Logos Films, a local independent film and media production house has kickstarted the making of its debut feature film, which is based on the life of Pakistani boxer Syed Hussain Shah. The sports biopic is the first in a three-part series of films, based on the stories of forgotten Pakistani heroes. According to a press release, it had been in pre-production since August 2013.
Shah is the only boxer in the history of Pakistan, and the first from South Asia, to put his country on the Olympics medals table after winning a historic bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Widely considered to be one of the finest boxers ever to emerge from Asia, Shah also has the distinction of winning the prestigious Asian Boxing Championship and multiple SAF Games Gold medals, while on his unbeaten streak at the top of Asian boxing for a decade.
He started his life as a homeless child on the streets of Lyari, an impoverished neighbourhood in Karachi, and used to make his living as a daily wage labourer while sleeping on a footpath at night. Unfortunately, soon after his retirement, he was forgotten by the public and media alike and his story buried in obscurity.
Lahore-based musician Adnan Sarwar is playing the role of Shah after attending a six-month-long training programme, in which he was guided by the boxer himself. Logos Films acquired the life rights for the sports biopic last year and the film is expected to be released in late 2014. The film production is taking place in Pakistan, United Kingdom and Japan.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2014.
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