KARACHI: Shoaib Mansoor’s long-awaited film Khuda Kay Liye (In The Name of God) premiered on Sunday night at Karachi’s Prince cinema.
This is Geo Films’ first project and an effort to revive the cinema industry in Pakistan. The film will open throughout Pakistan on July 20. The path-breaking film stars Shaan, Iman Ali, Naseeruddin Shah and Fawad Khan.
An amazing mix of people came to watch the screening, including media professionals, artists, doctors, teachers, designers, Ulema, and even housewives among others. Among the celebrities present at the premiere included Javed Sheikh, Bushra Ansari, Behroze Sabzwari, Shakeel, Tapu Javeri, Saqib Malik, Deepak Perwani, Sonya Battla.
Of course, musicians were also there in full force. Rohail Hyatt — who’s mixed the background score— Ali Azmat, Salman Ahmed and Faakhir were just some of the most prominent musicians present. Shoaib Mansoor has ties that bind with the music industry. Indeed, Khuda Kay Liye sends out a clear message that music and Islam are not mutually exclusive.
Going by the crowd that gathered at the premiere, Khuda Kay Liye is arousing great curiosity. After the doors were opened and people took their seats, the hall was packed to its capacity of 700. The cheering began as soon as the credits started rolling. It just showed how much people wanted to see a film that is made by one of them, about them and for them. Khuda Kay Liye is all this and more.
Shoaib Mansoor has crafted a plot straight from the heart. It is a story of two brothers who are pop musicians in Lahore, one of whom gets radicalised under the influence of extremists, while the other goes to America and gets unlawfully detained after 9/11. It is the story of Mary (Maryam), a British girl of Pakistani origin, who is brought to Pakistan by her father and married off against her will.
Khuda Kay Liye is a film all Pakistanis can relate to. The stories that are shown remind us of real life headlines and it seems that every character in the film is someone we’ve all encountered at some point or another.
There were moments of magic in the film, lines that were said, scenes that were set up that touched the audience so much that they burst into spontaneous applause. And when Imran Aslam, President of the Geo Television Network, called Shoaib Mansoor on stage to take a bow at the end, he received a raucous standing ovation.
Two middle-aged women discussing the movie on their way out, said: “This movie is very timely. This is the kind of movie I want my children and everyone I know to watch, considering the state of the world today.”
Pop star Salman Ahmed said, “This movie reminded me that love always brings you to the right path. You can’t force ideology.” Ali Azmat predicted that this film “would change Pakistan.”
A young make-up artist, said: “This movie showed me that Pakistani cinema is still there! I would definitely come to a cinema to watch movies similar to this one.” Khuda Kay Liye is infinitely superior in every way to standard Lollywood fare.
The enthusiasm and excitement of the audience proves that a bright future for cinema is possible in Pakistan. It seemed that people are hungry for the essence of this land and culture to be distilled and projected on cinema screens, like it once was.
