Shoaib weaves 9/11 aftershocks

Shoaib weaves 9/11 aftershocks
by EMANUEL SARFRAZ

The world was never the same after the 9/11 incident. The US began a worldwide war on terror in which many innocent too got caught and suffered for no fault of theirs. Lollywood at its lowest ebb and devoid of talent, which could take up current topics has not produced any movie on the subject. Some telefilms on related topics were made but nothing for the silver screen could be produced. Now celebrated director Shoaib Mansoor has embarked on his first feature film project 'Allah kay liyae' that takes up the issues that emerged after 9/11.
Shoaib's film has a very big budget and would be shot in Pakistan, England and USA. The first spell of the shooting has been completed in Lahore and the second spell is going to start in a couple of days in Islamabad. Pop singers Junaid Jamshed and Ali Zafar are making their silver screen debut by acting in this film. Iman Ali playing the female lead is also to act in a film for the first time. Other cast members include Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah, Seemi Raheel, Ali Tahir and Rasheed Naz. Every actor who has come from Bollywood in the recent past generated a lot of media hype but it goes to the credit of Shoaib Mansoor that he on the request of the great Shah managed to keep his visit a secret. Naseeruddin Shah came to Lahore; filmed some scenes and went back quietly on the third day. While talking to The Nation Plus on Wednesday Shoaib said that when Shah read the script, he eager to do the role but on the condition that his visit must be kept secret. "It was a good experience of working with him. He plays the role of an Islamic scholar. The film is about the situation that emerged after 9/11 and how it affected the lives of so many ordinary people. Junaid plays a very important and positive role of a student studying in US who after 9/11 is caught as a one of terror suspects. Ali plays his younger brother and the other male lead," he said.
"It is basically a serious film. There are some songs in the movie but you would not find any dance numbers. The songs are situational, therefore you will not see any female actresses dancing about for fun," he revealed. Shoaib said that he himself had written the lyrics and composed the songs. It may be mentioned here that Shoaib has also penned the story and script.
Iman Ali is playing a British born girl. This character too is not there for glamour but according to the requirement of plot.
Shoaib has hired the services of a Hollywood based British cameraman Neil Lisk and does not want to compromise on quality in any way. On a query about taking the risk of using new actors in lead roles instead of experienced ones, Shoaib said that he has always worked with newcomers. "I have full faith in these artistes. I have always managed to bring out the best from the raw talent," he maintained.