kARACHI NEWS

Ramchand Pakistani received well at premiere Monday, July 21, 2008 By our correspondent Karachi The much-awaited feature film, Ramchand Pakistani, written and produced by Javed Jabbar and directed by Mehreen Jabbar, premiered in Karachi on Sunday evening at the Finance and Trade Centre (FT) in a grand ceremony. The true story of a Thari Hindu Dalit family, living near the Pakistan-India border, who were separated when the father Shankar, played by Rashid Farooqi, and his son Ramchand crossed over to India by mistake and were detained for over five years on charges of espionage. Following the premier, Javed Jabbar, thanked all the crew, the cast, the financiers and the supporters who placed their trust in the production. He revealed that, for the first time, the Indian government had allowed a producer and a director to visit Indian jails and then recreate them in Karachi. Mehreen Jabbar also thanked all the crew and cast. The superstar presence of the evening was that of Indian actress Nandita Das, who also stars in the movie. She said that, though the film was not a revolution, it was a step in the right direction. The Karachi premiere of the film saw a host of artistes. Some of the people who voiced their opinions found the film good by and large. Rehan, an ACCA student, said that, “it’s not really spectacular but good enough to go to the cinema to watch it”. Khuzdar said that a different story had been presented in a very bold manner. Zubeida Kidwai thought that, of all the cast, Nandita stood out with her poignant acting, and her emotional arsenal. The Managing Director of Nishat Cinema said that the film was good and that his cinema would now contemplate putting it up once it was officially released on August 1.