''Mah e Mir'' ( ur, , lit=Moon of Mir) is a 2016 Pakistani

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

directed by Anjum Shahzad, produced by Khurram Rana, Sahir Rasheed, Badar Ikram and written by Sarmad Sehbai. The film is based on the life of the famous poet

Mir Taqi Mir Mir Muhammad Taqi (February 1723 – 20 September 1810), known as Mir Taqi Mir (also spelled Meer Taqi Meer), was an Urdu poet of the 18th century Mughal era in the Subcontinent and one of the pioneers who gave shape to the Urdu language it ...

, role played by

Fahad Mustafa Fahad Salahuddin ( ur, فہد صلاح الدین) commonly known as Fahad Mustafa ( ur, فہد مصطفٰی, label=none), is a Pakistani film and television actor and producer who is best known for hosting ''Jeeto Pakistan'', a game show that ...

. Film also stars

Iman Ali Iman Ali ( ur, ; born 19 December 1980) is a Pakistani actress, model, and singer who appears in Urdu films. Ali made her film debut with a leading role in the 2007 thriller film ''Khuda Kay Liye'', for which she won a Lux Style Award for B ...

Sanam Saeed Sanam Saeed (born 2 February 1985) is a Pakistani actress, singer and former model who predominantly works in Cinema of Pakistan, Urdu cinema and Pakistani dramas, television. She is best known for portraying the role of Kashaf Murtaza in Momina ...

Alyy Khan Alyy Khan (or Aly Khan, ur, ; born 6 December 1968) is a British-Asian actor and host who has worked in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood films and television series. He is known for his roles in the films '' A Mighty Heart'' (2007), '' ...

and

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 ...

in lead roles. It was the official submission by the

Pakistani Academy Selection Committee The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee (PASC) is a non-governmental selection committee of Pakistani film director, producers, writers, actors, distributors and exhibitors, headquartered in Karachi and Lahore. The PASC selects the Pakistani ...

as the country's entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. Mah-e-Mir is a story that follows the struggle of a contemporary poet and draws parallels with events in Mir’s life. The film was co-distributed by

Hum Films Hum Films is a film production and distribution company based in Karachi, Pakistan, working under the Hum Network Limited. It was launched in September 2014, with setting a film '' Na Maloom Afraad'' to release domestically on 5 October 2014. ...

and Eveready Pictures on 6 May 2016 nationwide.

Plot

The film's story focuses on the life of a modern day poet named Jamal (

) going through a rough patch. The movie tries to draw parallels between Jamal's and

's life with the story jumping from present day to Jamal’s mind as he imagines himself to be Mir Taqi Mir in Lucknow focusing on the trials and tribulations that Mir once experienced (faithfully adapted from Mir's biography).

Cast

The film cast includes: *

as Ahmad Jamal/

as Mysterious girl/Mahtab Bai *

as Naina Kanwal *

as Dr. Kaleem *

Huma Nawab Huma Nawab is a Pakistani actress. She played major roles in '' Chand Grehan'', ''Aahat'', ''Nijaat'', ''Hawain,'' and '' Silsila''. Early life Nawab was born in 1969 in Islamabad, Pakistan. She completed her education at the University of Isl ...

as Kaleem's ex-wife *

as Nawab Sahab *

Paras Masroor Paras Masroor is a Pakistani theatre and television actor. Starting his career as a theatre actor, he moved on to television. He has played the role of Torah Khan in Momina Duraid's '' Sang-e-Mar Mar'' (2016) for which he received Hum Award for Be ...

as Siraj * Syed Fazal Hussain as Karam Elahi *

Rashid Farooqui Rashid Farooqui is a Pakistani actor who appears in Pakistani films and television series. He is known for his villainous roles such as Inspector Ibrahim in Laal Kabootar. Career Rashid Farooqui started his career as a theatre actor and later bec ...

as Nawaz

Music

The music album launch ceremony was held in Dubai on 14 April 2016. The first song promo namely ''Us ka Kharam Dekh Kar'' was released the very next day. The second song ''Jaag Musafir'' was launched on 28 April at

Beaconhouse National University Beaconhouse National University (BNU) is a private liberal arts university located in Lahore, in the province of Punjab, Pakistan.SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

on 2 May.

Production

Marketing

The teaser trailer of film was released on 9 May 2014. On 23 March, first look poster of film was revealed followed by theatrical trailer the same night. The MaheMir team ran a decent promotional campaign visiting several institutes including

Iqra University Iqra University, ( ur, ) is a Private University primarily with its main campus located in Defence Area of Karachi, Pakistan. It has additional campuses in other parts of the city, in Islamabad and Quetta. Iqra University was ranked as the num ...

Indus University Indus University ( ur, sd, انڊس يونيورسٽي;), formerly Indus Institute of Higher Education, is a university in Pakistan. It is chartered by the government of Sindh and ranked with the top most category "W" by the Higher Edu ...

and shows which includes

Jeeto Pakistan ''Jeeto Pakistan'' ( ur, ; ) is a Pakistani game show, hosted by actor Fahad Mustafa on ARY Digital. The show was launched on 18 May 2014. It has been called the "biggest game show" of Pakistan. Jeeto Pakistan's participants are selected rand ...

, Morning Show ''Sitaray Ki Subah'',

Jago Pakistan Jago ''Jago Pakistan Jago'' () was a Pakistani daytime television programme broadcast on Hum TV presented by Fahad Mustafa (2008–14) and Sanam Jung (2014-18). The show aired from Monday to Friday. History From 2005 to 2008, ''Morning with Hum' ...

Release

Earlier, the film was scheduled to release on 6 November 2015 but it was postponed and was released on 5 May 2016 in U.A.E and in Pakistan on 6 May. The film was premiered in Karachi. It was given a Universal (U) rating by the

Central Board of Film Censors The Central Board of Film Censors (abbreviated as CBFC) ( ur, ) is a film censorship board and rating system body under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for the Government of Pakistan. Since the Eighteenth Amendment to the Consti ...

(CBFC).

Reception

Box office

According to ''BODs prediction film might not have good business prior to film's big cast, as it was releasing opposite to Captain America: Civil War the same weekend.

Critical response

The film received huge praise for its creativity as

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Interna ...

described it as "once in a blue moon film". The film received good reviews from critics. Rafay Mahmood of

rated film 4/5 stars and verdicts "Watch the film with your friends and family. It is worth your money and initiates a constructive discourse". Mehreen Hasan of Dawn Images gave the film 4/5 stars and describes the film as "a rather prescient work that anticipates its every challenge in the box office, yet refuses to pander to what sells".

Awards

*Mah-e-Mir was awarded the Best Narrative Film Award at the Guam International Film Festival in 2016.

References

External links

* * {{Pakistani submission for Academy Awards Pakistani romantic drama films 2010s Urdu-language films Pakistani biographical drama films Biographical films about writers 2016 films 2016 biographical drama films Hum films 2016 drama films Films set in the Mughal Empire Films about poets