KARACHI: Nabil Qureshi’s much-awaited film “Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad”, starring Pakistani megastar Mahira Khan and Fahad Mustafa, hit theaters across the country on the Eid holiday, with the cast saying the release was a feature with several firsts: A police film and a musical masala film with an important message.
The film, which faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, brings Khan and Mustafa together on the silver screen for the first time and generated a lot of anticipation among film fans and theatres.
The action-packed film released simultaneously in 14 countries including UAE, UK and US on Sunday.
“I really think it’s an entertaining film. It’s an episodic film. I haven’t seen a cop film in Pakistan before. I haven’t seen action like this before,” Khan said in an interview before the launch. He told Arab News. “What we say in Urdu, Masala film is completely there, and it also has a very important message.”
Mustafa, a film and television actor and producer best known for hosting the popular game show “Jeeto Pakistan”, said the film has “a lot of firsts” and has characters that people will remember for a long time.
“This is the first cop film. Nobody has done this (in Pakistan) before or maybe recently,” the lead actor told Arab News. “We’re just trying to create characters that people can relate to for a very long time.”
Speaking about her character, Khan said that she stood for a “message”, whether it pertained to the oppression of women or to human and animal rights.
“She is a girl who does not think about social norms, social norms. She does what she wants to do and has a very strong moral compass,” Khan said. “She believes this is right and this is wrong.”
Khan said: “And she also believes in giving a second chance,” smiling at Mustafa.
The actor was confident that his fans would love the film.
Mustafa said, “This is the film that can really bring people out of their homes and make them watch that cinematic experience.” “So, I guess this is the last hope. I really hope they come out and we will be able to do more films then.”
Both the actors had some interesting anecdotes to share, with Mustafa recounting a difficult shoot with a lion on the sets.
“I didn’t know I was afraid of lions,” he said. “The lion was real and right there, and in the end, it’s a lion, so what do you do?
“It was a little scary and fun but I really don’t want to miss that day, you know, it wasn’t a fun shoot.”
Khan recalled a scene where she was carrying a puppy on a bike. As the camera approached, the dog turned its face and started kissing the lens.
“We had these little moments,” Khan said with a smile.
“Quaid-Azam Zindabad” is not the only Pakistani film to release on Eid, and will face stiff competition from the much-awaited Humayun Saeed and Mehwish Hayat-starrer “London Nahi Jaunga”.
Mustafa said that he believes the two films need each other.
The actor said, “This is not the time to compete but collectively… as an integrated group we should work together.”
Khan said a lot depends on the performance of both the films. “The box office will decide how investors, distributors and filmmakers will all feel about cinema, because at the end of the day, it is a business.
“Go see ‘Won’t go to London,'” the two actors said again in unison.
At the end of the day, both the stars said that they are relieved to be back on the big screen.
“That’s the real thing; that’s what actors live for,” Mustafa said.
Khan said: “Nothing like film, nothing like cinema… Oh, we want to do it forever… Cinema has that magic.”