‘Parchi’, an upcoming Lollywood film starring Hareem Farooq and Ali Rehman Khan in the lead roles is going to be the first Pakistani film to release in Saudi Arabia after a progressive move lead by Saudi Arabia’ Crown Prince. “There will be a private screening in Saudia Arabia first and then the film will officially release there on January 19,” Daily Times learnt. The cast of the upcoming flick, which is slated for a release on January 5, 2018, confirmed that ‘Parchi’ was going to be the first Pakistani film to release in the desert country. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the film will release in the United States on January 12 and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 5 – the same date as Pakistan. Through the conversation, Eman AKA Hareem Farooq said that promotions are hectic while Ahmed Ali Akbar claimed to be the most burnt out of the entire bunch. The film also stars Ahmed Ali Akbar, Usman Mukhtar, Faizan Sheikh, Shafqat Cheema, Mojiz Hasan and Faiza Salim among other actors. ‘There will be a private screening in Saudia Arabia first and then the film will officially release there on January 19,’ Daily Times learnt Saudi Arabia has lifted ban on cinemas after some 35 years following Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s move to making the state open to progressive ideas. “Our vision was to make a movie on a unique concept that has all the essential elements in it. ‘Parchi’ has comedy, action, music and a pinch of romance which makes it a complete package,” stated Imran Raza Kazmi, the producer of the movie. “After receiving such an over-whelming response to the trailer, I can’t wait for the audiences to see the movie. I have done a very different character in this movie and I loving the feedback so far,” stated Farooq, the co-producer of ‘Parchi’. “The entire team of ‘Parchi’ has worked really hard to make ‘Parchi’ possible. The dedication and hard-work of the entire team can be seen in the trailer itself. We hope the audiences enjoy the movie,” shared Arif Lakhani who is the third co-producer of the movie. The writer can be reached at farazghumman@gmail.com Published in Daily Times, December 21st 2017.