It is the most anticipated film of the year. After the resounding success of Waar last year, Pakistani audiences seem to have developed a taste for the action thriller genre — not surprisingly so, there is enough happening in the country to provide enough material for a whole series and then some!

The first trailer of Operation 021 was released online roughly around three weeks ago and caused quite a bit of a stir.

Since then, the team behind the film have promised fans a series of video logs showing testimonials and some behind-the-scene footage of the film.

They’ve just released their first one and it features Pakistani photographer Amean J. The log is hosted on the official Azad Film Company’s (Jami’s production house) Vimeo channel

Although Amean J has also experimented with directing music videos and is a familiar face in the art circle, he’s says that when Jami approached him, he jumped at the opportunity to work with a director he looks up to.

“Without questioning who, when, what, how,” said the lens man, “the only thing I said was: batain kab karna hai?”

Amean J has done the publicity shoot for some of the main characters in the film. These will most probably be used in the film’s posters, press releases etc.

Directed by Jami Mahmood (Duur and Humsafar by Strings, Bum Phatta by Ali Azmat to name a few) a director known for his beautiful frames and imagery, Operation 021 is an action-spy thriller bilingual film featuring both a Pakistani and a foreign cast and crew. Not surprisingly, it is predominantly set in Karachi.

Starring Pakistan’s only leading man (or so it seems!) Shaan Shahid in the titular role, the films cast also includes Aaminah Sheikh, Ayub Khoso, Hameed Sheikh, Tatmain ul Qulb, Ayaz Samoo, Gohar Rasheed, Bilal Ashraf, Wendy Haines, Joe Towne, James Hallet, Abdullah Ghaznavi, Shamoon Abbasi, Daniyal Raheal.

The film is has been produced by Jami, Azaan Sami Khan and Zeba Bakhtiar. It has been written by Jami, Joe Towne and Summer Nicks. The film is set to hit Pakistani theatres on August 14, 2014 — Pakistan’s 67th independence day.