SOS: Aliens to attack Pakistan in Saeed Rizvi’s next

Director of ‘Shaani’ fame to begin filming in early 2016

KARACHI: The last time Saeed Rizvi was making films, the Pakistani film industry was stuck in the celluloid (analog) format. Fast forward a few years and the industry has finally embraced the digital age, causing the veteran director, mostly remembered for introducing sci-fi to Pakistani films, to return to the cinematic fold.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Rizvi who has previously helmed Sarkata Insan and Shaani said that he would be making a formal announcement of his yet-to-be-titled film post-Moharram, but gave away a few details about the nature of his next project.

“It is going to be a film in the vein of Hollywood blockbusters and will revolve around an alien invasion in the country,” Rizvi told The Express Tribune.

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Currently in the pre-production phase, the director has already started making storyboards for his film which would also incorporate a lot of visual effects. “Unlike the current spate of films the movie will have a lot of CGI, which I intend to get done from the United States. Apart from that it will also be using Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound.”

Set to be Rizvi’s first film in over a decade, the director explained that he has spent the last couple of months honing his craft in New York and Los Angeles to ensure that he was not too out of sync with the modern standards of filmmaking.

Having shot all his films on the analog format, the transition into using the Arriflex camera has been a surprisingly smooth process for the seasoned filmmaker. “Shooting on digital is easier but then lighting becomes a little complex. Similarly, inserting CGI in digital is easier than adding it to analog but at the same time, it is more expensive.”

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According to Rizvi the movie is expected to go on floors “early next year” and he will be finalising the cast and crew once all the necessary paperwork is complete. “The real cast in my films is always the CGI and visual effects. They provide the novelty factor and make the film memorable for audiences of films like Shaani and Sarkata Insan.”

The movie is going to be shot on a Red Epic Dragon camera.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2015.

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