Pakistani romantic comedy film Karachi Se Lahore released nationwide on Friday after a star-studded premiere in Lahore at Cinestar Cinema.

A project of Showcase Films, the film directed and produced by Wajahat Rauf and written by Yasir Hussain. The movie’s soundtrack has been composed by Sur Darvesh, a creative collaboration between musicians Shiraz Uppal, Ali Noor and Ali Hamza.

The lead cast of Karachi Se Lahore includes Javed Sheikh, Shahzad Sheikh, Ayesha Omar, Yasir Hussain, Ahmed Ali, Eshita Syed, Rashid Naz, Aashir Wajahat and Mantaha Maqsood. The film chronicles the journey of five friends on a road trip filled with comedic situations where they discover each other and Pakistan.

Following the film’s premiere in Karachi, the red carpet event in Lahore featured a host of stars, including the cast and crew along with prominent names from the country’s film, music and fashion fraternity. The evening was attended by Ayesha Omar, Ali Zafar, Shahzad Sheikh, Yousaf Salahuddin, Juggun Kazim, Wajahat Rauf, Junaid Khan, Fariha Pervaiz, Shiraz Uppal, Ali Noor, Ali Hamza, Rabia Butt, Farhad Humayun, Syed Noor, Umair Fazli and Saleem Sheikh amongst others.

The event was managed by the JBnJaws Productions with Public Relations by Amjad Bhatti.

Speaking on the nationwide release of his film, Wajahat Rauf said: “ Karachi Se Lahore is a laugh-out-loud comedy and I hope everyone has fun watching it. True revival of Pakistani cinema started with Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liyeand that is when I decided to make a film. It has taken us a lot of years but we are part of the first 10 to 15 films of the new age Pakistani cinema and the revival that is coming with it. We will need the audience’s support, not just for this film but for all new Pakistani films.”

Rakhshanda Naveed’s fourth poetry collection Khamshi Ko Sunn Rahi Thi was launched at Alhamra Art Centre, The Mall, on Friday.

Poet Zafar Iqbal was the chief guest on the occasion. Leading literary and social figures such as Hassan Abbasi, Hameeda Shaheen, Iqbal Raahi, Ijaz Rizvi, Dr Ghaafir Shehzad, Dr Umer Adil, Ghulam Hussain Sajid, Dr Sughra Sadaf, Farhat Perveen, Bushra Rehman, Najeeb Ahmad and Ataul Haq Qasmi.

Overall impression was that Rakhshanda was a representative poetess of her era. She was pursuing her poetic journey without bothering about reward and praise. Her poetry depicts a true picture of human and social behaviours. Loneliness and pangs of love have been presented beautifully throughout the book. In both ghazal and poetry, Rakhshanda has a peculiar style.

Her previous books were Phir Wisaal Kaisay Ho, Kisi Aur Se Mohabbat and Naina Utrain Paar and applauded in literary circles. She has also compiled a poetry collection, Faiz se Wasi Shah Tak, and a poetry collection, Koocha-i-Jaanan.

Leading fashion designer Hasan Sheheryar Yasin aka HSY has launched an all-Pakistan interactive campaign, #CastMeHSY: a chance for all aspiring male and female models to be part of the brand with a campaign that includes a chance to be featured in its photo shoot and walk the ramp for HSY in Lahore. The new campaign kicked off on July 29 and the last day for submissions is Aug 15. The campaign invites all aspiring models to upload and tag a full-length photo of themselves on Instagram and/or Twitter with the hashtag #CastMeHSY.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2015

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