The upcoming Pakistani film ‘Sacch’, which is going to be released on the 20th of December, 2019 is nowadays being promoted all over the country. Zulfikar Sheikh, the film’s director and Tasmina Sheikh, the film’s producer have now arrived in Lahore with their daughter Elysee after having promoted their high-budgeted film in Karachi.
In Lahore, the promotional event of ‘Sacch’ took place on the 10th of December at the Governor House, Mall Road. The link between the film and the Governor of Punjab’s dwelling is that Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, like Tasmina Sheikh, has played his part as a politician at the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. Considering that the film has been shot in the breath-taking locations of Scotland and addresses the concerns of Pakistani expatriates residing in the country, the Governor of Punjab welcomed the film’s team to hold its promotional event at his dwelling, for he himself has witnessed what it is like to be a Pakistani in Scotland. This association of his with the country brought the promotion of ‘Sacch’ to his place on a cold December evening.
The event began at 6 o’clock inside Darbar Hall, preceded by a personal meeting of the governor with Zulfikar Sheikh, Tasmina Sheikh, Elysee Sheikh who also happens to be the film’s heroine besides being the couple’s daughter, and Asad Zaman Khan, the hero. Amidst countless cameras and mikes from Pakistan’s top news channels, Tasmina Sheikh commenced the discussion on the film by first of all telling the reason for the film’s promotion being held at the Governor House, after which she went on to tell how ‘Sacch’ is not only a film highlighting the stories of Pakistanis living in Scotland, but is an effort to bring and keep women at the front. The endeavour’s proofs are that she herself has produced the film, Sultana Siddiqui, the director of HUM TV is presenting it, Javeria Saud, an actor and a writer, happens to be its script advisor while the veteran playwright Haseena Moin has penned the dialogues.
The event began at 6 o’clock inside Darbar Hall, preceded by a personal meeting of the governor with Zulfikar Sheikh, Tasmina Sheikh, Elysee Sheikh who also happens to be the film’s heroine besides being the couple’s daughter, and Asad Zaman Khan, the hero. Amidst countless cameras and mikes from Pakistan’s top news channels, Tasmina Sheikh commenced the discussion on the film by first of all telling the reason for the film’s promotion being held at the Governor House, after which she went on to tell how ‘Sacch’ is not only a film highlighting the stories of Pakistanis living in Scotland, but is an effort to bring and keep women at the front
The audience was also told that ‘Sacch’ is going to be Uzma Gillani and Fazila Kazi’s debut film, both of whom have previously earned respectable repute as television actresses. The discussion was then handed over to Ayesha Sana, one of the film’s cast members who told that she is playing the role of Javed Sheikh’s wife and Asad Zaman’s mother in it. Asad Zaman Khan stressed on the point that the film is family-oriented and one of its good aspects lies in its being written by the writer of ‘Dhoop Kinaray’, Haseena Moin. The mike was then handed over to Elysee Sheikh who told that the film will be full of positive messages, especially for women who need to be taught to be confident. The second last person to give his comments was Ashraf Khan, the veteran actor who has performed in several of Zulfikar and Tasmina’s plays and wished them the best of luck for their new venture. When it came to the director himself, Zulfikar Sheikh disclosed how ‘Sacch’ is a result of four years’ hardwork and not a sudden production. He told that it is after making more than fifteen serials that he has gone for a film.
The discussion was then brought to an end by a projector presenting clips from the film’s making, introducing the audience to its locations, songs, a few dialogues and the rest of the cast members. The presentation was followed by a short session based on questions from the audience and responses from the team, who convinced many of the attendants that ‘Sacch’ will be family-oriented, will have messages for the youth and is an earnest attempt to provide quality entertainment to Pakistanis.
It is to be noted that the advanced booking of ‘Sacch’ is now open and the film will hit the cinema screens not only of Pakistan, but of the world on the 20th of December, 2019.
The writer is a freelance journalist and can be reached at [email protected].
He Tweets at @MuhammadAli_DT