whitewash is a 1994 television special and animated short film that was based on a true story .

the program was produced and directed by michael sporn with a screenplay by ntozake shange .

ruby dee and linda lavin provide voices for the animated characters .

whitewash ( 1994 film )

whitewash ( 1994 film ) <EOT> production credits supplied from video and 1994 peabody awards entry form . broadcast date supplied from 1994 peabody awards entry form . entry to the 1994 peabody awards , programs for children category . running time : 25 : 06 . copyright : " c1994 michael sporn animation , inc . " - - end credits .

originally broadcast on home box office on tuesday , august 16 , 1994 at 7 : 30 p . m .

[ los angeles , ca ] : hbo ; [ place of publication not identified ] : michael sporn animation , ©1994 .

the latter even prompted an indignant proyas – whose other films include 1994’s the crow – to launch a bizarre ( but oh - so - enjoyable ) attack on film critics , via his facebook page .

a black girl learns about racism when she and her brother are attacked by thugs and spray - painted white . made in 1994 owned by hbo

" whitewash " may provoke some valuable discussions between children and parents , but it ' s less interesting than it should be .

we don ' t have enough data to suggest any movies based on whitewash . you can help by rating movies you ' ve seen .

roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the " 11th hour " series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .

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" whitewash is a poignant , animated half - hour special for children that deals sensitively with racism in an urban neighborhood . inspired by an actual incident that occurred in new york city , whitewash tells the story of helene angel ( real names are not used ) , a confident and intelligent girl who on her way home from school is assaulted by a white gang . because helene angel is black , the gang decides to ' make her

despite an impressive vocal cast that includes ruby dee and linda lavin , " whitewash , " an animated special on hbo dealing with the issue of racism among children , is more notable for its good intentions than its effectiveness .

“roger ebert wasn’t bad . he was a true film lover at least , a failed film - maker , which gave him a great deal of insight . his passion for film was contagious and he shared this with his fans . he loved films and his contribution to cinema as a result was positive . now we have a pack of diseased vultures pecking at the bones of a dying carcass . trying to peck to the rhythm of the consensus . i applaud any film - goer who values their own opinion enough to not base it on what the pack - mentality say is good or bad . ”

whitewash . first run features . $ 14 . 95 . 25 minutes . for the family . this multiple - award - winning animated film from michael sporn turns a despicable real - life event - - the attack by racist thugs on a little black girl in the bronx whom they sprayed with white paint - - into a profoundly moving message of hope , unity and strength .

" the ballad of narayama " is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…

meanwhile , in the artwork , sporn ' s textured , nuanced sweeps of color dramatically reflect the film ' s warmth , violence , sadness , anger and uplift .

indeed , the deceptively simple film , written by noted poet ntozake shange , takes an unsparing look at how exploitative and intrusive the media can be in pursuit of a story .

proyas later apologised for the “whitewash” , telling forbes : “the process of casting a movie has many complicated variables , but it is clear that our casting choices should have been more diverse . i sincerely apologize to those who are offended by the decisions we made . ”

recent research has also shown that , when to comes to diversity in film , the ticket - buying public may be one step ahead of short - sighted production companies and financers .

this film chronicles the story of two young black kids being raised by their grandmother in the bronx . one day , on the way home from school , the children are assaulted by a racist white gang . the gang members hurl shockingly brutal racial epithets and the startling confrontation is culminated when the young boy is beat up and the girl is sprayed white . the film continues by showing how the community responds - the media , the classroom , the family itself . my initial response to the film was horror - i was watching it with my 8 - year - old daughter and was extremely surprised at the coarse language . yet , it is very real and i was pleased at the conversation that we were able to have afterward . my daughter told me that she felt the theme of the film was " being strong " . i highly recommend the film , but the viewers must be braced for the powerful reaction younger audiences may have .

this blog is a repository for all short films ( and perhaps other special - interest films and documentaries ) . it is a project of mine to create a sort of short film archive .

some audiences may have been alienated by the film’s unintentional racism : god of egypt’s release coincided with the # oscarsso white controversy , and a renewed exasperation with the lack of diversity in cinema .

based on a real incident , " whitewash " focuses on helene angel ( serena henry ) , an african american fourth - grader who is attacked by a street gang on the way home from school . the gang members spray her face with white shoe polish to " make her white for a day . "

white for a day ' by spraying her face with white shoe polish . the rest of the story shows how , through the support of helene angel ' s classmates , teacher and her grandmother ' s tales of the civil rights movement , helene is able to overcome the fear and humiliation she feels . " - - 1994 peabody awards entry form .

when my book comes out i ' ll connect those dots and set the record straight . but for those viewers who thought that they got the truth on ali mohamed from the nat geo channel , i can assure them , as the principal investigative reporter to uncover his story , what they got was a whitewash .

last week , gods of egypt lost out to marvel adaptation deadpool at the box office – and the hype surrounding the latter film , as well as audience “brand recognition” , probably paid a large part in this .

reviews so far have suggested that the film takes itself very , very seriously . dialogue is borderline ludicrous , but never intentionally so , leading to a tiresomely po - faced movie . even the jokes apparently don’t quite work .

my most astonishing , findings involved patrick fitzgerald , the former head of organized crime and terrorism in the sdny , who had allowed ali to remain free as early as 1994 even though he named him as an unindicted co - conspirator in the day of terror case . another of my key findings was that fitzgerald buried probative evidence of an al qaeda new york cell in 1996 .

in the us , the film received a pg - 13 rating , roughly equivalent to a uk 12a . it’s a certificate that means that , while gods of egypt isn’t shockingly violent , it still won’t attract big family audiences .

we’ve got a lot of sympathy with the director’s aims and his drive for originality ( he was originally planning the film as the first part of a trilogy , although it seems likely that any planned sequels will now be scrapped ) .

proyas’s attempt to blame critical “groupthink” for the poor reviews might raise a few smiles – but it doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s not just the critics : as the box office figures attest , us audiences are also staying away from the film .

a review from the mary sue suggested that , with its simplistic structure , characters and plotline , the film could have worked well as an adventure movie aimed at children – if the makers hadn’t also decided to spice things up with a bit of blood and a few sex scenes .

minorities remain underrepresented in animation , and producer - director michael sporn has worked to counter that problem , setting adaptations of the fairy tales " the red shoes " and " the little match girl " in contemporary inner - city neighborhoods . but " whitewash " sticks too close to live action and fails to exploit the power of animation to depict emotions symbolically . a child actress could have presented the pain the real little girl endured more effectively than these simple drawings .

even with these considerable faults “doctor strange” can also be charming . it’s a spry film brimming with great details , striking imagery and joy . it pushes the mcu into a fascinating world full of magic and villains that exists beyond our understanding of time and reality—maybe next time they’ll do something interesting when they get there .

swinton inhabits the sorceress with her trademark oddity and cutting humor . it takes only a careful tilt of her head or blithe remark to strange to believe this woman has lived for hundreds of years . in many ways , swinton’s presence seems to be from another film entirely—one that would truly embrace the weirdness of the premise beyond some trippy visual effects .

when casting for gods of egypt was first announced , many observers queried why a film ostensibly set in egypt had decided to cast white actors in almost all of its lead roles . posters showing thoth , the character played by boseman also came under fire , with many claiming that they were playing into the outdated racial stereotype of the “wise negro” .

strange may be a character that hews too close to the model of rich , egotistical white men with which superhero films are obsessed . but the film had the opportunity to do something different , by showing the interior of a character forced to rethink everything he knows and the nature of reality itself . instead , " doctor strange " falls into some significant narrative mistakes .

there are many great actors that color the film ' s margins , but “doctor strange” doesn’t make the best use of them . rachel mcadams plays one of the most poorly written superhero love interests i think i’ve ever seen . she has a warm , flirtatious energy that is a welcome addition to the movie . but she isn’t a person so much as a convenient prop forgotten about for long stretches until strange needs her .

“talking about why this movie didn’t work and how it could have , i realized that bek ( a name that got laughs ) should have been , like never ending story , a younger character so the movie could have at least been for kids , ” wrote the website’s lesley coffin . “this movie has sex and violence ( although the blood is gold ! ) , but narratively , it’s structured liked a children’s film . ”

when helene angel walks home from school with her older brother she is attacked by a street gang and painted white . the effect on helene and her family is devastating . helene locks herself in her room , her brother blames himself for not having successfully defended his sister , and the media descends on their neighborhood , completely disrupting her small family . but an outpouring of love and understanding from helene ' s friends , classmates and family helps her face what has happened and draws the community together . inspired by actual events , whitewash conveys a powerful message that transcends age and race , told in an entertaining way perfect for children of all ages .

derrickson and co - writer c . robert cargill have spoken at length about the decision to cast swinton in a role that was originally a tibetan man in the comics . they feared casting an asian man or even woman would mean the character would fall into well - worn stereotypes . so , they whitewashed the role . if the only way you can bypass these issues is to whitewash the part ( yet keep the asian setting and vague mysticism ) , the problem isn’t the character , it’s your lack of imagination as a creator . the filmmakers behind “doctor strange” may be well - intentioned but that doesn’t soften the racism threading the movie . despite the desire to be inventive , “doctor strange” unfortunately repeats many of the mistakes of its predecessors beyond uncomfortable racial politics .

“i could be wrong but i think this year gods of egypt is one of the very few original large - budget studio movies , ” said proyas , in a facebook post ahead of the film’s release . “such a sad state of affairs . is this really what audiences want these days ? every movie to be tied into some other movie ? so everyone knows exactly what they are getting before they step into the cinema… just like going to mcdonald ' s anywhere in the world and the burgers always taste exactly the same . ”

t’s got a quasi - historical setting – essentially a theme park version of ancient egypt , complete with shape - shifting deities and a giant dragon - dog - thing – and a pyramid - sized dollop of unconvincing cgi . it’s got gerard butler , as an unashamedly scottish manifestation of the ancient egyptian god set , alongside marvel’s black panther - to - be chadwick boseman ( also playing a god ) , and nikolaj coster - waldau ( aka jaime from game of thrones , playing a god ) . it cost $ 140 million to make – and today the daily mail claimed that it’s going straight to dvd in the uk , a report since denied by the distributors , who have confirmed that the film will be released at some point in june .

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helene angel is the little girl so devastated by the attack that she won ' t leave her room . her loving grandmother ( beautifully voiced by ruby dee ) and the earnest , warm support of her teacher ( linda lavin ) and classmates - - white , black and every other color - - eventually restore her confidence and her spirit .

serena henry gives touching voice to helene , and ndehru roberts is convincing as an older brother who suffers conflicting feelings : remorse at his inability to protect his sister and self - importance at the intense media attention .

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an elegant and romantic mouse gets swept away in a flood and stranded for over a year on a deserted island .

set in 1919 harlem , two girls ( one white , one black ) form a lifelong friendship through a chance encounter and the jazztime music of young “fats”waller .

based on the award - winning book by russell hoban , a marzipan pig falls behind a sofa and is lost . in his loneliness , the pig’s feelings of love reach out to an owl , a mouse , and a hibiscus flower , causing a strange chain of events .

set in present day , this classic andersen tale is about a young african - american girl who learns the value of friendship with help from a pair of magic slippers .

based on a creole folk tale and narrated by danny glover , the talking eggs is a richly textured animated fable that encourages children to find their untapped potential and to pursue their dreams .

the assault triggers a media frenzy , and the devastated helene hides in her room until her classmates arrive to escort her back to school in a show of solidarity . ntozake shange ' s screenplay fails to explore helene ' s feelings about the attack in any depth : all the viewer knows is that she hides in her room , remembering what happened .

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animated special about a little girl haunted by a racial attack , until her grandmother gives her a lesson in civil rights .

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edited by ed askinazi ; music by caleb sampson ; backgrounds and production design , bridget thorne ; production coordinated by masako kanayama ; animated by michael sporn , sue perrotto , rodolfo damaggio ; colored by masako kanayama , christine o ' neill ; inked by jason mcdonald ; songs performed by " mad expression " , cassandra dallas , minbeleta dallas , mark merren ; saxophone & gospel solo , stan strickland ; animation photography , f - stop studio , gary becker , bob bushell ; sound design , ed askinazi ; sound mixed by riley steele .

starring ruby dee ( mrs . calloway ) , serena henry ( helene angel ) , ndehru roberts ( mauricio ) , and linda lavin ( ms . steunberg ) ; cast , danielle robinson , randy kaplan , matthew jacobson , travis de lingua , ashanti williams , winnie zhang , meredith rosco , robert felice , michael mcgruther , tommy o ' connor , joel briel , sue perrotto , jay aubrey jones , ed askinazi , heidi stallings .

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that was based on a true story . the program was produced and directed by

i remember this as well . it aired on hbo . we watched it several times , but never really internalized the message , until . . .

basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …

roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…

a look back at robert zemeckis ' half - animated classic , who framed roger rabbit , on its 30 - year anniversary .

a tribute to the late tab hunter , a gay matinee idol and hollywood trailblazer .

rated pg - 13 for sci - fi violence and action throughout , and an intense crash sequence .

one of the most glaring sins of “doctor strange” is how quickly strange masters magic . there isn’t much tension in his arc . while he struggles briefly at first to keep up with other students the ancient one has taken under her care , he’s soon stealing sacred books out from under wong ( benedict wong ) , the sharp - eyed master who protects the texts at the ancient one’s behest . strange plays by his own rules , growing far beyond the skills of those around him . he even goes as far as bending time , secretly reading from forbidden texts and wielding the eye of agamotto . when karl mordo ( chiwetel ejiofor ) remarks that strange seems destined for this , i couldn’t help but roll my eyes . of course he was .

in effect , strange is proven right . who cares about rules and breaking the laws of nature when you’re actually right , and in turn you save the world ? strange never grows much as a character since he proves to be right about far too much , justifying his ego and rank arrogance . cumberbatch is having considerable fun with the role ( although he brings nothing unexpected ) but he can’t distract from how nothing in strange’s story feels earned . you also can’t ignore that “doctor strange” is essentially the story of a white man who travels to an “exotic” land , whose culture and people he doesn’t respect let alone know the language of . yet somehow he just happens to realize he’s a natural at magic and gets good enough to beat practitioners who have been doing this for years .

in this way , “doctor strange” reveals the precarious place in which superhero films find themselves . director scott derrickson and marvel studios president kevin feige have repeatedly defended this movie ' s controversial casting . they’re very aware of the increasing expectation of audiences . but it isn’t enough to cast actors like benedict wong and chiwetel ejiofor in supporting roles , you have to give them something interesting to do . and as fun and light as “doctor strange” is , it is impossible to ignore the problems inherent in casting tilda swinton as the ancient one .

" doctor strange ' " s worst sin in terms of casting comes in its villain . at this point , has any major franchise wasted as many great actors in thinly - written villain roles as the mcu ? mads mikkelsen is an amazing actor who often creates an alluring mix of darkness , pathos and passion . his unsettling screen presence is perfect for this kind of story . but kaecilius , a former pupil of the ancient one , has such muddled motivations and little interiority that mikkelsen is surprisingly forgettable . strange’s battle with him ultimately comes down to being in the wrong place at the wrong time . strange doesn’t care about being a hero . the juxtaposition between kaecilius and strange is one of the more ill - thought out central conflicts from a blockbuster in a long time . they aren’t battling because of opposing ideologies or deep emotional history . they’re simply an inconvenience to each other . if anything , mordo’s obsession with order would make him a more compelling foil for kaecilius .

an interview with terry gilliam , director of " the man who killed don quixote . "

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alex proyas ' s $ 140 million fantasy epic - which features gerard butler as a very scottish egyptian god - has been panned by critics , and had a disappointing opening week in the us . where did it all go so wrong ?

either way , gods of egypt , the recently - released fantasy epic from i , robot director alex proyas , has not had the easiest of openings in the us , with disappointing box office returns ( since its stateside release on february 26 it’s reportedly only taken $ 14 million ) , and a swathe of extremely poor reviews .

“lock a critic in a room with a movie no one has even seen and they will not know what to make of it , ” he wrote . “because contrary to what a critic should probably be they have no personal taste or opinion , because they are basing their views on the status quo . none of them are brave enough to say “well i like it” if it goes against consensus . therefore they are less than worthless . now that anyone can post their opinion about anything from a movie to a pair of shoes to a hamburger , what value do they have - nothing . ”

he made one exception – the late and admittedly extremely great roger ebert – before labelling all other reviewers “diseased vultures” .

is gods of egypt really as terrible as it sounds ? and if so , where did it all go wrong ? let us count the ways .

“this swords - and - sandals escapade could’ve easily been milked for laughs , but its handful of jokes , delivered deadpan , fall flat , ” said time out’s anna king , in a one star review . “even a campy chadwick boseman performance comes off as heavy - handed and unwelcome . ”

the casting gaffe also suggested that god of egypt was simply another tired old epic , in which minimal effort had been made to shake things up , or to even pretend to be authentic / relevant : something that could easily have been made in 2006 ( or even 1996 ) rather than 2016 .

a study by the university of los angeles in california , which looked at data from films released in 2014 , found that those in which at least four of the eight highest - billed actors aren’t white tended to perform better at the world box office . the latest results are part of an ongoing research project : findings so far suggest that , in years to come , on - screen diversity will continue to have a positive impact on box office performance , especially when the overseas market is factored in .

the business insider story linked to above also noted that , in the us in 2014 , only 54 % of cinema audiences were caucasian , and that hispanic and asian cinema - goers form a key part of the market .

in gods of egypt the actor – who famously apologised to the nation of ireland for his terrible attempt at an accent in 2007’s ps i love you – has been allowed to keep his native scottish tones , with predictably ridiculous results .

“his untamped scottish accent buries every line of his dialogue under the pyramid of groundskeeper willie , ” wrote the wrap’s reviewer alonso durande . “a touch more self - awareness might have rendered his performance an elaborate inside joke , but as it is , he struts and frets across the screen with a misdirected intensity that , like the movie itself , goes from hilarious to tedious . ”

had the makers aimed for a higher rating , and included more graphic scenes , there’s a slim chance they could have appealed to a more adult , game of thrones - loving demographic – although they would then have risked losing on the teen market .

at it ' s heart , god of egypt is a simple , lion king - esque story about a very bad uncle : coster waldau ' s horus must reclaim his birthright from his evil uncle set ( butler ) after the latter murders his father and claims egypt for himself . along the way , things get a little more bizarre : eyeballs are removed , characters morph into various mythical creatures , and there ' s a subplot involving a battle between a giant shadow monster and geoffrey rush ' s sun god .

but the truth remains that big - budget films that aren’t part of a pre - existing franchise – or based on a well - known book or true story – often have to be better ( or at least more enjoyable / popular ) than their equivalents , in order to recoup their losses , and tempt in risk - averse audiences .

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in the fall of 2005 i was approached by jonathan towers , producer of inside 9 / 11 , a four - hour documentary on the road to 9 / 11 in which i was one of 60 journalists and government officials interviewed . i told towers that i was working on a new investigative book exposing fbi negligence in its nine year failure to stop ali a . mohamed , al qaeda ' s chief spy who infiltrated the bureau , the cia and the green berets at fort bragg , north carolina .

towers immediately optioned my research and flew me to washington where i presented triple cross , my new book to john ford , programming president of the nat geo channel . he bought the project in the room , declaring , " i don ' t know how we can ' t do a documentary . "

over christmas i wrote a 12 page ten - act treatment outlining the two key parts of the ali mohammed story : first , how he ' d come to the u . s . in 1985 , seduced a california woman into marriage , enlisted in the u . s . army and got himself assigned to the jfk special warfare school at bragg . from there , as he stole top secret documents for his chief sponsor , al qaeda ' s no . 2 dr . ayman al - zawahiri , mohamed commuted to new york city on weekends where he trained key members of the first wtc bombing cell and the notorious " day of terror " cell responsible for a plot to blow up the u . n . and the bridges and tunnels into manhattan .

in 1991 mohamed moved bin laden and 100 ' s of al qaeda terrorists from afghanistan to sudan , set up al qaeda ' s training camps in khartoum and literally wrote al qaeda ' s manual of terror . in 1993 he trained members of the al qaeda contingent that downed two u . s . blackhawk helicopters in somalia , brokered a meeting between bin laden and the head of hezbollah and personally took the pictures of the u . s . embassy in nairobi that osama bin laden himself used to target the suicide truck bombs that killed 224 in kenya in 1998 .

that part of my research was presented in the nat geo documentary that aired on monday .

. the other half was the astonishing saga of how the two bin laden " offices of origin " - - the fbi ' s new york office ( nyo ) and the office of the u . s . attorney for the sdny , allowed mohamed to operate with impunity for years . how key special agents in the bin laden squad ( i - 49 ) like

, ali ' s west coast control agent was totally outgunned by him , getting caught up as a material witness in a grisly triple homicide in fresno in 1992 when he should have been riding herd over the al qaeda sleeper . how it was zent who vouched for ali and got him released from canadian custody in 1993 - allowing him the freedom to help plan the

beginning in january 1996 fitzgerald effectively ran squad i - 49 , but i learned that despite wiretaps on the key cell members and hard evidence in 1997 that ali mohamed ( an fbi informant ) was a major player in the embassy bombing plot - he allowed him to remain free .

most shocking were two face to face meetings fitzgerald had with mohamed in 1997 . after the first meeting in april " fitzie , " as cloonan called him , declared ali " the most dangerous man " he ' d " ever met " and announced that " we cannot let this man out on the street . "

my contract with towers stipulated that i was to get all interview transcripts immediately after on - camera shoots in order to incorporate the details in the book ' s manuscript - yet these three ex feds demanded that nat geo keep the research from me and they simply acquiesced .

i couldn ' t go on camera to narrate the doc without these key interviews , so ngc cut me out of the production and post production process - even refusing to send me a rough cut of the doc for fact - checking unless i signed a non - disparagement agreement .

all of this is documented in a series of letters between me and nat geo channel executives contained ( along with the january 2006 treatment ) in a press release on my website .

in effect , ngc ended up replacing me with jack cloonan , one of the very feds that my research had found grossly negligent . cloonan had two and a half years from january 1996 to august 1998 to build a file on ali and interdict the embassy plot and yet , despite evidence from i - 49 ' s own files of ali ' s direct links to senior embassy plotters , cloonan , fitzgerald and other top feds failed to detect the plot .

in february of 2001 , fitzgerald went on to prosecute three relatively peripheral players in the plot and cemented his reputation by convicting them of an act of terror that his own " bin laden squad " had failed to prevent . the fourth operative , wadih el - hage had been on the fbi ' s radar since 1991 . ali mohamed had stayed in his kenyan home in the mid 90 ' s as they plotted the bombings . another agent in fitzie ' s squad dan coleman , had searched el - hage ' s home a year before the bombings and found direct links to ali mohamed and yet fitzgerald failed to connect the dots .

but the viewers of triple cross - the nat geo documentary on monday night never saw any of this evidence critical of the feds because nat geo channel , allowed the story of fbi failures in the ali mohamed case to be told from the bureau ' s point of view . it was like doing schindler ' s list from hitler ' s perspective .

the casualty of all of this was the truth - and under the guise of a documentary which nat geo channel claimed was " based in part " on my book , they perpetrated a factual distortion unknown in the recent history of broadcast journalism .

why does any of it matter and why is this not simply a case of a disgruntled writer , unhappy at a television adaptation of his work ? because going in , the nat geo channel bought a documentary from a five - time emmy winning reporter that , once and for all , would expose the negligence of the dept . of justice on the road to 9 / 11 . see the treatment that they green lit . it ' s at the end of the august 27th , 2006 press release .

this matters because key feds who covered - up probative al qaeda intelligence in 1996 remain in senior positions at justice . fitzgerald is u . s . attorney for chicago and special prosecutor in the cia leak case . valerie caproni , who supported fitzgerald ' s 1996 burial of evidence of an active al qaeda cell in new york , is now the fbi ' s general counsel .

most importantly , as i discovered after five years of research , the fbi has failed to reform post 9 / 11 . after more than $ 600 million spent on an updated computer system to track bin laden , they have scrapped the " virtual case file " system and fbi director robert mueller told congress in 2005 that it will be 2009 before they have the same ability to connect the dots that most americans have using google and other search engines .

first - person essays , features , interviews and q & as ; about life today .


maya is a 2015 pakistani horror film which is directorial debut of jawad bashir and produced by hina jawad under production banner twister films .

the film features assembled cast including ahmed abdul rehman , hina jawad , zain afzal , sheikh mohammad ahmed and anam malik .

hina jawad played the lead role of maya in film .

the film 's story is inspired from a real paranormal event that occurred in denmark .

the film was released nationwide on june 12 , 2015 .

maya ( 2015 pakistani film )

maya ( 2015 pakistani film ) <EOT> maya is a 2015 pakistani supernatural horror film directed by jawad bashir and produced by hina jawad for twister films .

lahore ( web desk ) – list of the highest - grossing pakistani films of 2015 .

the film’s story was inspired from a paranormal event that allegedly occurred in denmark . maya was released nationwide in pakistan on june 12 , 2015 .

maya is a first - of - its - kind pakistani horror movie based on true events .

upcoming pakistani horror movie maya 2015 , recently launched its 1st theatrical movie trailer . the director of movie jawad bashir has high expectation for the film as there hasn’t been any reasonable let alone a horror film in history of lollywood .

with maya the first half of the 2015 ended with a relative dismal results for urdu cinema . in the first half of 2015 only one mainstream commercial film jalaibee was released which proved average at box office . on the contrary the second half of 2015 proved quite promising for the urdu cinema where majority of the films posted positive results .

maya is bad wolf film ' s first horror feature film about jinn possession , set in pakistan . written , directed and produced by k . pervaiz .

the film had its premiere at super cinema in lahore on june 11 , 2015 and the film was released nationwide on next day ( june 12 ) . [ 5 ]

david waterman , where worlds collide : pakistani fiction in the new millenium ( karachi : oxford university press , 2015 ) , 158 .

pakistan today interviewed director and producer duo jawad bashir and hina jawad to ask them about soon to be “hit” film “maya” .

ahmed sheikh , zain afzal , and ahmed abdul rehman made their male debuts in maya while hina jawad and anam malik made their female debuts in maya .

the success of three consecutive urdu films provided encouraging signs to the film makers and distributors and it raised the hopes about three upcoming urdu film which were due to release on 14th august 2015 .

the year 2015 is concluding in few days and here is a roundup of pakistani films released in 2015 . on the whole business wise 2015 proved a favorable year for pakistani films , as many films earned huge revenue from the box office . however quantity wise it was another disappointment year as very few pakistani films were released . the year 2015 proved remarkable for the business of urdu films , as the highest earning urdu film of pakistan is released this year . the films released in 2015 were in urdu , punjabi and pashto languages . urdu films were produced in karachi and lahore , whereas punjabi and pashto films are produced in lahore . in 2015 , urdu films were also consistently released abroad in countries with large pakistani diaspora like usa , uk , uae , oman , kuwait , qatar , bahrain , australia , new zealand , south africa

maya is the pakistani horror film directed by talented jawad bashir . it was released nation wide in june 2015 . the movie has very effective cast . the story of the movie is very heart touching . all the artist did a great work in the movie which make the movie more attractive .

maya is a horror film . jawwad bashir , who is famous name for sitcoms and ufone commercials experimented with a different genre . maya was produced by jawwad’s then wife and model hinna javaid . maya fell flat at the box office and perhaps also resulted in the rift between jawwad bashir and hinna javaid . both hinna and jawwad parted their ways within weeks after the failure of maya . hinna javaid married a british - pakistani businessman in october , while jawwad bashir announced a new film of social romantic genre . as compared to maya , the separation of jawwad and hinna received more attention in the press .

( 2009 - 04 - 23 ) , shraddha das interview retrieved 2015 - 01 - 19 .

after the grand success of jpna many new pakistani films were announced and it encouraged investors towards the local film industry .

the film does not boast of many familiar faces and stars a bunch of new - comers but dont let that deter you from seeing this film because the main star of the film is “maya” and boy oh boy does maya leave an impact on you . played by hina jawad this character is surely the strongest one in the film and its due to hina’s acting capabilities that “maya” turns out the way she was envisioned in the script . she knows her acting and it shows . commendable indeed !

trailer out : jawad bashir’s horror flick ‘maya’ fails to give goosebumps - pakistan - dawn . com

the growing of pakistani cinema has provided hope to all and cinema goers are actually serious about latest releases . jawad bashir has been prompted by japanese horror films and you may see ‘maya’ reveal the similarity . the movie maya very close to the real crash . told by movie director jawad ahmed , they also mentioned that the film is nothing at all pakistani so we may expect it is shooted in another country .

( 2015 ) . these works provide valuable insights into ghose’s ideas on literature and , thus , his writing .

the last urdu film of 2015 was ishq ne hum ko loota released only in lahore in november . the film was shot five years ago but was stuck in the film processing laboratory of evernew studio over non payment of the dues . this year the film finally made it to cinemas without leaving any impact . it was based on the sob fest story of devdas .

released on 1st january 2015 , good morning karachi was the first pakistani film of the year 2015 . produced and shot in karachi , gmk was the first film released by aplus films . though an urdu film , its name was in english . based on the novel rufina by shandana minhaas , the film failed miserably at the box office . good morning karachi was the story of a girl rufina who dreams to be a model while living in an impoverished area of karachi . it was not a commercial film and such films in pakistan seldom attract cine goers and only recieve praise from the film critics . however in the case of good morning karachi , famous film critics like omair alavi criticized it for a negative portrayal of the city of karachi .

although horror films zibahkhana and siyaah have surfaced in recent times , bashir insists that maya is the first horror film of new - age pakistani cinema . “both of these were essentially short films , which had a brief run in the cinema . maya , on the other hand , has specifically been made for the big screen , ” he argues .

jalaibee is one of the few commercial films produced in islamabad . unlike karachi and lahore , islamabad is a new entrant in the production of urdu films . earlier waar a film produced in islamabad proved quite successful in 2013 . jalaibee was the first major urdu film of the year 2015 released in march 2015 . it was the debut urdu film of many famous artists like wiqar ali khan , sabika imam , danish taimoor , ali safina , uzair jaswal . zhalay sarhadi who earlier worked in the urdu film ramchand pakistani in 2008 was also in a leading role .

in the 1960s and 1970s nationalistic definitions of pakistani - english literature were linked to the discourse on idiom and the need to validate the inclusion of english - language writing as a pakistani literature . alamgir hashmi was the first pakistani critic to discuss a universalism in pakistani - english literature beyond nationalistic paradigms .

dekh magar pyar se was the only commercial comedy film released on 14th august 2015 . like many other urdu films it was the debut film for the director asadul haq , actor sikandar rizvi , farooq aqdas . the film was produced in karachi but shot in lahore and london . humaima malik returned to urdu cinema after a gap of four years , where bol in 2011 was her last film .

despite the recent barrage of film releases , it appears that the horror genre remains largely unexplored in this new age of pakistani cinema . khalid hasan khan ' s meera - starring hotal made some waves at the 3rd delhi international film festival in india earlier this year , but has yet to hit local screens . but we need not wait for hotal for our horror film fix because the trailer of actor - director - singer jawad bashir’s horror film maya has been released .

lately , the pakistani television industry has been producing some truly hard - hitting content and this year is no different . here is our list of the 11 most interesting dramas of 2015 that you cannot miss !

this includes a legion of urdu writers ranging from iqbal and faiz ahmed faiz ( 1911–1985 ) to abdullah hussein ( 1931–2015 ) .

a comedy film jawani phir nahin aani ( jpna ) has been the highlight of the year when it made the history by becoming the most successful film of pakistan cinema . jpna was also released in uae , uk , usa . jpna first by passed the bollywood’s dhoom3 which in 2013 earned 25 crore rupees on pakistani box office and became the highest earning film in pakistani rupees .

maya ( review ) : this honest effort surely deserves a watch and is a first step in the right direction .

a teaser trailer and poster was revealed by official facebook on may 2 , 2015 . [ 3 ] the film trailer was reviewed by urltoken as " given that a good " screenplay and creative cinematography couldn ' t save siyaah from a poor box office performance , maya can hardly be expected to haunt the audience . " [ 4 ]

maya the first horror film of pakistan is also the first venture of jawad bashir as a film director . on their directorial debuts , people usually choose successful genres such as crime stories , romance and comedy ; however directing horror movies is a big risk to take that too by a person who is known more for his sitcoms and light comedies . nonetheless maya is a positive sign from pakistan film industry that it wants to move beyond song and dance numbers and gun trotting sequels .

vogue towers super cinema held a red carpet event for acclaimed director and actor jawad bashir’s feature film ‘maya’ , which is to be released in cinemas all across pakistan on the 12th , pakistan today reports .

taufiq rafat , “towards a pakistani idiom , ” venture 6 ( 1969 ) : 66 .

” … the film’s characters also seem inspired from hollywood and american television . maya resembles the famous japanese juon the grudge and has eyes like that of dean in supernatural . the filmmakers have added a priest to curb the curse , instead of the usual maulana sahab . … maya can hardly be expected to haunt the audience . ” urltoken

maya , an upcoming pakistani horror movie , has just released its first theatrical trailer . the director jawad bashir has high hopes for the movie as there hasn’t been any decent let alone a horror movie in pakistan in ages .

bin roye is the only film of 2015 which proved successful both in pakistan as well as abroad . the other films which proved more successful in pakistan , proved far less successful in other countries like uk , uae and usa .

although this is not the first time that we are seeing a pakistani horror film , but the genre has so rarely been employed by pakistani film - makers that every film that comes about seems like a first . in the last decade we have had two films which broadly fall in this horror genre . the first being the 2007 slasher film “zibahkhana” which could not make it to cinemas and had a direct to video release and then the 2013 release “siyaah” which saw a limited release . now following these two films is jawad bashir’s directorial debut “maya” which releases in cinemas all over pakistan today . having seen the film i can safely assure you that you will not be disappointed by this film . although it is far from perfect and has its shares of mistakes but it is a first strong step in the right direction and surely deserves a watch .

maya is a pakistani horror movie directed & produced by jawad bashir , starring ahmed abdul rehman , hina javaid , zain afzal , sheikh mohammad ahmed , anam malik , & rasheed ali . written by hina javaid . digital distribution by beyond records

( 2015 ) . these writings place pakistani - english literature , such as the novels of aslam , aslam khan , hamid , and shamsie , and the short fiction of aamer hussein and mueenuddin within the context of anglophone - muslim writing from different lands .

an independent film , swaarangi was the comeback of resham in a film after a long gap of nine years . the film faced a ban from the federal censor board , but cleared without any cuts by punjab and sindh censor boards . the film was released in very few multiplexes in lahore only . swaarangi proved dead flop at the box office .

apart from india , it earned well in the western countries uk , usa and canada . especially in uk it did exceptional business and became the highest earning pakistani film in the uk . as per estimates it earned around 11 crore pakistani rupee in uk alone which is more than its collection on pakistani box office . bin roye also opened the doors for more upcoming social romantic family drama films .

a woman takes on the challenge of watching a horror film , alone in a theatre .

well i do … the name of the film was maya , it was recently released and was supposed to scare you . instead , it sent me and my friend on a laughing spree that was last observed while watching andaaz apna apna !

claire chambers and caroline herbert , imagining muslims in south asia and the diaspora : secularism , religion , representations ( new york : routledge , 2015 ) , 3 .

jb : i wanted ‘maya’ to be a raw and an independent film , nothing glossy at all . i have seen japanese horror , and it’s definitely more horror than the glossy hollywood films that we see on screen . apart from a few really good ones like ‘the possession of michael king’ and exorcism - related , even hollywood is a fan of glossy films . maya is nothing like that .

tariq rahman , a history of pakistani literature in english ( lahore : vanguard , 1991 ) , 151 .

pakistan may not have produced a horror movie in years , but when it did , it didn t . maya didn t haunt the viewers and proved to be as disappointing as anticipated . the film was the 9th biggest hit of the year .

i love horror movies and this being a pakistani horror movie . im gonna love to watch the trailer looks promising

given that a good screenplay and creative cinematography couldn ' t save siyaah from a poor box office performance , maya can hardly be expected to haunt the audience .

the urdu films released in 2015 were produced in karachi ( karawood ) , lahore ( lollywood ) and islamabad . none of the urdu film produced in lahore is released in karachi or outside punjab , but the films released in karachi were released throughout sindh , punjab and islamabad .

maya will also be a career diversifying project for bashir ahmed . the director , who has been a element of the pakistani film industry for the previous 20 + years , has been involved with comedy shows like shashlik , teen bata teen and ulta seedha to name a several . now nevertheless , he is striving his hand at horror movies and evaluating from the trailer given below .

pakistani movies have excellent trailers but movies are like drama serials . slow and boring . here even trailer was pathetic .

nothing wrong in it , he is just supporting his country and expecting non - abusive responses from pakistani cricket fans .

cara cilano , national identities in pakistan : the 1971 war in pakistani fiction ( london : routledge , 2010 ) .

this film opens on june 7th ( contrary to our printed programme – apologies for any inconvenience ) .

a typical momina duraid film , bin roye , was a formula film with love at the base of everything happening in the movie . humayun saeed and mahira khan definitely created the magic that the director wanted out of them and amreena khan gave the perfect kind of support to the lead actors the film needed .

on the whole , this film does more damage to the pakistani cinema than help it because without it , there was just one bad film – jalaibee . now there are two and until and unless we get good flicks ( hopefully this eid ) , we will not be able to continue our journey on the path of revival .

it is natural that an indian will support india team and a pakistani will support pakistan team . nothing wrong in it .

released on 18th july 2015 on eidul fitr , bin roye was a long awaited project from hum tv distributed by eveready productions . a film of social / romantic family drama genre bin roye also proved successful and earned about 10 . 85 crore . after a very long time an urdu film of social / romantic family drama genre proved successful at the box office . otherwise the recent history fo successful pakistani films was limited to action and comedy films . after bol in 2011 , mahira khan made a successful comeback to urdu cinema .

most of the indian male film actors are respectable in pakistan and rishi is one and top of them .

" big b , 3 idiots win national film awards " . urltoken . 2008 - 09 - 28 .

in fact , the film ' s characters also seem inspired from hollywood and american television . maya resembles the famous japanese juon the grudge and has eyes like that of dean in supernatural . the filmmakers have added a priest to curb the curse , instead of the usual maulana sahab .

released on 16th july 2015 on the festive occassion of eidul fitr , wrong no . proved the second most successful urdu film of the year 2015 . a guy flick , it was the directoral debut for yasir nawaz , along with many other artists like sohai ali aabroo , janita asma , nadeem jaffri , danish nawaz . wrong no . earned around 15 . 5 crore and is declared a blockbuster . seeing its overwhelming success it was also released in uk and uae where it failed to create the magic it did in pakistan . the film also has a dance number selfiyan shot on sohai ali aabroo .

the next time you hear a knock at your door , be careful . . you never know what’s on the other side . famous actor and director jawad bashir’s upcoming horror film “maya” will make you question how safe you really are , as he pulls you into his world of horror .

the effects look promising and the story as chilling . let’s hope this project revives the engraved horror genre in the pakistani cinema .

in the 1960s , several other works were important milestones in pakistani - english literature . shaista suhrawardy ikramullah followed her essay collections ,

comparatively little appeared in any pakistani literature about the trauma of 1971 and the loss of half a country—it passed into public amnesia .

espionage — check . rom - com — check . road - trip film — check . caper — check .

aiming for release by the end of may , bashir feels now is the time to capitalise on the hype generated by the trailer of the film . “if i delay it now , the publicity and promotion would lose their impact . you’ve probably seen many pakistani directors announce they are making a film even before they begin working on it . there’s no point in doing that . it’s the two weeks prior to the release of a film that are the most crucial . ”

the basic plot of the film revolves around five friends who rent out out a farmhouse far away from the hustle bustle of the city in hopes of enjoying the peaceful stay . however they are in for a shock when the farmhouse turns out to be far from what they had wanted it to be like and hence the story of “maya” unfolds” . although the premise may seem a bit cliched but its the localized treatment of this plot that renders the film more enjoyable than its hollywood counterparts . its because you can see yourself as the characters in the film and can relate to them is what makes the film more fun for the viewer .

the cast of ‘maya’ includes hina jawad , ahmed abdul rehman , zain afzal , anam malik , rasheed ali , sheikh mohammad ahmed and a guest appearance by ali aftab & jawad bashir .

a road trip comedy film karachi se lahore was released on 31st july 2015 . like many other films of 2015 , many artists made their debut like ayesha omar , shahzad sheikh , yasir hussain , as well as the director and producer wajahat rauf . ksl also proved superhit and grossed about 10 crore rupees at the box office . as compared to other films it has two dance numbers tooti frooti shot on ayesha omar and rabbi rali on mantaha tareen maqsood . ksl was produced in karachi and shot in karachi , lahore and balochistan

rampant use of " arch rival " and " arch enemy " in pakistani media is almost childish and amusing , but irritating also .

cara cilano , contemporary pakistani literature in english : idea , nation , state ( new york : routledge , 2013 ) , 91 .

shraddha das is an indian film actress who has appeared in telugu , hindi , malayalam , kannada and bengali films .

has maintained a continuous record of pakistani - english literature in its annual bibliography issue . other books of literary criticism on different aspects of anglophone literary production by writers of pakistani origin include works by fawzia afzal - khan , dohra ahmad , ambreen hai , and anis shivani .

a low budget biopic film financed entirely by bank alfalah , released on 13th august 2015 . shah was a tribute to long forgotten boxing hero of pakistan syed hussain shah . the stated budget of the film was 1 . 70 crore rupee and it earned approximately 1 . 10 crore rupee on the box office . due to lack of finance the director adnan sarwar himself played the lead role of hussain shah . shah was produced and shot in karachi .

once filming and post - production is complete , the next challenge is to get maya in to film festivals and find an interested distributor . this is a lengthy process and could take months , however the more marketing and social media attention i can stir up , the more excitement it will create around the movie .

oxford’s golden jubilee books included an anthology , edited by maya jamil , which focused on newer poets , while a dragonfly in the sun : an anthology of pakistani writing in english edited by me , was a retrospective of fiction , poetry , and drama that brought together forty - four published writers in pakistan and the diaspora—and revealed the extent to which pakistani - english literature had diversified , developed , and grown . it extended to writers well known to pakistani and western audiences alike , such as the pakistan - resident bapsi sidhwa and several diaspora writers ranging from tariq ali , zulfikar ghose , sara suleri , and adam zameenzad to the british - born hanif kureishi . thus , “pakistani” defined anyone who claimed that identity : the discourse generated led to me to compile another anthology leaving home : towards a new millennium : english prose by pakistani writers ( 2001 ) , on different forms of migration .

the revival of cinema has given hope to all and cinema goers have been really enthusiastic about new releases . jawad bashir has been inspired by japanese horror movies and we might see ‘maya’ reflect the same .

alamgir hashmi , “poetry , pakistani idiom in english and the grouipies , ” world literature today 64 . 2 ( spring 1990 ) : 268 .

everything about maya was wrong . the film seemed more like an amateurish work than from a veteran of 20 years , jawad bashir . now we know the jawad bashir is multi talented – he started as a comedian in the mid 90s , came up with dr & billa music band , directed tv shows , hosted game shows and is now one of the many actors who promote ufone by being crazy , but that doesn’t mean that everything he does would turn to gold . in fact , maya is one of the worst films ever produced in pakistan and even the ‘support pakistani cinema’ card at the end of the movie was unable to save it from falling into the ‘flop’ category .

teen bahadur is the first commercial animated film of pakistan produced by oscar winner sharmeen obaid chinoy . teen bahadur earned 6 . 64 crore which is a huge collection for any animated film in pakistan and is declared all time blockbuster animated film of pakistan . its music composed by sheraz uppal was also hit . the film has a dance number ( animated one ) aaja re as well . encouraged by the overwhelming success of teen bahadur , sharmeen obaid chinoy also announced its part 2 which will release in 2017 .

maya has all it takes to make a horror movie , an evil spirit , a graveyard , church , priest and gory scenes which should not be viewed by the children . jawad bashir has maintained a good grip over the movie and his direction is slick ; however the same cannot be said about the background music . the movie maya has its flaws but it is worth seeing ; a good effort by jawad bashir .

people chose to talk about what they mostly prefer while making it to the cinema for watching a movie , and how pakistani cinema is slowly progressing .

in pakistani - english literature , the only immediate literary response was a short story by tariq rahman and two poems by kaleem omar ( 1937–2009 ) .

the movie maya is based on an actual paranormal event that took place in denmark as claimed by the writer hina jawad who also plays the main lead . the story is somewhat predictable , a group of friends spend a night at a big farm house which by coincidence happens to be near a graveyard . incidentally desecrating graves is also the favorite pastime of some group members and while doing so they unleashed an evil spirit maya . what follows next is anybody’s guess ; the evil spirit tries to kill the five friends . instead of a maulvi , a priest and a church are shown which indeed proves that the film does not follow the usual pakistani pattern . the entire cast is young and this is the first acting venture for most ; hina jawad’s acting as the evil spirit maya is quite commendable and she has really stolen the show . zain ahmer as sam and sheikh ahmed as amir have put up an impressive performance .

jb : this is a jawad bashir and hina jawad production , we both have produced it but i am the director obviously ( laughs ) . big fish is a huge name in hollywood , and they are in collaboration with maya as well . i sent them movie rushes and they couldn’t believe their eyes ; they asked me if it was a pakistani film and i told them ‘yes’ at least 1 , 000 times . they were surprised beyond belief , which is a good feedback i think .

a biopic film based on the life of famous short story writer saadat hassan manto . the film covers the last seven years of the life of saadat hassan manto which he spent in pakistan after 1947 . manto is originally shot as a 20 episode television drama , and the film version consists of two hours of scenes edited out from the television drama . manto was produced and shot in karachi .

the film will launch several first - time actors , including ahmed abdul rehman as waqas , rasheed ali as a priest , hina jawad as maya / mishal , zain afzal as sam , sheikh mohamad ahmed as amir and anum malik as rida . produced by twister films , the screenplay has been penned by hina jawad who is also playing the lead .

( 1981 ) , which comments on american art , literature , and film . ghose engages extensively with shakespearean themes and classical mythology in

momin ali munshi of galaxy lollywood reviewed the film 3 / 5 stars and verdicts as " this horror film by jawad bashir should definitely be on every horror fans weekend list as it has its fair share of scares and makes for an entertaining watch . " [ 6 ]

a comedy film halla gulla was also screened on eidul azha with jpna . however unlike jpna , halla gulla failed at the box office .

widely regarded as the best chinese film ever made and now newly restored , spring in a small town is set . . . read more

the name of the punjabi film were razia phas gayi gundon main , lahoria tay pishoria , gujjar pooray dinna da , sohna gujjar and sami rawal .

( 39 . ) the growing number of pakistani - english women writers led to my anthology and the world changed : contemporary stories by pakistani women ( 2005 ) , and the introduction to its u . s . edition traced the links between women’s writing and issues of literacy , education , and reform in the late 19th and early 20th centuries .

punjabi films punjabi films were once considered as the backbone of pakistani film industry . till mid 2000 punjabi films were running successfully in punjab , however with the departure of 35 mm old camera and arrival of digital camera and multiplexes the punjabi cinema failed miserably . this year nearly five low budget punjabi films produced in lahore were released in few cinemas of lahore , gujranwala and other small centres of punjab . none of the punjabi film was able to revive the dying punjabi cinema .

shobhana bhattacharji , “kamila shamsie , ” in hybrid tapestries : the development of pakistani literature in english , muneeza shamsie , 384–395 ( karachi : oxford university press , 2017 ) .

initially conceptualised as a short film , bashir was forced to shelve the project due to other commitments , but decided to return to the project a few years later . despite adding a few fictitious elements to transform it into a feature film , he shares that he has kept the story as ‘true’ as possible . “i wanted to keep it as true as i could as it was my responsibility to document these events properly through my film , ” he explains .

seeing its success in pakistan it was also released overseas in uae , without much success . ksl was also screened at hollywood in some asian film festival .

but only a few wilfully step out of their comfort zone and even fewer explore a polarised genre , especially when they’ve already earned their spurs in one . for jawad bashir , who has long been known to leave his fans in stitches with his stints as an actor , a musician and a director , exploring the horror genre speaks volumes of his daring approach to his career . as the ‘dr’ of the dr aur billa act gears up for his feature - film directorial debut with the horror film maya , the express tribune explores the reason for this unanticipated detour .

the film features assembled cast including ahmed abdul rehman , hina jawad , zain afzal , sheikh mohammad ahmed and anam malik . hina jawad played the lead role of

it was also due to release in india but after threats from a hindu extremist organization maharashtra navniriman sena ( mns ) its release was cancelled in the state of maharashtra . apart from maharashtra it was released on 82 screens in india , which is a record for any pakistani film in india . however it failed to register any success in india .

the movie has been inspired by true events which took place in denmark . hina jawad heard the story and that’s what inspired them to make it . the film as told by jawad bashir and hina jawad is very close to the real incident . they also said that the movie is nothing pakistani so we might expect it to be based in another country .

the pakistani film industry was once known for great dialogues , amazing stories , and family - oriented dramas with significant entertainment value – that was between the 70s and 80s mostly . zindagi kitni haseen hay will be hitting the cinema screens in pakistan this eid . the film is packed with nostalgic reminders of all the aforementioned elements . it is the second directorial venture of anjum shahzad ( his first was mah - e - mir ( 2016 ) ) . it marks the film debut of the main leads , which include sajal ali , feroze khan and jibrayl ahmed . the story revolves around zain ( feroze khan ) and mahira ( sajal ali ) who accidently bump into each other . their love . . .

film : 3 bahadur ( تین بہادر ) cast ( voices by ) : muneeba yaseen , hanzala shahid , zuhab khan writer : kamran khan directed by : sharmeen - obaid chinoy produced by : waadi animations distributor : ary films release date : 22 may 2015 produced in : karachi music : john angier , sheraz uppal shot in : karachi budget : – 1 . 50 crore business ( pakistan ) : 6 . 64 crore business ( overseas ) : verdict : all time blockbuster

lastly since the horror genre has rarely been exploited in pakistan this film does have the novelty value and you enjoy it just because you haven’t seen something similar from pakistan .

verdict : this horror film by jawad bashir should definitely be on every horror fans weekend list as it has it’s fair share of scares and makes for an entertaining watch .

jawani phir nahi ani was not only the highest grossing movie of 2015 but also the highest grossing movie all time in pakistan s history . breaking the record of 1998 movie chooriyan , this mega cast movie earned 46 . 44 crore rupees . the film was a comedy - entertainment and the outfits worn by the actresses had caused some stir way before the release of the movie . hamza ali abbasi added added more fuel to the fire by publicly calling for boycott of the movie for its bold scenes , though the actor was one of the lead actors of the movie . all things definitely proved helpful for the business and the film was a blockbuster .

sarmad sultan khoosat mesmerized the crowds with his outstanding perfomrance . although he could have tried a bit more to look like saadat hassan manto , 20th cerntury urdu fiction writer upon whose life the film is based , he definitely emoted manto in this epic biopic . the film was critically acclaimed and generated a discussion in the society yet again on manto .

wrong no . film : wrong no . cast : javed sheikh , danish taimoor , sohai ali abro , janita asma . danish nawaz , shafqat cheema & nadeem jafri writer : directed by : yasir nawaz produced by : ynh films distributor : ary films release date : 19 july 2015 produced in : karachi music : waqar ali shot in : karachi budget : – 4 crore business ( pakistan ) : 15 . 5 crore business ( overseas ) : 10 - 12 crore verdict : blockbuster hit

however , it ' s also very important to add that although the film disappoints on all levels , there is something that must be commended - the director ' s decision to do something different . the script by his wife may not be the best but the duo managed to release a horror film in a country where release is always an issue .

there are good film makers , the bad film makers and then there is another breed . the opportunist film makers . . . . . . . you can call them wannabe film makers too , if u like . pun intended . these are the people who try to capitalise on the growing domestic film scene . hey man , we havent reached their as yet . we still arent an industy with a capital letter i . dont revive the gandasa culture in a new avtaar . and we have been hearing that its based on a true story and blah blah blah . . . . what hell , the film is a straight rip off . . . . the trailers are enough to say that . the director tried to save every penny on its promotion and went on to do it himself . . . i think he knew its going to go titanics way too . so bro , just sit tightly where you are and dont try to damage or shake the confidence of people in their industry . you did your thing . now step aside . thanku .

maya ( pilar padilla ) is a mexican immigrant who , after crossing the border from tijuana to los angeles to join her sister , rosa ( elpidia carrillo ) , is appalled by the exploitation she experiences . with the support and encouragement of a young american lawyer , . . . read more

shah ( شاہ ) film : shah ( شاہ ) cast : sardar baloch , gulab chandio , kiran chaudhry , faiz chohan , adnan sarwar , miraal sara , adeel raees writer : directed by : adnan sarwar produced by : adnan sarwar for logos films & media distributor : ary films release date : 14 august 2015 produced in : karachi music : shot in : karachi budget : – 1 . 70 crore business ( pakistan ) : 1 . 10 crore business ( overseas ) : not released verdict : average

the name of saadat hassan manto is considered a controversial name in the urdu literature , and the film benefitted from the same reputation . though films of independent nature seldom succeed in pakistan , manto performed very well by earning 5 crore on the box office , which was far more than its budget considering the film was edited version from a 20 hour long drama .

genre : horror director : ashwin saravanan cast : nayanthara , aari , lakshmi priyaa storyline : a woman takes on the challenge of watching a horror film , alone in a theatre .

h . m . naqvi’s witty novel home boy , set in post - 9 / 11 new york , tells of three young pakistani men who imagine themselves to be new yorkers , only to be set upon by thugs and arrested and interrogated by the police as possible terrorists . there are many post - 9 / 11 novels by pakistani americans , including those by shaila abdullah , ayad akhtar , maniza naqvi , and nafisa haji .

hj : i always wanted to write something . at the back of my head , i wanted my first ever writing experience to be one that came straight from within . this story had an impact on me , so i wrote a script of it and shared it with my husband . that’s how ‘maya’ began .

when reviewing strawberry last week , i wondered how long we’d have to wait to see an inventive horror film again . well , the answer , it turns out , is just a week . maya is an exercise in both horror and mise en abyme . it’s one of those rare tamil films , like uttama villain , that you can talk so much about on your way back home . i’m glad i caught it in devi paradise ; the long , spiral pathway on the way back provided plenty of time in which to reflect on the story . it’s not a perfect one ( perfect stories , among other things , are those that can only happen when they do ; you’re not at all sure why the big reveal in maya didn’t occur earlier in the protagonist’s life ) , but still complex enough to be admired . at a time when horror films are a dime a dozen , and intent only on generating easy laughs , it’s a relief to see maya stray . director ashwin saravanan is content with telling you an interesting story , and with the exception of a rather off - key background song , he does so without distractions .

on the untapped potential in the film industry to experiment with the genre , bashir says only two major horror films , zinda laash and sar kata insaan , have been made so far . “both the movies were made during my childhood , ” he states . a self - proclaimed horror - movie buff , he first stumbled upon the idea of maya when his wife , who spent a majority of her life in europe , narrated a true story about how a few people visiting denmark had a supernatural experience .

shraddha das ' debut release was the 2008 telugu film siddu from sikakulam , although she had first auditioned for the telugu film target . she was told that she played the female lead in siddu from sikakulam , but she had only a minor supporting role as the lead actress ' cousin . although unhappy with her character she continued filming for the project as she did not want to be branded as unprofessional by leaving her first film midway . [ 2 ] the film was negatively reviewed , [ 4 ] [ 5 ] and das in a later interview told that she was " very upset for doing such a bad film " . [ 2 ] after target and sidhu from srikakulam , she quickly signed four more telugu films within six months : [ 2 ] 18 , 20 love story , diary , adhineta and sukumar ' s arya 2 , which was her first high profile project . excluding arya 2 , all films proved to be critically and commercially unsuccessful .

the film : in this deceptively light comedy from ken loach , a group of plucky young glaswegians , all doing community service , devise an ingenious plan to pilfer a . . . read more

before the start of the movie , jawad bashir gave out a special message to his audience , claiming that he dedicates the movie to his daughter misha and urging people to support pakistani cinema , whilst watching hollywood and bollywood .

i might be an economics graduate from lums , but cinema is where my heart truly belongs . always up for a discussion on fims and i guess you could call me a pakistani cinema aficionado . email : mominalimunshi @ urltoken

maya follows a group of friends who travel to a farmhouse to spend some quality time , but unknown to them the ‘house is haunted’ . there are graves outside the house and for a normal human being , it would have been a warning but not for the cool dudes who travelled from lahore to have some fun .

dekh magar pyar se ( دیکھ مگر پیار سے ) film : dekh magar pyar se ( دیکھ مگر پیار سے ) cast : humaima malik , sikandar rizvi , irfan khoosat , farooq aqdas writer : saba imtiaz directed by : asadul haq produced by : asadul haq – shiny toy guns distributor : imgc ( geo films ) release date : 14 august 2015 produced in : karachi music : soch band shot in : lahore and london budget : – not available business ( pakistan ) : 2 . 20 crore business ( overseas ) : not available verdict : average hit

“nowadays , everybody’s making a comedy film . there’s nothing wrong with that , but there’s nothing new in that either , ” says bashir . emphasising the need to experiment in the film industry , which is still in its infancy , he admits that he is risking his reputation as a filmmaker to inspire the generations to come . “people call me a trendsetter because , instead of following people , i prefer to create my own path . there’s a chance this film may not do well , but it’ll also encourage the new lot of filmmakers to not shy away from doing something new , ” he adds .

in 2014 , the establishment of a new centre for pakistani writing in english at kinnaird college , lahore , is indicative of the growth of the genre since 1947 and will influence its critical discourses and its continuing development in the future .

although the 6th highest grossing movie of the year , trhe movie must be considered a blockbuster for being the first ever urdu language 3d animation movie . film revolves around 3 kids , amna , saadi and kamil , who are out trying to save their communities from all the evils . collecting rs . 6 . 64 crore rupees , the film proved that there s certainly space for animated movies in pakistan too .

a bubbly indian girl aalia in trouble is forced by circumstances to place her faith in a pakistani cab driver , vicky , in mauritius , who then takes it upon himself to make aalia ' s safe return to india possible . mauritius .

( 2013 ) , set in spectacular mountainous hunza , gilgit , and kaghan , where a group of pakistani tourists and their personal conflicts intrude into the timeless world of a nomad family , as does the police hunt for a notorious terrorist .

by this time , the debate over the use of english as a creative vehicle by pakistanis had been put to rest . zia ul haq’s resolve to abolish english in pakistan had not materialized . he died in 1988 . meanwhile , in the diaspora , the presence of increasingly assertive migrant communities in the west saw growing international interest in south asian–english fiction . the indian - born salman rushdie’s experiments with language to capture the “subcontinental sound” within english prose in midnight’s children ( 1982 ) provided new linguistic strategies for countless others , including pakistanis bapsi sidhwa and adam zameenzad in ice - candy man ( 1988 ) and cyrus cyrus ( 1991 ) , respectively . in 1989 , a major international conference on englishes in south asia was held in islamabad , which included extensive discussions on “pakistani english” and pakistani - english literature . this was followed by conferences and seminars in pakistan’s academia , although pakistani - english literature was not introduced into the english curriculum of pakistani universities until the 21st century .

“the movie also has its share of thrills and chills , especially when it reaches its climax , and the background score ( which is not unpleasant overall ) is at a matching crescendo . plus the director is definitely to be appreciated for directing the first full - length pakistani horror film to hit the big screen in eons . but one can do that only if one can look past the hackneyed plot and the mediocre cinematography . ” maheen nusrat , urltoken

jawad bashir as a director makes a strong debut . he knows his craft and does well . although some shots seemed a bit unneeded like the zoom outs after ever ten minutes but other than that he does well . script wise the film does have loopholes but they don’t really take away from the film as a whole . moreover the detailing in certain scenes is just too good and the production department deserves all the credit .

shah is the biography of great boxer syed hussain shah . this film covers the story of this legend ' s journey from homeless child in the streets of layari , karachi to become olympian for his country pakistan .