Directed by Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur aka Farjad and Meenu and produced by Mazhar Zaidi, Zinda Bhaag’s first trailer was released at Cinepax Cinema in Karachi on Monday after quite a long wait.
The upcoming Punjabi-Urdu film is shot in Lahore and is reflective of the everyday life of young Lahoris who dream to hit it big abroad. “The story is set entirely in Lahore coming straight from its mohallas and hence, touching on the contemporary style of the city,” says Gaur.
The trailer, showcased to a rather limited media audience, managed to create excitement. However, despite the fact that the music of the film has been directed by the famed Sahir Ali Bagga, the trailer did not include any soundtrack or even a background score. Considering that the movie centers mostly on new talent, the rawness of the young actors was also slightly evident against the massive talent of Naseeruddin Shah. Nevertheless, the film aims to open to a wider audience and garner global appreciation. “We feel that when audiences will watch this film in Toronto or Sydney, they will be bound to say ‘this is my story’. We are constantly surprised when people come to us after a preview screening and share their own stories. It is a very moving experience,” say Nabi and Gaur.
Zinda Bhaag revolves around the lives of three friends and aims to shed light on the issue of illegal immigration and the intense drama associated with it through their stories. “We had heard these stories from our friends and relatives and were fascinated by the real life dramas involved,” says one of the directors.
The directors assert that the film is open to interpretation, considering how relatable the story is to the reality of life. “The reality of Pakistani youth today includes the visions of a luxurious life but very few opportunities. The result is sheer desperation, which leads to extreme measures. The film questions if and why the steps taken by young people, or their families, are always in their best interest.” “Even the title can be interpreted in many ways because the word ‘bhaag’ can mean ‘to run’ or ‘destiny’,” add both of them.
The cast of the film includes fresh Pakistani talent, such as model Amna Ilyas, but relies heavily on the appearance of the highly skilled Naseeruddin Shah, who has acted in his first-ever Punjabi film, flawlessly. “Naseeruddin Shah held a week long workshop with our actors including Amna Ilyas. Everyone found him to be a generous teacher who offered fresh tips on how to act. The results were amazing. Amna is totally natural and believable in the film as you will see,” they say.
The movie is more of a bi-lingual project unlike most of the movies made in Pakistan which are mostly either Punjabi or mainstream Urdu. “The language of the film is what is spoken on the streets of Lahore — a bit of Punjabi and a bit of Urdu. Following preview screenings audiences always exclaim, ‘This is exactly how my friends and I speak!’ We believe that the language of the film will be one of its most popular aspects,” claim the two directors.
As far as the challenges of film-making are concerned, the directors say, “One of the major challenges we faced was getting fresh graduates to work on this project. Also, the constant load-shedding issue hampered most of our work and we were a little behind our schedule.”
Working hard towards distributing the film in India, the directors remain tight-lipped about their upcoming projects claiming that they are mainly focusing on the release of Zinda Bhaag for now. “There are a few ideas we are excited about but right now all are energies are focused on introducing Zinda Bhaag to the widest audiences. We are hopeful that a positive response to this film will spur us, and many other Pakistani filmmakers, to tell more stories,” says the hopeful duo.
The film is all set to release in August this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2013.
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