Film on Hatim Tai will have a Harry Potter feel to it: Rashid Sami

KARACHI: Pakistani children today have so many superheroes to look up to but not a single one hails from their own soil. One of the main reasons for this is a lack of iconic local characters. Television veteran Rashid Sami is hoping to explore this untapped market with his upcoming film.

After spending 30 years in the Pakistani showbiz industry, Sami is now working to bring back a character that was the highlight of our childhood, Hatim Tai.

For this, Sami is making a live action animated film based on the famous Arab character. The film, entitled Hatim Tai aur Chalak Churail is written and directed by Sami himself. “Actually, I also star in the film as Hatim Tai,” he revealed to The Express Tribune.



According to the director, writers in India and Pakistan ought to be familiar with literature and history to come up with better heroes. “We need to read more and create characters that are relatable and meaningful. Literature helps a lot in that,” he said.

That is why Sami has gone back to the tried and tested Hatim Tai, to offer something fresh to this generation of children. “Hatim Tai is someone we all loved as children. There is a nostalgic value attached to it and it is a great story,” he shared. “To depict the fantasy world of Hatim Tai, we shot in Baltistan. Most of the film takes place in the fantasy world because we wanted to take children on a believable journey. I would say it will have a Harry Potter feel to it.”

The film’s soundtrack consists of three songs, composed by Aqeel Ahmed Khan, while international animation teams have been working on the visuals.



While Hatim Tai aur Chalak Churail is still in production and slated for a July 2017 release, Sami finds it confusing that not many of the films or TV shows being made these days are targeting children. “About 40% of our population consists of children and we are losing out on a big part of our audience if we ignore them.”

The film-maker added that there is a need for better superheroes for children to look up to. “It’s sad that our heroes and superheroes lack depth. We, the people of the subcontinent, are spiritual people,” he explained. “India has retained it, but we have completely forgotten everything. Our heroes are forgettable; they need depth and spirituality so our children can learn from them, rather than their western counterparts.”

Sami believes television has the ability to tap into this market. “Television has the means. We used to have Ainak Wala Jin back in the day, but now there’s nothing of that sort.” He added that we have become so money-minded that we lost our values. “All the values are gone. Now the marketing department dictates content. We should remember that content is king and it has always been,” said Sami.



For an industry veteran like Sami, it is indeed a travesty that people have seemingly forgotten the art of storytelling. “With this film, we want to bring the revival of storytelling. The film incorporates Urdu rhymes for children and thus, we want a revival of poetry as well.”

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