''Project Peshawar'' is a 2017 Pakistani multilingual suspense thriller film. It incorporated

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, and

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

. It was

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

's first internationally released film. ''Project Peshawar'' was particularly popular in global media because

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, the capital of the province, was under militant rule for years. ''Project Peshawar'' is a blend of

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and

western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

s, highlighting the negative side of modern-day

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. The film also highlights the importance and legacy of the city of Peshawar at national and international levels. ''Project Peshawar'' revived

Pashto cinema Pashto cinema ( ps, د پښتو سينما; ps, پالېوډ), also known as Pollywood, refers to the film industry based in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, enagaged in production of motion pictures in Pashto language. The indus ...

due to its production quality and talented cast members.

Plot

''Project Peshawar'' is based on a true story and revolves around a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are British people, citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes ...

who falls in love with a Peshawar-based girl on the internet, and travels back to Pakistan to realize that it was merely a trap to capture him. The story highlights the negative side of the modern-day social media boom, and is intended to raise awareness as to how some people use social media negatively.

Cast

* Shoaib Lodin * Navishta Sahar * Sally Ingry * Moez Mohmand * Mihela Bursc * Arbab Izhar Ahmad * James Ryan * Mustafa Khan * Mariyam *Dilawar Jan

Filming

Principal photography took place in United Kingdom, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, with 70% of the production in Peshawar. The male lead of the film, Shoaib Lodin, who also acted as a consultant producer on the film, is an Afghani-Dutch citizen who left Peshawar in 1997. He is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India.

Release

''Project Peshawar'' released on 20 August 2017 in Peshawar, premiering at

Nishtar Hall Nishtar Hall is a cultural centre and music venue in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was established to promote and represent the Pashtun culture and music. Hall was established in 1985. It is an only and large entertainment venue in Peshawar with a capacity ...

. The premiere was sponsored by Jeans Films and the Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was later shown at film festivals in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands.

Critical reception

Film-maker Irshu Bangash told''

The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English language, English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the ''Daily Express (Urdu newspaper), Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliat ...

'' that people from the local entertainment industry were trying to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

the film, claiming that it portrays the city negatively and "promotes western values" instead of local cultural values. Bangash shared how they decided to do a film about social media and how it's misused. "We see it all around us. Even Mashal Khan's case was elevated due to social media and its power," he said. "It's funny because these are our seniors, yet a lot of vulgar content has been released without any objections because of the lack of censor board in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa."

Official website

Soundtrack

Musicians involved in the production of the soundtrack include Fortitude,

Khumariyaan Khumariyaan (, ) is a Pashto music band from Khyber Pakthunwka province of Pakistan that also plays other styles. The band has represented their Culture abroad in Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Kenya and elsewhere. Members A ...

, King Compass and the duo of Naseer & Shahab.

References

{{Reflist 2017 films Films shot in Peshawar 2010s Urdu-language films Pashto-language films 2010s Dutch-language films 2010s English-language films Films shot in Amsterdam Films set in Peshawar Pakistani independent films Pakistani thriller films English-language Pakistani films 2017 independent films 2017 multilingual films Pakistani multilingual films