Reham Khan questioned the Pakistani entry to the Oscars 2019, speculating whether the move had anything to do with its producer Zulfi Bukhari’s close relationship to Prime Minister Imran Khan, a local publication reported. Expressing her thoughts on Twitter, Reham wrote, “Who says you can’t have your ‘Cake’ and eat it too? Zulfi Bokhari friend of the PM now gets his film selected to be sent in as Pakistan’s entry to the Oscar’s too.” Reham’s comments did not go down well with the audiences and one of the lead actors of the film, Adnan Malik, responded to her tweet saying, “What an odd and unfair assertion, completely disregarding the integrity of the respectable Oscar committee members with diverse political ideologies, as well as the calibre of the film itself, which was critically acclaimed across the board (including 4 stars in the Guardian, UK).” The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee officially selected ‘Cake’ starring Sanam Saeed, Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Malik in the lead, for Oscar consideration in the ‘Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 91st Academy Awards scheduled to take place on February 24, 2019. The selection committee, chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, included notable personalities such as Kamila Shamshi, Hadiqa Kiani, Ali Sethi, Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Nabila Maqsood, Khalid Malik and Faysal Qureshi in the panel. Directed by Asim Abbasi, ‘Cake’ follows the lives of two sisters, one of whom lives abroad and the other is ‘left’ behind. Burdened with guilt and resentments, the sisters confront old secrets and realize that sometimes the only way for a family to move on, is by finding a way back.
Published in Daily Times, September 20th 2018.
Leave a Comment