‘Actor In Law’ director says it is too soon to judge his film

‘Actor In Law’ trailer launched, maker says too soon to judge his second film

KARACHI: Exactly two years and one day from Tuesday, director Nabeel Qureshi had released the trailer of a film called Na Maloon Afraad. While many thought the film and its debuting maker were no match for Shaan’s Operation 021 and Hrithik Roshan’s Bang Bang that were also releasing on the Eidul Azha of 2014, things changed when Na Maloom Afraad’s box office figures were made public.

Today Qureshi and his screenwriting partner Fizza Ali Meerza are among the most successful film-makers of the country. Set to release their latest film Actor In Law, the duo put out its trailer on Tuesday.

They may have chosen to keep the story of the film under the wraps; the 173-second trailer does give away a few vital plot points. The movie follows the story of a lawyer (Fahad Mustafa) who harbours a burning desire to become an actor, something his father (Om Puri) does not approve of.

With the trailer’s view count rising, some have already begun to draw parallels between this “social comedy” and Indian National Award-winning film Jolly LLB.



No stranger to such comments, Qureshi laughed at the comparison, saying, “Even prior to the release of Na Maloom Afraad, people were pointing out how the movie is similar to Indian films like Hera Pheri and C Kkompany. It wasn’t until they saw the full movie that they realised that it was a completely different film.”



Another major talking point from the film’s trailer is the issue of minorities, with the movie’s leading lady taking a jibe at the plight of Pakistan’s marginalised communities. Clearing the air on the particular line and whether the topic of minorities would constitute a central theme of the movie, he explained, “All I can say is that the trailer consists of a few scattered lines and it is too early to draw any assumptions.”

Given the success of their debut film, it was only logical for the production team to up the ante with their next project. “That was something obvious and we’ve made this movie on a bigger scale,” said Qureshi. “There are close to 300 extras dancing alongside Fahad [Mustafa] in the title track,” he added.

Slated to release on Eidul Azha this year, Actor In Law is expected to go toe-to-toe with another Pakistani film, Janaan. “When we announced the release date for Actor In Law, Janaan wasn’t releasing on Eidul Azha,” the director explained.



Aware of the fact that of competing with a local film means that the already small number of screens would be divided between the two releases, Qureshi felt that such events were understandable given the Eidul Azha’s box office promise.

Produced under the banner of Filmwala Pictures, Actor In Law features an ensemble cast, including Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Alyy Khan, and will also mark the Pakistani film debut of renowned Bollywood actor Om Puri.

The four-song soundtrack for the movie has been composed by Shani Arshad with the music launch set to take place in July.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2016.

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