In the 75 years of its existence, the cinema industry of Pakistan has depended a lot on foreign content – mainly Hollywood films – and had it not been for them, the situation would have been even worse. Ever since the introduction of multiplexes, the country has joined those territories that are part of the worldwide release, and that’s why many Hollywood flicks are now released here on the same day as in the States.
With the recent release of the Egyptian flick Voy! Voy! Voy! foreign content has received another boost in Pakistani cinemas, one that might prove to be beneficial for our cinema industry.
Why its release of this strange sounding film in Pakistani cinemas is a significant landmark in our cinematic history? It’s the first-ever Arabic language film to be released in Pakistan where the language is often understood but not spoken a lot; however, the similarity in the cultures of both Egypt and Pakistan will clearly help the film in doing well at the box office. It might prove to be a worthy replacement for Indian films that are currently not screened in Pakistan.
Yes, Arabic films might not be as exciting as Bollywood movies but they are at par with international standards. The story of Voy! Voy! Voy! revolves around Hassan, a poor Egyptian who works as a security guard, and lives with his mother but dreams of becoming rich, and travelling abroad. His life changes when he decides to feign blindness so he can join a visually impaired football team and escape to Europe during the World Cup. Does he succeed in convincing the officials that he is the right ‘blind man’ for the job or does he fail to con them, it’s the attempt that makes this film an ideal watch.
Directed by Omar Hilal and distributed in Pakistan by HKC Entertainment, in collaboration with UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim Entertainment, the film was released last Friday and is set to captivate the Pakistani audience because it has a mixture of two things that viewers love in this part of the world – soccer and comedy. Add to that the ‘inspired by true-life events’ tag and you will have to make a place for a not-to-be-missed flick in your busy schedule.
The ensemble cast is led by Mohamed Farrag and also features renowned actors namely Bayoumi Fouad, Nelly Karim, Taha Desouky, Amgad Al Haggar, Hanan Youssef, and Hagag Abdel-Azim. Farrag plays the leading role of the devious-but-not-blind footballer, Bayoumi Fouad plays his coach, and Nelly Karim is the journalist who follows the team’s glorious path to the finals in Europe.
What makes it very special on the eve of its release is the fact that Egypt has already submitted Voy! Voy! Voy! as its entry in the Best International Feature Film category in the 96th Academy Awards, and it might give tough competition to the other films. Talking to Express Tribune, writer and director Omar Hilal said that he was quite excited that his film was released in Pakistan, a country that has a culture similar to his native country Egypt.
When asked what made him go for a film that blends soccer and comedy together, Omar Hilal said that the film’s topic attracted him, and soccer is just a very attractive vehicle he used to highlight the real issue.
“To be honest, I am a soccer fanatic and have been supporting A.S. Roma with my blood for many years,” confesses Hilal. However, my film is not about soccer but about something bigger than that, revolving around the idea of people living outside their home country. The attraction to implement the idea in a film was always there, while the unbelievable, unreal drama that was present in the script made me attempt it.”
He went on to present his credentials to write and direct the film, and they were nothing short of impressive. “I have lived all my life between countries so I have a deep understanding of the idea and the topic has always been on my mind,” shares Hilal. “I can easily claim to be one of those Egyptians who have gone around the world. I grew up in Saudi Arabia, was educated in Canada, and began my career in Italy. That’s why when I came across a weird piece of news regarding normal people pretending to be blind in order to flee their country, I found it to be both cunning and funny at the same time and decided that it would be the topic of my next project.’
He was also confident that the Pakistani public would like the film because the topic is close to his heart, and so are the Pakistanis around whom he grew up. “I am very excited to see how the film will be received in Pakistan, and even though I have never been to the country, I have grown up around a lot of Pakistanis. In fact, one of my best friends is a Pakistani and I always found them to be loving and kind-hearted people. That’s one of the reasons I think they will be able to resonate with the story of Voy Voy! Voy! since it’s also a film about people with extremely kind hearts, despite the illegal action they take to get to the other side.
Hilal has always felt that the Egyptians and Pakistanis share the same cultural values and that’s why he believes that the audience in Pakistan will feel quite familiar with the actors and the situations shown in the movie and might even find themselves in it. He lamented the fact that he won’t be in Pakistan when the film hits the screens here, but is confident that he will be able to watch the film with the Pakistani audience soon, which might be sooner than they think.
The person who was present in Pakistan for the film’s release was Toni El Massih, Managing Director of VOX Cinemas, the renowned cinema chain in the UAE. He feels that the release of Voy! Voy! Voy! marks a historic occasion since it offers Pakistani audiences a window into the rich culture of the Arab world.
Talking to Express Tribune, he not only thanked his partner Hammad Chaudhry (of HKC Entertainment) for bringing the film to Pakistan but also hinted that it might be the first of many such collaborations. When asked what made him bring an Arabic film to a non-Arabic speaking country like Pakistan, he said that the film might be in Arabic language but it is more international than anything.
“All the credit goes to Hammad Chaudhry, our partner from HKC who saw and loved Voy! Voy! Voy! a couple of months ago and agreed that it was the right time to bring Arabic films to Pakistan,” says El Massih. “We both agreed that it would be the perfect movie for the Pakistani audience because despite being in the Arabic language, it's more international than anything. It has the right blend, the right mix of emotion and humour and it resonates with the audience all over the world, not just the Arabic audience.”
He also added that since Pakistan has always been a huge market for foreign films, they decided to tap the market, hoping that it would be beneficial to both countries. “It’s an international film, the first from Egypt to embark on a journey in Pakistan making it the first country outside the Arabic region to screen the film and we believe it will strike a chord with the audience in the country.”
When asked about collaborating with the local filmmakers in Pakistan, Toni said that it might be too soon but didn’t rule out the idea. “I am not going to say that it will happen soon but nobody knows, maybe down the line, if we find the right blend, we can cross the bridges between the Arabic world and Pakistan, I don’t see any reason why we can’t collaborate with the Pakistani filmmakers. It has happened with other countries and I would like to collaborate with Pakistan if the opportunity arises.”
El Massih was generous about rating the cinema facilities in Lahore quite high. “Lahore is quite close to my heart and I have visited the city on a number of occasions,” he says. “I am quite familiar with the other metropolitans as well which have many state-of-the-art cinemas. It is good to see that Pakistan has IMAX as well as premium offerings in cinemas but there is always room to evolve. The best way to improve is to find ways to elevate the audience experience, and if that is possible then it should be explored.”
Film distributor Hammad Chaudhry also shared his enthusiasm for the project while talking to Express Tribune. “We are thrilled to bring 'Voy! Voy! Voy!' to the Pakistani audience which beautifully showcases the universal theme of pursuing one's dreams. We believe that it will resonate deeply with our viewers in Pakistan.”
Omair Alavi is a freelance contributor who writes about film, television, and popular culture
All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer