KARACHI: With the already hit number ‘Billo Hai’ playing in the background and growing more on you, the cast of the much-awaited movie Parchi stepped on to the red carpet amid much fanfare at Nueplex cinema at its media premiere on Wednesday evening.

Parchi, which was shot in 36 days from the first cut to wrap-up, tells the story of a group of friends who find themselves in trouble when one of them receives a parchi from a gangster he owes money to. What follows is a series of funny situations letting one in on the parchi system in Pakistan.

Playing lead roles are Hareem Farooq, Ali Rehman Khan, Usman Mukhtar and Shafqat Khan, who also happens to be the writer of this latest offering by IRK Films and Arif Lakhani Films in association with ARY Films.

Speaking to Dawn about her character, Hareem, looking like a princess in white, croaked (as she was recovering from the flu) that she was not your usual heroin in the film. “I play a bad-ass,” she said. “But despite being powerful I have retained a feminine side,” she said.

Ali Rehman Khan, who plays the role of a fellow named Bash who has grown up on the streets and turned street-smart, said that the film was not your typical masala mix. “Which is good,” he said, “Because there are so many stories in our country that also need to be told.”

Usman Mukhtar, who plays Bilal, also spoke a bit about his role. “He is a 27-year-old who works with a newspaper and supports his mother in the village and street-smart bother,” he said. He added that the film might be offbeat in nature but it would also change a lot in Pakistani cinema.

Meanwhile, Shafqat Khan, the writer who has also a role in the film, said that he already had the plot, given to him by Imran Raza Kazmi, founder of IRK Films and director Azfar Jafri. “Taking that I worked on it for seven to eight months,” said the writer who also writes theatre plays and television shows besides acting.

“I am always glad to see any new Pakistani film come out and this one I have written myself, so it gladdens me even more,” he said. “I am confident it will do very well,” he added.

“The entire team has worked extremely hard to make this film possible,” said Imran Raza Kazmi.

“I have had complete faith in Parchi since its inception,” said Arif Lakhani, the co-producer.

The film will be released on Jan 5.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2018