KARACHI: Veteran film-maker Syed Noor made a comeback to films with his latest offering Chain Aye Na that had a star-studded premiere in a Karachi cinema on Thursday evening. The scriptwriter-turned-director was present at the red carpet with the cast to mark his first Urdu film in 10 years.

The film stars Nadeem Baig, Mustafa Qureshi, Atiqa Odho, Behroz Sabzwari along with first-timers Shahroz Sabzwari, Sarish Khan as well as Adil Murad, who has returned to films after two decades.

Director Syed Noor told the media that his aim was to give the industry new faces and safeguard the legacy of yesteryear’s greats such as Sabiha Khanum, Waheed Murad and others. “Shahroz Sabzwari is the son of legendary actor Behroz Sabzwari and it was great to cast them as real-life father and son. Going for Adil [son of Waheed Murad] and Sarish [granddaughter of Sabiha Kha­num and Santosh Kumar] was a conscious effort as they are talented actors and needed an opportunity to take their legacies forward. I just showed them the way and I am sure people will like their performance,” said the veteran director, popularly known as Shah-Jee.

The event was attended by the who’s who of the film and TV industry including actors Jawed Sheikh, Sangeeta, Faysal Quraishi, Aamir Qureshi, Ismail Tara and Syra Shahroz, whose husband played the male lead in the film. Nearly all of the cast except Sarish (who is promoting the film in the United States) were present at the red carpet. Adil Murad who last worked in Raja Saheb in the mid-’90s was happy on his return to cinema, terming it a learning experience. “When Noor sahib narrated the script to me, I wasn’t told which role I was being considered for. I am glad that I opted for the role that had shades of grey because I wanted to break the formula of being the son of Waheed Murad. I am glad things worked out well and I was finally out of the shadows with a role that gave me a chance to show my skills as an actor,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2017