The first instalment of the movie had three kids with superpowers — Aamna, Saadi and Kaamil — dealing with Mangu and Baba Balaam. In the sequel, Baba Balaam is likely to be back as it was teased in the original movie. Furthermore, this time around the voiceover of 3B2 will have Ahmed Ali Butt, Fahad Mustafa and Sarwat Gillani, in addition to Behroze Sabzwari and the three kids.
Finally something about those films that may or may not grace the screens later this year. Hashim Nadeem’s Abdullah that won praise at Cannes last year is ready for release, but the distributors aren’t sure when to give the film a based on Kharotabad incident a go-ahead. Same is the case with Badal — Revenge of the Worthless, Jamal Shah’s directorial venture that deals with terrorism and extremism. It has been postponed repeatedly since its initial release date of May 2015.
Shehzad Rafique’s Salute, a biopic about the martyr Aitzaz Hasan, has been in the works for some time but doesn’t have a release date. Same is the case with Sangeeta’s Tum Hi To Ho, Noor Bukhari’s comeback venture Ishq Positive and Umair Fazli’s Saya-i-Khuda-i-Zuljalal the release dates of which are yet to be announced.
Work on Mohsin Ali’s Chupan Chupai is in full swing and while the comedy would mark the return of Sakina Samo to films (last seen in Syed Kamal’s Siyasat in 1985), it will also introduce TV actress Neelam Muneer to films besides being Ahsan Khan’s comeback to Urdu films (not counting the 2013 Punjabi flick Ishq Khuda and the hopeless 2014’s Sultanat).
The release dates of Moammer Rana’s Sikandar featuring himself, Nadeem Baig and Farhan Ally Agha; Saad Shafaat’s Two Plus Two which also marks the return of Babra Sharif on screen; Omar Hassan’s Dance Kahani and veteran director Syed Noor’s Bhai Wanted and Price of Honour haven’t been announced yet. There is a strong possibility that Sahir Lodhi’s debut movie as actor/director, Raasta, might also release some time in the second-half 2016, but will that window suit the Pakistani SRK remains to be seen.
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, June 12th, 2016