Tamanna to release on Pakistan Day

The film is set to be the first major Pakistani release of 2014.

LAHORE:

At Vogue Towers on Friday evening there was a sense of relief and joy as it was announced that the film Tamanna will be released on March 23rd, by Summit Entertainment. The film, produced by Sarah Tareen and directed by Steven Moore, starring Salman Shahid, Omar Rana, Mehreen Raheel and Feryal Gauhar, has taken just about three years to complete. The film is set to mark the first major Pakistani film release of 2014, and will follow-up the release of Waar, Zinda Bhaag and Mein Hoon Shahid Afridi, last year.

“My entire experience of making this film was exciting. They say all is well that ends well, but this is just the beginning, it has been a great experience making a film on my home ground, I have high hopes that this film will be successful,” said Mehreen Raheel.

For Raheel, this is her follow-up to her debut film Virsa. The cast of the film comprises of a close-knit group of actors who have strong grounds in theatre and television. The charismatic Salman Shahid, who is fresh-off the release, remarked that he had done some theatre with Omair Rana and has worked with Mehreen Raheel’s mother Seemi Raheel.

Regardless, the cast and production team of Tamanna was relatively new on many levels for old Lollywood film journalists from Lahore, who are now coming to terms with the new faces. One of them was so confused and flabbergasted by the development, he asked producer Sarah Tareen, “Why have you left our heritage and forgotten our old Lollywood personalities such as Noor.”

Tamanna has been a work in progress for a long time.  It is an initiative by two ambitious young filmmakers, Sarah Tareen and Steven Moore, who are attempting to make a film that would be different. Tareen explained that there were different commercial styles of filmmaking and her goal was to bring story-telling on the screen.

“People have asked why it took three years. It’s very simple. Some countries have a studio system, over here that does not exist, so you have independent filmmaking. All these films that have been made are being done independently, people are raising their own funds and making films,” says Tareen.

The film is about Rizwan Ahmed (Omair Rana) a struggling actor who meets Mian Tariq Ali played by Salman Shahid, a relic of the once thriving film industry. The struggling actor is there to convince Ali to divorce his wife, and in the process engages in an ordeal which leaves only one of the two men alive. The film incorporates elements of dark humour, melodrama, crime, passion and revenge and is based on Anthony Shaffer’s play, Sleuth. It is written for the screen by Steven Moore and Ijlal Khan.

The film has already received considerable acclaim due to its soundtrack. The track, Koi Dil Mein, which has been sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and composed by Sahir Ali Bagga, won the Best Music Talent in Film Award in the 14th London South Asian Film Festival 2012’s BAFTA ceremony. Come Pakistan Day, audiences will be able to determine if it deserves acclaim for the story and acting performances as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2014.

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