths, mystery and mistrust after the

Surrender of Pakistan The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender ( bn, পাকিস্তানের আত্মসমর্পণের দলিল, translit=Pākistānēr Atmasamarpaṇēr Dalil) was a written agreement between India, Pakistan, and the Provisional ...

. The film is a projection of the existing mindset and curiosity around the subject, which is interestingly knit into a journey of students exploring the history and making history by doing not the so obvious and expected. Instead following the path of mutual respect, love and peace for all.

Cast

as Zara *

as Saad *

Javed Sheikh Jawed Sheikh (also spelled Javaid and Javed; born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, film director and producer who works in Lollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for working in the Hindi films ''Om Shanti Om'', '' My Name Is Anthony Gon ...

as Sikandar Salman *

Marina Khan ''Marina Khan'' (born 26 December 1962) is a Pakistani television and film actress, director and a producer. She was one of the most popular actresses of the 1980s and 1990s. Her television shows include '' Tanhaiyan'' (1986), '' Dhoop Kinare ...

as Mrs. Haque * Nazr Ul Hasan as Babu *

Manzar Sehbai Manzar Sehbai (born 19 March 1950) is a Pakistani actor who appears in Lollywood films and serials. He has worked in different drama serials and made his film debut in 2011 with Shoaib Mansoor's '' Bol'' for which he won Lux Style Awards and SA ...

as Karamullah *

Samina Ahmed Samina Ahmad is a Pakistani film and television actress, stage performer, producer and director. She is a veteran television actress with over 50 years of work experience in the Urdu entertainment industry. Ahmad performed for many of Pakistan ...

as Zaib *

Sheheryar Munawar Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui (born 9 August 1988) is a Pakistani actor, film producer and director. He made his film debut as a lead actor and producer in 2016 with Ho Mann Jahaan. He is notable for his role in Asim Raza's ''Parey Hut Love'', whi ...

* Naveed Raza as Vikram * Irfan Motiwala as Masdodi (Administrator) * Zehra Nawab as Rukhsar *

Farhan Ally Agha Farhan Ally Agha ( ur, ; also spelled Farhan Ali Agha) is a Pakistani politician, film, television and voice actor who appears in Urdu television serials and films. He has dubbed the voice of Commander Safeguard in an animated series, Commander S ...

as Waji *

Laila Wasti Laila Wasti is a Pakistani actress and director. She is known for her roles in dramas ''Qurban'', ''Dil Ruba'', ''Daldal'', ''Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay'', ''Sun Yaara'' and '' Dunk''. Early life Laila was born on 3 June 1977 in Karachi, Pakista ...

as Zara's Mother * Reham Rafiq as Noorie *

Mojiz Hasan Mojiz Hasan is a Pakistani theatre and film actor. He has appeared in several notable theatre plays and feature films. In 2019, he played a role of Jerry in Azfar Jafri's ''Heer Maan Ja'' opposite Hareem Farooq and Ali Rehman Khan. Mojiz Hasan is ...

as Pervaiz *

Hina Rizvi Hina Rizvi is a Pakistani actress. She is known for her roles in dramas ''Tishnagi Dil Ki'', ''Umeed'', ''Hari Hari Churiyaan'', '' Neeli Zinda Hai'' and ''Quddusi Sahab Ki Bewah''. Early life Hina was born in 1981 on 16th March in Lahore, Pakis ...

as Aapa * Hammad Sheikh as Umang Brohi * Hussain Mohsin as Peter * Ali Rehman as Ali * Qudsia Ali as Aisha * Aneesha Altaf as Sara * Hassan Bin Javed as Saif * Fayed Ali as Zafar * Faham Usman as Happy (Team India) Additionally,

Ali Zafar Ali Zafar ( pa, ; born 18 May 1980) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, model, actor, producer, screenwriter and painter. Zafar started out on Pakistani television before becoming a popular musician. He later also established a career in Bo ...

makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Soundtrack

Release

The teaser of the film was released on 30 October 2021. The teaser received mixed reviews due to the resemblance of the storyline with

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

's 2006 coming-of-age drama ''

Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkarni, ...

''. The official trailer was released on 8 November 2021. The film was theatrically released nationwide on 19 November 2021 and was the first film to be released in the country after the

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

Box office

The film collected a total of PKR 25 million worldwide in its first week of release and a total of PKR 60 million in its entire theatrical run. It was the first film to push open the local cinema market after

Production

On 26 February 2021, Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas Khan shared on their social media handles that they were leading actors in the film. Besides, Aly and Khan

joined the cast for an extended cameo appearance. The cast also includes veterans such as

(who played the older version of Munawar),

and

. Qureshi revelaed about the genre of the film that it will be a

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, much different to his previous films. On 11 July 2021, Qureshi shared on his social media handle that shooting of film has been completed and it has taken 50 days to complete.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 15223726 2021 films 2020s Urdu-language films Films shot in Dhaka Pakistani historical drama films