If everything goes as per plan, then parts of Amjad Khan's film on teenage Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, will be shot in Kanpur.

According to a report in TOI: The filmmaker, who had a fatwa issued against him for his film “Le Gaya Saddam”, will be in the city soon to seek permissions for the shoot.

Confirming the news is Kanpurite and actor Shahbaz Bajwa, who plays the role of an Afghani extremist in the film. "Amjad Khan will be coming to Kanpur soon to finalise the locations. As of now, he is keen to shoot in areas like Chamanganj and Beconganj, for their simlarity to the illegal weapon market of Swat valley located at Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Though Khan knows that shooting the film in congested areas like Chamanganj and Beconganj would be a tough task, but for the sake of making the film as realistic as possible, Amjad is adamant to shoot in these areas," said Shahbaz.

When we got in touch with Amjad Khan, the filmmaker told us over the phone, "My film would be a tribute to this teenage education activist. Malala has proved that age is no bar when it comes to courage and fighting the evils."

About his Kanpur plans, he adds, "We would be shooting for at least 15 days in Kanpur and most probably our shoot will start from May 22 or 24. I will be shortly coming to the city to meet the administration to seek due permissions for the shooting."

In an interview earlier, Khan had said they would guard the identity of the girl playing Malala for the sake of her security, and Khan persists with that explanation even now.

"At the moment we cannot disclose who would be playing Malala's role but yes, actors like Danny, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, KK Menon and Seema Biswas are playing strong roles in this movie.” Khan has finalised the first three schedules in India, followed by a stint in Tehran (Iran) and London.

Filmmaker Amjad Khan, further mentioned saying if everything goes according to plan, we will have also have Mel Gibson and Monica Bellucci for playing key roles in the film.

The filmmaker has also decided to donate the first day collections of the film to Malala's school in Swat district.