Yalghaar: locked and loaded

KARACHI: 

A few days ago, the trailers for Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad created a ruckus online after their respective trailers were released. And with still a good amount of time to go before the movies hit cinema screens, they have only accentuated audience anticipation.

With the trailer for the much-anticipated Yalghaar being released in cinemas, director Hassan Waqas Rana received a similar response, as the trailer became a topic of discussion right after its release.

Releasing the official first-look trailer for the movie on chand raat, the director could not have chosen a better time to preview the trailer for a film which offers movie-buffs a feast of action and CGI-heavy sequences.

Having spent the last few days working on the post-production of the film at Pinewood Studios (England) the director felt that with a tentative release date of fall 2015 in his mind, now would be an ideal time to preview the trailer.

“After the trailer finished, the audience gave a standing ovation — that was something really overwhelming for me,” he told The Express Tribune.

The trailer does not reveal much about the plot details but offers a look at some of the integral characters in the movie, most notably Shaan, a long-haired Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui and the battle-ready duo of Umair Jaswal and Bilal Ashraf.

With a lot of hype surrounding the film due to its ensemble star cast, it should not come as a surprise if a host of outrageous and daredevil-ish action sequences end up leaving you with goose bumps. One such highlight of the 208 second clip is a sky-diving sequence performed by the lead characters.

As revealed during a conversation with the director, these sequences appear to be just a ‘tip of the iceberg’ with more dangerous and adrenaline-rushing scenes in store for audiences. “We’ve shot the skydiving sequence but there is also a submarine sequence (involving halo diving on the ocean) as well which we would be filming very soon.”

Being a director, of such a project, did not mean that Rana was spared of performing such risky feats with the director narrating some of his own adventurous experiences while filming. “The helicopter sequence that audiences see in the beginning of the trailer was shot by me while I was standing on a helicopter skid without any support. Even in the sky diving sequence I had a camera attached to myself as I shot the sequence mid-air.”

One of the first Pakistani directors and films to incorporate VFX on a large scale,  Rana noted that rather than serving as a distraction from the real acting, the technique would only serve to ‘enhance’ the audience experience.

“CGI is used to enhance the viewing experience and also to stylise the shots, I think technology is there to help you but you have to learn how and where to draw the line.”

Audiences have been made to wait for the action movie which had been announced a while ago, but it seems like the two year gap between Waar and Yalghaar was not wasted. That time period was used to train the actors for their physically challenging roles.

“A lot of time was spent on training the actors for the roles they were supposed to play, they were supposed to be fit enough to handle weapons, hand to hand combat, sky diving etc.”

Described as a movie about one of the greatest feats of soldiering in the history of the Pakistani military, the Swat operation — Yalghaar will also be a tribute to the victims of APS attack in Peshawar.It will not only be dedicated to the children of Peshawar attacks but their names and pictures will come on screen before the end credits of the film, with the consent of their parents.

 Expected to release later this year the cast also includes veteran actor Ayub Khosa, Sana Bucha, Armeena Khan, Ayesha Omer and Sikander Rizvi.