London Asian Film Festival: A big leap for Bol and Tamanna

The Pakistani films will be screened at the London Asian Film Festival

LAHORE:
Following the success of Saving Face, which earned an Oscar last month, the films Bol and the yet-to-be released Tamanna have started generating buzz as they have been shortlisted for the 14th London Asian Film Festival, set to place from the March 16 to 24.

The festival, over the years, has developed a reputation for focusing on films depicting the problems prevalent in Asian countries as well as highlighting the major works from Bollywood, Lollywood and Hollywood. This year’s festival will be attended by Bollywood stars including Abhishek Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, who will discuss at length the state of South Asian films.

The Pakistani film section will be headlined by a screening of Shoaib Mansoor’s Bol which will be followed by a question and answer session with the film’s lead actor Humaima Malick. Additionally, there will also be a documentary on behind-the-scenes of the film Tamanna which will discuss both the film and the Pakistani film industry.


Additionally, Pakistani singers Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan have been shortlisted in the category of ‘The Best Music Talent’ for their songs “Bol” and “Koi Dil Mein” (from the movie Tamanna) respectively. Joining them in the same category is AR Rehman, who has been shortlisted for the soundtrack of Michael Winterbottom’s film Trishna.

Tamanna’s music director Sahir Ali claims that the festival has been important in promoting South Asian films and it’s a great achievement for Pakistani cinema and music that they are allowed to compete on a global stage. “Following the Oscars, this is a huge breakthrough for Pakistani music and cinema,” adds Ali.

While talking about working on Tamanna’s music, Ali says “We decided to work with the team because they were doing something new and original.” The musician also revealed that he recently released a new track for the film’s soundtrack “Allah hoo”.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2012.
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