It was in 2011 when Atif Aslam and Mahira Khan co-starred (in supporting roles) in Shoaib Mansoor’s second feature, Bol. As Atif Aslam told Instep in a recent 2019 interview, his reasons for starring (as an actor) in Bol were clear from the beginning; he was lending his star-power to a film that was tackling serious social issues.
For Bol, Atif Aslam also sang the mammoth hit, ‘Hona Tha Pyar’ with Hadiqa Kiani, among others, that was picturized on both Mahira and Atif.
Fast forward to 2016 and Atif Aslam sang another tune, the underrated ‘Dil Kare’ for Ho Mann Jahaan – only this time the film featured Mahira Khan as the female lead alongside Adeel Hussain and Sheheryar Munawar while the song, ‘Channa’ from Coke Studio 5 was also featured on the soundtrack of HMJ.
So, it’s only fair that as Mahira Khan embarks on a daringly different kind of role with Superstar, helmed by Ehteshamudin, the first teaser features Atif on vocals, humming a sweet, mellow love song. And with Atif, the tendency to go wrong is limited, particularly with the film genre that he has mastered by now.
As for the poster, it features Mahira Khan as well as Bilal Ashraf, who is co-starring with the actress for the first time but the light is on Mahira Khan.
On Twitter, Mahira shared her character name, ‘Noori’ and wrote: “Films have a destiny of their own. I have held on to this for years, waited and wanted it to happen but it has its own heart, one which beats and listens to its own tune. Here it is a sneak peak of a piece of my heart for all of you!”
The full-star cast includes a mixture of both veteran and new-age actors including Marina Khan, Saife Hassan, Ali Kazmi and many more. With Atif’s presence on the soundtrack, this third-time collaboration has us interested and what it means for the film, only time will tell.
– Superstar is scheduled to release later this year.
