KARACHI: In a film industry that doesn’t make too many movies in a year, film premieres are always a good omen, especially premieres held for movie projects made by young directors. It happened on Monday evening when a large number of showbiz media reached the Arena Cinema where the film 13, written and directed by Nabeel Ur Rehman Lutfi, was being premiered.

The title for the project is unique, quite unlike what Pakistani filmmakers opt for. More about it, later.

As it usually happens at such events, the star cast of 13 arrived later than the time given for the red carpet razzle-dazzle and, in some cases, tittle-tattle. These days, vloggers appear to outnumber the mainstream media personnel. On Monday, though, they seemed to be equal in size. And both were eager to grab an interview of the cast and crew.

Mr Lutfi was the first one to appear in front of shutterbugs. He interacted with anyone who approached him for a comment or a sound bite.

The film is all set to release across country tomorrow

Talking to Dawn about the name of the film, he said, “The title is 13 and the reason I chose this name is because there is a serial killer in the movie called Sikandar, played by Adnan Shah Tipu, who has a hit list of 13 people.” Mr Lutfi classified the story as a crime thriller.

In terms of box office expectation, the director said Pakistani cinema is unpredictable. Anything can happen. He claimed he would rather prefer critical acclaim to box office success.

Answering a question, the film-maker said the movie is inspired by David Fincher’s 1995 thriller Seven in which a man (Kevin Spacey) plans to kill seven persons representing the seven deadly sins. This is a tall claim because it’s an extremely popular movie which catapulted Mr Fincher to international stardom.

Saleem Mairaj plays a policeman in 13. He said he’s optimistic about the outcome of the film.

Mairaj and Tipu are now seasoned film and TV actors and people are expecting them to create memorable moments together in their new cinematic venture.

After more than 90 minutes of showbiz hubbub and camera flashing for the red carpet ceremony, the attendees went into the cinema hall to watch the move, which will have its countywide release on Thursday (tomorrow).

The cast includes Adnan Shah Tipu, Saleem Mairaj, Wahaj Ali Khan, Sidra Kanwal, Zaki Ahmed and Lutfi himself.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2023