From ring to the silver screen
Biopic on legendary Pakistani boxer Syed Hussain Shah to be released this Independence Day
The release of Shah will coincide with that of Dekh Magar Pyar Say, Moor and Brothers. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
There is no shortage of inspiring stories in Pakistan and it was only a matter of time before they were going to be translated onto the silver screen. Shah, a sports biopic based on the life of legendary Pakistani boxer, Syed Hussain Shah is all set to be released in cinemas this Independence Day.
Adnan Sarwar, the director of the film told The Express Tribune, that film had initially started out as a generic romantic-comedy. “I was able to steer the project in the direction of this sports biopic. I watched Hussain Shah win his Seoul Olympic medal as a child and always knew that if a chance ever came, this is the role I wanted to play and the story I wanted to tell.”
“The fact that this real Pakistani hero was forgotten is the biggest reason this story needs to be told,” he added.
Shah grew up as a homeless child on the streets of Karachi before going on to dominate the Asian boxing circuit for nearly a decade. In doing so he also became the first South Asian to win an Olympic Bronze Medal in boxing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and to-date remains the only Pakistani athlete to have won an individual medal at the Olympic Games in more than half a century.
The release of the film will coincide with two Moor, Dekh Magar Pyaar Say and Bollywood film Brothers.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2015.
There is no shortage of inspiring stories in Pakistan and it was only a matter of time before they were going to be translated onto the silver screen. Shah, a sports biopic based on the life of legendary Pakistani boxer, Syed Hussain Shah is all set to be released in cinemas this Independence Day.
Adnan Sarwar, the director of the film told The Express Tribune, that film had initially started out as a generic romantic-comedy. “I was able to steer the project in the direction of this sports biopic. I watched Hussain Shah win his Seoul Olympic medal as a child and always knew that if a chance ever came, this is the role I wanted to play and the story I wanted to tell.”
“The fact that this real Pakistani hero was forgotten is the biggest reason this story needs to be told,” he added.
Shah grew up as a homeless child on the streets of Karachi before going on to dominate the Asian boxing circuit for nearly a decade. In doing so he also became the first South Asian to win an Olympic Bronze Medal in boxing at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and to-date remains the only Pakistani athlete to have won an individual medal at the Olympic Games in more than half a century.
The release of the film will coincide with two Moor, Dekh Magar Pyaar Say and Bollywood film Brothers.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2015.