Surprisingly, cine-goers and members of the electronic media arrived on time on Wednesday at the premiere of the film Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor at a local multiplex, crowding the space around the red carpet area in no time. Some of the (voiceover) artists too did not take long to show up (isn’t that good?). Since it’s an animated film, there was a big number of children itching to get their hands on popcorn boxes and to go inside the cinema halls where the movie was to be shown for the first time. And for the kiddos, there was also a photo booth in one corner of the red carpet.

Another good thing that happened on Wednesday evening was the presence of showbiz celebrities and luminaries from other walks of life who had come to support the team that has made Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor. They included former senator Javed Jabbar, actors Faysal Qureshi, Adnan Shah Tipu and Ajaz Aslam etc. One reason for that could be that the slick trailer for film, released a few weeks back, had grabbed the attention of all and sundry.

Replying to the question put to him by Dawn about how animated he was about the prospects of the film, Javed Jabbar remarked, “Very animated”. He was of the opinion that the project was a “path-breaking” one, adding that Pakistani cinema should comprise every category of films.

Adnan Shah said it’s good that films for children were being made. He, however, cautioned that quality must never be compromised.

The director of Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor, Uzair Zaheer Khan, talked about how hard his team had worked on the venture. When asked if there was anything he could have done better, he replied, “many”. He admitted that we [in Pakistan] needed a great deal of work to do [to meet international standards].

The screening of the film was supposed to start at 7:30pm. But it took a little more than an hour for the organisers to show it, perhaps because there was a large crowd at the red carpet ceremony trying to hobnob with showbiz celebs. Well, to be honest, the first scene of the film, call it cold opening if you like, was so engaging that one thought it was worth the wait.

Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor was released on Friday (Feb 2).

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2018