A bilingual film project, Zinda Bhaag is a fine combination of Pakistani artists and Indian cinema veteran Naseeruddin Shah besides technicians from both the countries. There is also the strong possibility that the film may set new records of popularity at the local box office.

The celebrated Indian actor was in Lahore in April this year for the shooting spell. The film has been directed by Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur, a trained filmmaker of Indian origin, as the co-director. Mazhar Zaidi, a known media hand with a BBC stint behind him, is the producer.

Earlier, in March, Naseeruddin was also in Lahore to familiarise himself with the city and to conduct a week-long workshop with a group of greenhorns included in the cast of the film. His visit was a hush-hush affair because he wanted to work quietly, away from the media gaze.

The directors of the film have also co-authored the script. It has a mix of Punjabi and Urdu and the theme revolves around the urge in our youngsters to find a shortcut to living abroad, hence the title Zinda Bhaag (escape).

Many of the youngsters who play important roles in the film have no formal background in acting. The panel of experts working on the project held over 1,000 auditions and selected about 140 individuals who were placed under the care of Naseeruddin Shah who plays a tough guy with multiple facets to his personality in the film. His character acts as the godfather to a bunch of mohalla boys and is not averse to give them a helping hand on their way out.

There are heavy expectations from the movie keeping in view the star value of Naseerudin Shah who has earlier acted in Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye.

One of the directors Meenu Gaur is a PhD in film studies from University of London. Her film, Paradise on a River of Hell, set in Kashmir, has received critical acclaim.

The other, Farjad Nabi, has built a reputation for doing things his own way. He has made a name for himself as a filmmaker, starting with a film that mapped Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s global tour a decade-and-a-half ago.

Images recently got in touch with Farjad Nabi and Meenu Gaur who shared certain updates on Zinda Bhaag.

What stage of completion is the film at?

The film is now in post-production. Presently, we are just about to wrap up the edit in Mumbai and then we’ll begin work on the next stage.

Has it been shot outside Lahore?

The film has been entirely shot in Lahore. Most of the footage was shot in its different mohallas.

What is the budget?

Not big enough to make things easy and not small enough to make things impossible.

When will the film be released?

We aim to release Zinda Bhaag in the last quarter of 2012. It is a very warm-hearted film so we’re sure it will do good business in winter.

Will Naseeruddin Shah revisit Lahore for another spell of shooting or to attend its launch in Pakistan?

No. We’ve completed the shoot. But it’s very likely he will attend its launch here. He’s been very excited and optimistic about the progress of the film and keeps checking in to see how we are progressing with it. Our team has had his constant support and encouragement, going far beyond his obligation as an actor.

Will it be simultaneously released in Pakistan and India?

Yes, that’s the idea. The story of our film has a wide appeal and is as relevant in India as it is in Pakistan. Even our crew is a mix of both.

Our cinematographer, sound designer and their team were from India. They were a group of extremely talented and experienced people, having worked on several feature films. In fact while on our shoot our cinematographer got the news that he had won the National Award in India. We lived and worked together for two months and each one of us had a lot of fun while working together.

The singers and lyricists who have worked on the soundtrack?

The soundtrack of the film has all the singers that we had on our wish list, and the credit goes to our music director Sahir Ali Bagga. Arif Lohar, Amanat Ali, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Abrarul Haq have sung the songs. Bagga has also sung two songs in the film.

Mohammed Hanif of A Case of Exploding Mangoes and Our Lady of Alice Bhatti fame has written a song that is pure joy and him at his satirical best. Hasan Mujtaba is an icon with the millions who follow him on the BBC Urdu website as well as in Sindhi newspapers. He has written a qawwali sung by Rahet Fateh Ali Khan. The rest of the songs have either been written by the directors of the film or Sahir Ali Bagga.

What about the actors?

FN: We had decided very early on that we would cast new actors, and in particular those who had never acted before. But we never quite found the right person for the female lead until in an audition over Skype we came upon model/actress Amna Ilyas.

The story of Zinda Bhaag is set in Lahore and takes us into a subculture of the city, of life in an ordinary mohalla. We just wanted to tell an everyday story, which we have managed to do without recourse to excruciating and done-to-death stereotypes about Pakistan, Lahore and all of us who live here. The film is neither didactic nor apologetic; it’s a film that rings true to us as filmmakers and hopefully by extension to our audiences.

What technology have you used to shoot the film?

The film has been shot on the latest camera called Red Epic. Cameras like Red Epic and Arri Alexa have taken over the market and most films are being shot on them.

The cinematographer of the film is Satya Rai Nagapaul, winner of the National Award for Best Cinematography 2011 for his film, Annhey Ghoray da Daan. The sound person is Vipin Bhati.