The upcoming film by Amjad Khan named Gul Makai is based on the tale of Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
The trailer was released on January 9, 2019, with the film to set to release on January 31.
However, Khan stated that he has been receiving numerous death threats but he never felt like ending the movie.
Khan agrees that the life of Malala is known to all but he is convinced that few people know about her life before she was shot by the Taliban in 2012.
Talking to IANS, he revealed that “This film portrays her earlier life and the spine-chilling incidents that she experienced when she was living in Swat.”
Khan quoted, “It was overwhelming to see the biggies giving a standing ovation. They liked it so much that even during the interval, no one left his or her seat. Each and every woman was crying.”
“Even though Malala’s father was watching the film for the second time, he couldn’t console himself. He said ‘you made our nightmares come alive again’.”
He added about Malala’s reaction while watching Gul Makai, “She tightened her jaws and her fists, and continuously tapped one of her feet.”
Gul Makai a lot more than just a directorial movie for Khan, it’s a message that needs to be shared with the masses.
“At present people need inspirations, especially women. This film is all about being courageous and determined during the worst situation of life.” Said Khan
He also added, ”fear is like an elastic band. You keep stretching and it keeps expanding. And this film is not only about a girl who has won the title from the UN as the most inspirational figure of decade but also a story of a father, a mother, a teacher, a soldier. Every person can relate to the story,”
“I never thought of backing out. I was worried about my artistes’ security on set during the shooting in Kashmir. On the first day in Kashmir, I thought of terrorist alignments with the locals but I was wrong. Kashmiri people are more patriotic than us.”
He revealed, “I still receive threat mails, abusive mails from unknown mail IDs.”
About casting for the film he shared, “I wanted to cast actors who resemble the real people. But at the same time, I wanted fabulous actors to portray the characters. And casting was really lengthy but I am happy that fine actors like Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta are part of my film. Unfortunately, Gul Makai is late Om Puri ji’s last film.”
“Earlier, a Bangladeshi girl named Fatima was selected for the role. But then Muslim extremists stoned and vandalised her home. She backed out.” Khan continued.
”Then fortunately we got Reem Shaikh who got into Malala’s skin so well that I forgot her real name and existence. She went through rigorous workshop where her accent and mannerisms got corrected,” he shared.
When asked why he didn’t go for Pakistani actors he responded, “At that time both the countries were going through tensed moments, and Pakistani performers were being banned from our country. I have no regrets on casting Reem though. She did her job fabulously.”
Gul Makai is all set to grace the cinema screens on January 31st. Here’s the trailer of the movie.
https://youtu.be/p8tZGzEP6q8
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