KARACHI: It appears to be the season of film premieres, which is understandable. There were quite a few releases on Eidul Azha a couple of weeks back. Another premiere — for the film John written and directed by Babar Ali — attracted a decent number of showbiz glitterati at a local multiplex on Thursday evening. The film had its countrywide release on Friday.

Interestingly, the director of the movie arrived earlier than some of his main actors. The event was to kick off at 8pm, but the red carpet became crowded an hour later after not just the cast of John — Aashir Wajahat, Saleem Mairaj, Romaisa Khan and Raza Samo — but many other tinsel town personalities such as Behroz Sabzwari, Shahroz Sabzwari, Zhalay Sarhadi and Yasir Hussain also turned up.

Talking to Dawn about the project, Babar Ali said, “The film is a romantic crime thriller. We have created an interesting story combining romance and crime. It’s a little different. Our main character is a Christian boy [named John] which has happened for the first time in Pakistan. We are representing a minority in this film.”

When asked whether the part was written particularly for a minority member, he replied, “The story that I had in my mind didn’t bank on that, which means even if the character wasn’t Christian, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the story. But it [having a Christian character] adds layers to the tale.”

Commenting on the current not-so-encouraging box office situation in the country, Ali said a film-maker needs to make films. “We got the money and made it. If our film is good, people will like it. The thing is that you need to make it with honesty.”

Shedding light on the cast of John, the young director said, “The casting process was pretty long. We thought that we should take new faces and at the same time get a few names that cine-goers are familiar with. Romaisa Khan has a big following on social media. Raza Samo is a YouTube star but they are good actors as well. They look the characters that we’ve come up with. For example, for John, we needed a lean, thin boy, which is why Aashir is there.”

On the plight of the movie industry, the film-maker sounded hopeful, arguing that if a variety of films are made, only then it will be called an industry.

After the red carpet razzle-dazzle, the attendees walked into the cinema hall where the film began a little before 10pm.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2023