KARACHI: Ayesha Omar is really excited about the release of her film Karachi Se Lahore. And why shouldn’t she be! It’s her debut film and what better way to start this new journey than to have her movie premiered in Hollywood.
“Yes I am very excited but a bit nervous as well,” Ayesha said while speaking to The Express Tribune. “All day I am busy giving interviews and promoting the film in the best way we can. There’s too much happening so it’s a bit nerve-wrecking as well.”
She added the entire team is working really hard to promote the film as best as they can. “If I had to choose between nervousness and excitement, I am more excited than nervous. I am very confident about my film. Wajahat (the director) has made something amazing,” Ayesha said.
When asked what kind of feedback she has received on the trailer she exclaims, “Fantastic feedback! I have got zero negative feedback. My friends are not from the industry and they are brutally honest with me. And they are all saying the movie looks like a lot of fun.”
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the film, she says, is that all the characters have been given equal importance. “It’s easy for directors to fall in love with certain characters and only concentrate on those characters. Sure some characters have more lines or they appear on the screen more times. But Wajahat has been very just. You won’t see a poster with just the two main characters.”
Karachi Se Lahore is a road movie about a guy — played by Shehzad Sheikh who plans to travel from Karachi to Lahore to stop his girlfriend’s wedding. Shehzad’s character asks his neighbour — Ayesha — to lend him her father’s jeep. She agrees but on one condition: she and her brother would accompany Shehzad and his friends to Lahore.
“We are neighbours but we hate each other. He begs me for my father’s jeep but doesn’t ask me to come with him. So I force him to take me and my brother. The movie is about how our relationship evolves during the journey.
“My character starts feeling sorry about herself because she feels she doesn’t have someone who would fight for her in the same manner. But at the same time she doesn’t stop being herself. There are a lot of subliminal messages that are coming out of this movie: No body stops being themselves they just evolve and become more accepting,” Ayesha said.
She also revealed that she shot for her dance number Tooti Frooti with an injured foot. “I hurt my foot a day before the shoot. There was no way we could have delayed the shoot because we were on a tight schedule. So yeah it was tough but we kept shooting. My toe is still swollen because I never got it checked and took it too easy,” she chuckled.
She added that she made a conscious effort to make sure her character in the film wouldn’t reflect her immensely popular TV character — Khoobsurat. “Everybody knows me as Khoobsurat so I had to be careful in not letting that character overshadow my role.”
Speaking about her experience of working with Shehzad and the other cast members Ayesha said, “Shehzad was really patient and cool to work with. We would discuss the scenes in detail.
“We had great chemistry all of us. Javed sb is amazing. He is so much fun, full of life. But I had the most fun working with Yasir (who has also written the film). We are like buddies.”
The team is also excited to take their film to Hollywood. “We have been invited to take Karachi Se Lahore to Hollywood for a premiere. It’s the first Pakistani film to have a premiere in Los Angeles. Fingers crossed. We are all planning to go. The film is going to have a worldwide release,” she said.
Director Wajahat Rauf also confirmed the LA premiere plan to The Express Tribune although he did say it is still in the works. ”We are waiting for certain things to be finalised.”
Ayesha’s co-actor and the other lead star of the film Shehzad Sheikh is also confident about the film. “I am 80% excited and 20% nervous.Karachi Se Lahore will do great as we have all worked really hard and the content is super,” he said.
He added that it was amazing that their film is being released internationally — in countries such as the UAE, UK, New Zealand, Australia and the US. “Going to the Hollywood premiere is like a dream come true. We are proud to represent Pakistani cinema on a global platform.”
Speaking about his experience of working on the film, especially with his father, the legendary Javed Sheikh, Shehzad said, “It has been such a fun ride working with everyone. Our chemistry is great. It has been a wonderful experience to share the screen with my dad and Rashid Nazsb. So much to learn from!”
Javed Sheikh sb is equally excited and confident about the film. Although he doesn’t have any scenes with his son, the veteran actor says he is proud of Shehzad. “He has done a great job as Wajahat told me. I have seen a couple of scenes. He is improving day by day. This is the beginning of Shehzad Sheikh. He is working very hard.” Javed sb added that it’s nice working with fresh talent.
Karachi Se Lahore releases on July 29 in cinemas across Pakistan.
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