Karachi: The journey of Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming film, Lahore Se Aagey, a sequel to his debut offering from last year, Karachi Se Lahore, will finally make its appearance across cinemas nationwide, next month.
Yasir Hussain is reprising the role of Moti in the new film and is joined by Saba Qamar, who according to the director is essaying
the role of a free-spirited girl.
A show of camaraderie between the cast and crew defines
the music launch of the upcoming film.
Karachi: The journey of Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming film, Lahore Se Aagey, a sequel to his debut offering from last year, Karachi Se Lahore, will finally make its appearance across cinemas nationwide, next month. Picking up from where the last film left off, the upcoming feature has retained the breakout star of the prequel, Yasir Hussain aka the endearing Moti, but has replaced the others to make room for one Saba Qamar as well as a slew of veteran actors like Rubina Ashraf, Atiqa Odho and Behroze Sabzwari among others.
Ahead of the film’s release, a lively music launch event, held in Karachi this Monday at the Movenpick Hotel, saw participation from the film’s cast, director as well as the music team, spearheaded by Shiraz Uppal. The camaraderie between this crew was perhaps the highlight of this shindig.
Upon their arrival, the film’s lead pair, Saba Qamar and Yasir Hussain, posed for pictures on the red carpet and their comfort at handling the press was arresting. With charm and laughter, they gave sound bytes to the dozen or more journalists before arriving on stage and addressing a room full of press members and more.
Speaking to Instep on the sidelines of the event, director Wajahat Rauf explained that whatever was learned from his debut effort, Karachi Se Lahore, has been integrated into the film. “Whatever we learned from the first movie, what works, what doesn’t work, what’s dragging… we’ve tried to rectify all those mistakes and incorporate whatever we learned to make it crisper,” said Rauf.
Actor Abdullah Farhatullah, who plays the role of the villain in this film, was moonlighting as the host for the music launch event.
He added: “One thing I’ve learned is that the story needs to begin immediately. You have two hours so get right into the action. Other than that, Saba is a big charm of this film. She’s a fantastic actor; she’s done a cameo appearance in a film before but this is a major lead role. Her character is diametrically opposite to her TV work. She’s a rockstar, she’s free-spirited and it is unlike her roles in drama serial(s). She trained for the role, learned how to play the guitar and sunk her teeth into the role for three months before we started shooting.”
He also spoke about Yasir Hussain’s growth with this film. “In the first film, he was in his comfort zone; with this film he’s pushed himself. He’s carrying the film and people will see a new side of him.”
Shiraz Uppal, who has reprised the role of music director (sans Noori brothers who were a part of Karachi Se Lahore OST), spoke to Instep about how he had freedom to construct a vibrant soundtrack. Having composed four of the five tracks that are featured on the soundtrack, Uppal had only kind words about his experience of working in the film.
Actor Abdullah Farhatullah, who plays the role of the villain in this film, was moonlighting as the host for the evening as several members of the cast, the music team, the film’s sponsors, producer(s) and director were invited during the course of the night to discuss the film and their individual experiences.
Saba Qamar remarked that she’s a director’s actor while the bro-mance between Wajahat Rauf and Yasir Hussain, who has also written the film, was also in fine form. Shiraz Uppal reiterated to the audience how he had complete freedom, which led to the thumping soundtrack of the film.
Interspersed with all this were brief sonic surprises from the singer, Aima Baig who was, at one point, joined by Qamar Hussain and one Hasan Rizvi as they danced briefly on the stage while the audience, which by then included actors like Momal Sheikh, Imran Abbas as well as the press, cheered them on. Others who came out to support the film were names like Fuzon’s Immu, pop star of the ages Ali Haider, director Nabeel Qureshi, producer Fizza Ali Meerza and director Saqib Malik.
It must be added that after a while this showcase of camaraderie couldn’t rescue the evening from certain sluggishness and coupled with a delayed start, the discourse on display (ensconced in humour) felt, by the end, a bit jarring.
That said, the film looks poised for success. Whether it surpasses its predecessor, the audience will decide on the verdict.
