2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
- Pakistani film distributed by Royal Palm Group t/a Summit Entertainment (Pak) and Super Cinema and
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 ...
and produced by Concordia Productions. A drama in the
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
genre the film is directed by a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
director Steven Moore and produced by Pakistani producer Sarah Tareen. The film stars
Omair Rana
Omair Rana (born January 31, 1978) is a Pakistani actor and theatre director. He also directs plays in educational institutes, notably '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'' (2014) and ''Life of Galileo'' (2013) at Lahore Grammar School Johar To ...
,
Salman Shahid
Salman Shahid ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film, theatre, television and voice actor.
The son of producer Saleem Shahid and veteran actress Khursheed Shahid, he has worked in Lollywood, Bollywood as well as in theatre and television.Mehreen Raheel
Mehreen Raheel (Urdu/ pa, ) is a Pakistani model, actor, managing director of her family company R vision and host who appears in Pakistani films and serials.
She is best known for portraying the main leads in Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan, Das ...
and
Faryal Gohar
Faryal Gohar is a Pakistan actress, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Waris'', '' Uraan'', ''Chaandni Raatain'', '' Chand Grehan'', ''Wisal'' and '' Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain''.
Early lif ...
.
Prior to release the film won an award at the
London Asian Film Festival
The UK Asian Film Festival, previously known as the London Asian Film Festival, is a British film festival organised by the not-for-profit organisation Tongues on Fire Ltd. and takes place annually in the spring in London. The festival is the leadi ...
for the first released song by
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 ...
. Other songs included in the film are sung by
Ali Azmat
Ali Azmat Butt (born 20 April 1970) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi Rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career. In 2001, he became part of the first ...
and Amanat Ali. The original score for the film was written by Arthur Rathbone Pullen son of
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...
nominee and best selling English author
Julian Rathbone
Julian Christopher Rathbone (10 February 1935 – 28 February 2008) was an English novelist.
Life
Julian Rathbone was born in 1935 in Blackheath, south London. The son of Christopher and Decima Rathbone he was a member of the Rathbone famil ...
.
Plot outline and theme
The film incorporates elements of dark humour, melodrama, crime, passion and revenge and is based on Anthony Shaffer’s play,
Sleuth
Sleuth may refer to:
* Detective
*Sleuth, collective noun for a group of bears
Computing
* The Sleuth Kit, a collection of forensic analysis software
*SLEUTH assembler language for the UNIVAC 1107
Entertainment and media
*Cloo
Cloo (stylized ...
. The film's hero is Rizwan Ahmed (
Omair Rana
Omair Rana (born January 31, 1978) is a Pakistani actor and theatre director. He also directs plays in educational institutes, notably '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'' (2014) and ''Life of Galileo'' (2013) at Lahore Grammar School Johar To ...
) a struggling actor who meets Mian Tariq Ali (
Salman Shahid
Salman Shahid ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film, theatre, television and voice actor.
The son of producer Saleem Shahid and veteran actress Khursheed Shahid, he has worked in Lollywood, Bollywood as well as in theatre and television.Lollywood
Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production.
Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...
in its dying days. The outcome for the characters is dark, with more emphasis on being sacrificed than self-sacrifice, and is used an allegory of wider issues. The dialogue, in Urdu, and the scenario are adapted in numerous ways for Pakistani culture.
Cast
*
Omair Rana
Omair Rana (born January 31, 1978) is a Pakistani actor and theatre director. He also directs plays in educational institutes, notably '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'' (2014) and ''Life of Galileo'' (2013) at Lahore Grammar School Johar To ...
as Rizwan Ahmed
*
Salman Shahid
Salman Shahid ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film, theatre, television and voice actor.
The son of producer Saleem Shahid and veteran actress Khursheed Shahid, he has worked in Lollywood, Bollywood as well as in theatre and television.Mehreen Raheel
Mehreen Raheel (Urdu/ pa, ) is a Pakistani model, actor, managing director of her family company R vision and host who appears in Pakistani films and serials.
She is best known for portraying the main leads in Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan, Das ...
as Mehreen
*
Faryal Gohar
Faryal Gohar is a Pakistan actress, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Waris'', '' Uraan'', ''Chaandni Raatain'', '' Chand Grehan'', ''Wisal'' and '' Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain''.
Early lif ...
as Madame Fatima
*
Rasheed Naz
Rasheed Naz (9 September 1948 – 17 January 2022) was a Pakistani film and television actor. He started his television career in 1971 in a ''Pashto'' television play and worked in several Pashto, Hindko and Urdu-language plays.
Life and career ...
as special appearance
Both
Salman Shahid
Salman Shahid ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film, theatre, television and voice actor.
The son of producer Saleem Shahid and veteran actress Khursheed Shahid, he has worked in Lollywood, Bollywood as well as in theatre and television.Faryal Gohar
Faryal Gohar is a Pakistan actress, television writer and human rights activist. She is known for her roles in dramas '' Waris'', '' Uraan'', ''Chaandni Raatain'', '' Chand Grehan'', ''Wisal'' and '' Mohini Mansion Ki Cinderellayain''.
Early lif ...
were cast first around 3 years before the film was eventually made, as early as 2009. They appear together in the video for the song ''Koi Dil Mein'' together not long after that in 2010.
Omair Rana
Omair Rana (born January 31, 1978) is a Pakistani actor and theatre director. He also directs plays in educational institutes, notably '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'' (2014) and ''Life of Galileo'' (2013) at Lahore Grammar School Johar To ...
was not part of the film initially, his role as Riz the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
was given to
Hameed Sheikh
Hameed Sheikh ( ur, حمید شیخ) is an actor and producer from Pakistan who is known for roles in ''Khuda Kay Liye'', '' Operation O21'' and ''Moor''.
Personal life
Residing in Quetta, the capital city of Balochistan, Pakistan, Sheikh is fl ...
, who is famous for his role of Sher Shah in
Shoaib Mansoor
Shoaib Mansoor (Full name, Shoaib Mansoor), ( ur, ; born 4 February 1951 Karachi) is a Pakistani television and film director, writer, producer, lyricist and musician of Muhajir origin.
Active in the television industry since 1980, he first f ...
’s
Khuda Kay Liye
''Khuda Kay Liye'' (also released as ''In the Name of God'' in international markets) is a 2007 Pakistani drama film directed by Shoaib Mansoor, produced by Brigadier Syed Mujtaba Tirmizi from ISPR and stars Shaan Shahid, Fawad Khan and Iman Al ...
Mehreen Raheel
Mehreen Raheel (Urdu/ pa, ) is a Pakistani model, actor, managing director of her family company R vision and host who appears in Pakistani films and serials.
She is best known for portraying the main leads in Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan, Das ...
was brought in very late, just before principal photography which took place in October 2012. Amongst scenes that were cut in the edit was Omair Rana with
Rasheed Naz
Rasheed Naz (9 September 1948 – 17 January 2022) was a Pakistani film and television actor. He started his television career in 1971 in a ''Pashto'' television play and worked in several Pashto, Hindko and Urdu-language plays.
Life and career ...
in
Wazir Khan Mosque
; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings tha ...
in the
Walled City of Lahore
The Walled City of Lahore (Punjabi language, Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was for ...
, but does appear briefly on a TV set in the background at one point during the film.
Sahir Lodhi
Sahir Lodhi is a Pakistani actor, director and host. He made his film debut with ''Raasta''.
Personal life
Sahir Lodhi was born in Karachi to Ali Kazim Lodhi and Roshan Gohar Lodhi. He has with two brothers (Amir Lodhi and Tahir Lodhi), and on ...
, a famous Pakistani TV presenter, also makes a cameo voice appearance as a TV interviewer.
Music
The film contains both original score and individual songs. The score of the film is composed by British Composer and musician Arthur Rathbone Pullen. The songs are sung by Pakistan's best known playback singer
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
Ali Azmat
Ali Azmat Butt (born 20 April 1970) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi Rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career. In 2001, he became part of the first ...
and composed 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. Amanat Ali sung the title track of Tamanna, composed by Afzal Hussain. The video of the titular song was filmed at Lahore's historic Barood Khana Haveli.
Release
The first Look trailer was released in June 2013 and Koi Dil Mein before that as a song with video including some of the film's old
Lollywood
Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production.
Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...
recreation footage from a
mise en abyme
In Western art history, ''mise en abyme'' (; also ''mise en abîme'') is a formal technique of placing a copy of an image within itself, often in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers ...
technique of a film within a film.
The film premiered on 13 June 2014 in Lahore Karachi and Islamabad then ran subsequently in cinemas around Pakistan for two weeks. The film is expected to screen at selected festivals in late 2014/2015 and was already screened at the
Tricycle Theatre
The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...
as part of the 16th London Asian Film Festival on 8 June 2014. The film had its worldwide TV premiere on 10 May 2015 on
ARY Digital
''ARY Digital'' ( ur, ) is a Pakistani pay television network available in Pakistan, the Middle East, North America and Europe. The ARY Group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob ...
and is scheduled for regular showing by the channel which owns TV distribution rights.
Awards
*
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 ...
List of highest-grossing Pakistani films
This list charts the most successful Pakistani films screened at cinemas in Pakistan and overseas. Pakistani films generate income from several revenue streams including box office sales (admissions), theatrical exhibitions, television broadcas ...