‘Some people are propagating against me’

Director Noor Bukhari not worried about criticism over her debut project ‘Ishq Positive’

LAHORE: Noor Bukhari might have had high hopes for her debut directorial venture Ishq Positive, but the film’s nationwide release on July 22 told an entirely different story.

Even with screenings slots at all leading cinemas across Pakistan, the film failed to impress and attract movie-goers of major cities.

Fans and critics pointed out a number of flaws that may have contributed to Ishq Positive’s poor performance — such as prominent issues with its editing, music and overall direction. Faria Bukhari and Wali Hamid Ali — who were handed leading roles in the film — have given a lackluster performance and the poor quality of post-production only made matters worse. And as if all these setbacks weren’t enough, fans have been complaining of a poor script, suggesting Noor was perhaps better off as an actor only.



Noor, however, has played a good sport throughout and taken the failure as a learning opportunity and stepping stone along the way.

She feels Ishq Positive was a successful venture and that she will continue making more films in the future. “I did my very best for the movie, in terms of direction and acting,” Noor told The Express Tribune. “I am satisfied with how the film turned out. I believe that people are simply jealous and there are certain individuals who are propagating against me. Dogs bark and that’s what they’ll continue doing.”

The actor and director added that she can foresee success for her future projects in the industry. “I have high hopes for Ishq Positive. I am sure that people will come to cinemas to see it. I can also promise that all new projects that I work on will definitely be more impressive.”

Interestingly, Ishq Positive has had a rough and bumpy ride ever since filming began, all the way to post-production. There were reports of misunderstandings between Noor and actor Sana after the latter’s item number was taken out of the film. As a result, Sana did not grace the movie’s premiere. Exactly why the director chose to sideline the actor’s only appearance in the film remains unclear. Rumours suggest that Noor wanted to keep her sister, Faria Bukhari in the limelight and felt that Sana could potentially overshadow her. Prior to this, film-maker Sangeeta also abandoned the Ishq Positive’s sets due to alleged clashes with Noor.

Wali Hamid Khan — the son of classical music legend Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, who made his acting debut with Ishq Positive — was also of the opinion that people were conspiring against Noor. However, the actor has himself received a fair share of criticism for his run-of-the-mill performance in the film, not to mention speculations regarding his relationship with the director.

Based on reports, Noor and Wali tied the knot back in 2015, while Ishq Positive was being filmed, making it Noor’s fourth leap into matrimony.

Ishq Positive is still battling it out against international films such as Madaari, Sultan, Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets in cinemas. Though chances seem bleak, only time will tell if Noor’s optimism bears fruit and the film manages to attract attention from local movie-goers, before it is replaced by something better.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2016.

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