Category: Uncategorized

‘Whistle’ is all set to release!

So, another Pakistani film “Whistle” is ready to hit screens. The story of the film is written by Shafaq Ammad, and is produced by Mian Brothers & Meditation Productions,  while directed by Ammad Azhar, is all set to release on 17th February, 2017 across Pakistan.

Film’s story is unique and touches the sensitive subject of cross borders drug trafficking and drug penetration amongst the youth of the country. The film also encounters the media war against Pakistan and helps in creating awareness about this alarming issue.

The press conference of the film was held on 4th January, 2017 at Paragon Marquee E11, in Islamabad. It was attended by press, media, and bloggers among others. The Chief Guest was Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi (Deputy Mayor Islamabad), who congratulated wished the team all the best.

The cast of the film includes Farhan Ally Agha, Tatmain ul Qulb, Sohail Sameer, Osama Bin Ghazi, Imran Ali Mani, and Aamir Kazmi among others.

While talking about the film, Farhan Ally Agha (Artist & Actor of this film) commented,

“Whistle is indeed a promising & valuable addition to the Pakistani Cinema. I’m sure the audience will enjoy every bit of it.”

Ammad Azhar (Director of the film) stated,

“Whistle focuses on placing the right & high image of Pakistan.”

He further added,

“It’s our prime responsibility to join hands in combating this issue of Terrorism & Drug Trafficking in Pakistan. We are making this film to highlight this respective issue, showing what our true identity is and what we are capable of.”

Mian Yasin (Producer of this film) revealed,

“It’s a pride to work for the betterment & promotion of Pakistani cinema and also to make a film like Whistle that highlights the spirit of nationalism in true aspect. My message to everyone is “be Pakistani, buy Pakistani and be proud of who you are”.

Shafaq Ammad (Storywriter & Art Director of the Film) mentioned,

“Pakistan is our Pride and Identity and we should never & at no cost compromise on our National Interests. Our youth is our future and it is each one of our duty to give them a favorable environment, keeping track of negative elements around us and eliminating them to help them grow with a positive attitude & mind. Our responsibility as Film maker is not just to entertain the audience but also to give a positive message to our youth.”

Apart from the above, both Executive Producers Kashif Mehmood & Osama Bin Ghazi congratulated the entire team for putting a great effort in making the film Whistle. Especially, director Ammad Azhar & producer Mian Yasin.  They also mentioned the efforts of Djay3 production for their coordination during the production of the film.

Here are some of the pictures from the press conference of the film.

Sartyoon Sang Crafts Festival- SRSO

The 4th Sartyoon Sang Crafts Festival was organized by SRSO (Sindh Rural Support Organization) on 6th to 8th January – 2017, at Ocean Mall – Clifton, Karachi. The main reason behind the festival was to display the work around 1200 women artisans from the northern districts of Sindh.

SRSO is a non – for – profit organization, which is working in Sindh. It was established in 2003 with fund of RS 1 billion by government of Sindh for reducing poverty, skill development, health and education. While Sartyoon Sang (together with friends) is struggling to empower the women of slum communities of Sindh since 2011. Not only that, it also promotes crafts, culture, embroidery work, textile products and many others.

The festival attracted a large numbers of women residents of Clifton and other areas of the city since its very inauguration day. There was a wonderful display of Sindhi handicrafts by rural women, including home textiles, basketry, jewelry, dresses, dupattas, shawls, embellished with traditional embroidery and cutwork. It was a perfect mixture of all Sindhi ingredients under one roof.

The attendees were really enjoyed this festival so much, and were highly getting attracted by those beautiful crafts. As a result they were buying things like home-made slippers, crafts, decorated things, shawls, ajraks etc.

While talking about the festival Mr. Muhammed Dittal Kalhoro (CEO of SRSO) stated,

“The event objective was to facilitate better incomes for women artisans of rural Sindh.”

He continued,

“We have trained more than 10,000 women from some of the under developed regions of Jacobababad, Kandkot, Kashmore, shikarpur, Gohtki, Kambar- Shahdakot, Khairpur, and Sukkur that to help these women gain maximum monetary benefit from their skills, they have incorporated urban trends into their work.”

He further said,

“In order to set apart their work from what is available in the market, we have made a few innovations, such as net work done on the blankets.”

It was such a great initiative to promote Sindhi culture and crafts among urban people, by displaying amazing work by rural women at such platform where people go only for buying branded things. But it’s a beauty of Sindhi culture and its crafts that people automatically get attract towards it. And at the same time, it is also so beneficial for those rural women who are from the remote areas of Sindh that just because of this platform they get a chance to display their work due to which many people get attract, and as a result earn from it.

Here are the some of the pictures from Sartyoon Sang festival.

Rise & Fall of Pakistan Drama Industry – PDI

There was a time when Pakistani dramas were considered as the best dramas of sub-continent. Pakistan Drama Industry (PDI) started in 1960s and since the beginning of television, PTV was the only channel to produced Pakistani dramas, and the 1st ever super hit drama was “Khuda Ki Basti” which went on air on PTV in 1969.

After that many super hit dramas were produced including 50-50, Alif Noon, Sona Chandi, Aangan Tehra, Ankahi, Dhoop Kinare, Sunehray Din, and Alpha Bravo Charlie among others.

Surely, it was the rise of PDI, and the golden era of PTV that produced such super hit dramas which made records in the history of Pakistan. But unfortunately, PDI became commercialized after 1990s; and not only forget to produced such quality dramas, but also lost their level at which they were during the decades of 1970s, 80s, & 90s.

It was the downfall of our industry. But soon PEMRA issued licenses to many private channels, and the channels took responsibility to get theirs level back.

And finally HUM TV took one step forward to bring back PDI at their rise. And produced such amazing dramas which not only played a major role to bring our industry level back at rise but also made new records. Humsafar, Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Dastaan, Mera Naseeb, Kankar, Durr e Shehwar, and Dil e Muztar were the dramas which set new records in the drama history of our country.

Now a days, Pakistani dramas are being produced on not only typical themes but also promoting Indian culture in our dramas. And producers are crossing all the limits for the sake of TRPs by broadcasting bold scenes, and adopting Western & Indian culture etc. It seems our industry is going to suffer downfall once again.

If our industry stop showing Indian culture in our dramas, and start promoting our own culture, then our industry will not go at rise but also our culture will be highly promoted across the world.

Gul-e-Daudi Premiere – A Tribute to Madam Noor Jahan

EMI Pakistan Ltd. held an exclusive premier of “Gul-e-Daudi (The Chrysanthemum), in tribute to Madam Noor Jehan”, on 25th November at Cinepax Cinema, Karachi.

The 15-minute film was directed by Umar Riaz. It was a fictional story based on the music of Madam Noor Jehan that had been selected from EMI Pakistan’s archives.

While talking about the film, Mr. Zeeshan Chaudary (General Manager of EMI Pakistan) said,

“We are pleased to be part of this initiative, the life and art of Madam Noor Jehan is filled with joy, love and splendid music. This short film is an effort to reminisce the golden era of Pakistan’s music industry with fresh techniques of audio and visual representation.”

He further added,

“With this we have tried to give audience a feel of the original music keeping in mind the requirements of state of the art studio and visual appeal for the audience. This film will take you back to the era of the melodious singer, who not just conquered the heart of millions but made history in subcontinent with her work.”

The event was attended by Ms. Aliya Iqbal Naqvi along with a group of panelists including Mr. Hameed Haroon (Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited), Mr. Umar Riaz (Director of Gul-e-Daudi), Mr. Arshad Mahmud (Director Programmes and Administration), NAPA and Ms. Tina Sani among socialites, press, media, and bloggers

The film screening was followed by a discussion session among the panelists, and Question-Answer session was hosted by the director of the film to discuss the story and efforts of the production team.

Here are pictures from the premiere of Gul-e-Daudi.

1st ever ‘Sindh Literature Festival – SLF’

Sindh is one of the province of Pakistan. It has an importance because of its historical heritages, poets, Sufi singers, art, literature, and architecture among others. The culture of the Sindh is one of the traditional, and most colorful culture, and people of the Sindh love their culture from their heart and soul.

The first ever Sindh Literature Festival (SLF) was held on 4th to 6th November in Karachi. The most important reason behind organizing this festival was to promote Sindhi Culture, Sindhi Language, and to attract the Sindhi people throughout the country.

The three-day festival was formally inaugurated when Sufi singer Abida Parveen cut a ribbon alongside SLF chairperson Abdullah Hussain Haroon.

The three days festival was truly amazing, knowledgeable, interactive, and worth attending. It was divided into sessions i.e. book stalls, exhibition area, and food area among others.

When Abida Parveen went on stage and gave her soulful performance, the audience became crazy. From beginning to end, her performance grabbed the hearts of audience.

The second day of the festival included Book Launching session by Sindhi writers, Speaking session on different topics i.e. Literary and Intellectual tendencies of contemporary Sindhi literature, the economic Development in Sindh: Vision and Mystery, Languages in a Globalizing World, Journalism: New trends, Impact of visual media on society, etc. Mushaairo session and Music session. In which Natasha Baig gave her energetic performance, which made youth energetic, and they started dancing.

It also included live paintings, which were being painted by the painters of the Sindh and Karachi.

The third day of the festival also included Book Launching session by Sindhi writers, Speaking session on different topics i.e. Sindhi Electronic Media: Positives and Negatives, Science literature in Sindhi Language, Archaeological importance of Karachi, Modern Trends in Music, Print Media in modern age, etc. and Mushairo session among others.

In the end, I would like to say, it was taken such a great initiative to promote the culture, language, art and literature of Sindh.

Here are some pictures from Sindh Literature Festival.