''Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor'' ( ur, ) is a Pakistani

computer animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Uzair Zaheer Khan ''Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor'' ( ur, ) is a Cinema of Pakistan, Pakistani computer animated film directed by Uzair Zaheer Khan. It depicts the story of a young boy and his relationship with animals. The film is produced by 3rd World St ...

. It depicts the story of a young boy and his relationship with animals. The film is produced by 3rd World Studios and 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 ...

. Set in the northern regions of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the story follows Allahyar, a young and mischievous boy who ends up dealing with circumstances he never thought possible. The movie aims to shed light on the preservation and illegal hunting of wildlife, with main characters Mehru (a

markhor The markhor (''Capra falconeri'') is a large ''Capra'' species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015. The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it ...

), Hero (a

Chukar partridge The chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Prze ...

, known as chakor in Pakistan), and a

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a Felidae, felid in the genus ''Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central Asia, Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red ...

named Chak'ku being

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. The film received a largely positive reaction by the general audience but received mixed to positive reviews by critics.

Cast

* Anum Zaidi as Allahyar * Natasha Humera Ejaz as Mehru * Ali Noor as Mani *

Azfar Jafri Azfar Jafri ( ur, ) is a Pakistani film director, screenwriter, actor and VFX artist. He is best known for his Independent film ''Siyaah'' which earned him a critical recognition and accolades including a nomination of ARY Film Award for Best Di ...

as Hero * Abdul Nabi Jamali as Chak'ku *

Arieb Azhar Arieb Azhar (born 1972) is a Pakistani musician known for his renderings of traditional Sufi poetry and folk songs. Early life Arieb Azhar was born on 30 June 1972 at Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He is the second son of Aslam Azhar, known as the fat ...

as Bablu *

Hareem Farooq Hareem Farooq ( ur, ; born 26 May 1992) is a Pakistani theatre, film and television actress and a film producer, known for her work in the serial ''Diyar-e-Dil'' and ''Pawnay 14 August''. She co-produced ''Janaan'' followed by her 2018 film '' ...

Ali Rehman Khan Ali Rehman Khan ( ur, ) is a Pakistani actor who appears in Urdu films, television series and theater plays. Khan has won two Hum Awards and has been nominated twice at the Lux Style Awards for his acting prowess. Born and raised in Islamabad ...

Nadia Jamil Nadia Jamil ( ur, نادیہ جمیل) (Born: October 19, 1975) (also known as Nadia Fazal Jamil) is a Pakistani actress and host who is known for ''Balu Mahi'', ''Behadd'' and ''Damsa'', a story about child trafficking. Early life and educat ...

* Arshad Mehmood as Master Jee * Amjad Chaudary * Ahmed Ali

Production

The movie was produced by 3rd World Studios for which the studio was awarded a dev grant by

Epic games Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, M ...

. It is the first movie produced entirely in

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres ...

. The first song of the movie, a rendition of

Zohaib Hassan Zoheb Hassan (born November 18, 1966) is a Pakistani pop icon, singer, songwriter, producer, and was a part of the superduo Nazia and Zoheb. Early career and breakthrough Zoheb and his sister Nazia spent their childhood in Karachi as well as L ...

's 1982 song "Muskuraye Ja", song by Natasha Humera Ejaz and produced by Ahmed Ali, was officially released on 13 January 2018.

Reception

The film received attention by the media even soon after the initial teasers and trailers. It was admired for its theme on the awareness about

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

as well as being a movie featuring a child protagonist which is not common in Pakistan. Maleeha Mengal from

Dunya News Dunya News is a 24 hours Urdu language news and current affairs television channel from Pakistan. It is governed and operated by the National Communication Services (NCS) Pvt. Ltd. Its head office is situated at Lahore. Dunya News was founded an ...

noted that the movie would "remain one of the most memorable stories for children for many years". It was also well received because producing animated movies is harder and costly.

Accolades

The film won the prestigious Monolith Award for Content at the Infinity Film Festival at Hollywood. It was also screened at South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) at New York, where it received Best Feature Film in the Audience Choice category.Allahyar and The Legend of Markhor wins Best Feature Film at South Asian International Film Festival
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References

External links