KARACHI: A special show for the animated film Allahyar and the 100 Flowers of God, directed by Uzair Zaheer Khan, was held at a local multiplex on Thursday evening.

The red carpet space was a bit smaller than usual; therefore when the stars (those who have lent their voices to the characters in the movie and other actors) started to trickle in, which they did pretty fashionably late, the carpet looked super crowded and ultra busy. It was wise of the organisers to allow the attendees, a large number of which comprised media persons, to walk into the cinema hall before 9pm.

Talking to Dawn on the occasion, Uzair Zaheer Khan said, “This is my second film [the first being Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor that came out in 2018]. Its subject matter is to do with the environment. This time around, we have switched the genre, which is more action-adventure, sci-fi. It’s a 3-D, stereoscopic film.”

Talking about the plot of Allahyar and the 100 Flowers of God, the director said it’s about the adventure of a boy who fights wood poachers, those who are stealing from the forest.

Animated feature tells story of a boy fighting timber poachers

“The main voices that you’re going to hear in it are of Azfar Jafri, Anum Zaidi, Iqra Aziz and Ali Zafar. Bushra Ansari and Meera have done cameos,” he said.

Given the relatively smaller scale of the country’s film industry and the number of screens in Pakistan compared to some neighbouring countries, when asked what an animated venture can achieve in terms of business, the film-maker replied, “You’re right about the business aspect of it, but look at the size of our population. I know cinemas serve a very small percentage. But it’s our need. We have such a huge population with a big number of younger audiences. We don’t have entertainment for them or the kind of content that can acquaint them with their culture, language, patriotism etc. Our film is made in Pakistan. It’s for my own kids [as well].”

Shedding light on the quality of animation of his project, he said that Disney cannot be the benchmark because they [in the west] spend hundreds of millions of dollars on movies. “We don’t yet have a fully fledged industry. Unless that happens, the talent that you have won’t be trained at that level. So it is a struggle.”

The showbiz celebs who came to the event included, among others, Iqra Aziz, Yasir Hussain and Adnan Shah Tipu.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2023