When Shehzad Roy went from being a singer to an education activist his transition was smooth and seamless. As he set about to reform government schools with his NGO Zindagi Trust, his next album Qismat Apni Haath Main had strong political undertones.

His next venture is neither a school nor a song, but a film, penned by none other than Anwar Maqsood. Roy is also using this new medium to continue his endeavour to awaken the average Pakistani's political consciousness.

"I never actually intended to do a film," said Roy, in conversation with Dawn.com, "But when the concept was presented to me, it was hard to say no."

In his interview on The Reham Khan Show on Dawn News, where he announced the news yesterday, Roy had said, “In a song, I only have a few minutes to convey a message. [In film, one has much more]."

The film, unsurprisingly, will be a satirical take on the state of affairs in Pakistan, and will include dashes of romance, action and comedy to make it an all-out commercial film.

A first look at Shehzad Roy's character in the film — Photo courtesy Shehzad Roy

"It will be a thought-provoking film," he added during his interview, "while watching it, you won’t lose sight of the fact that you’re watching the film in Pakistan."

In an earlier interview with Dawn.com, Roy had earlier mentioned the film as part of his 2015 plans, and had mentioned that Ahsan Rahim will be directing the film and actor Faisal Qureshi will also play an important part of the project.

Hear more about what Roy had to say about his upcoming film here:

New song

While the film may be a long way off, Roy will soon release his new song, a collaborative love song in Punjabi that will feature Zoe Viccaji. The song will be out in 10 days.