The highly-anticipated film ‘Khel Khel Mein‘ is all set to release on 19th November. The excitement levels (and expectations) are quite high for this one because it is the first movie releasing after the re-opening of cinemas and also because it is brought to us by the talented director/producer duo Nabeel Qureshi and Fiza Ali Meerza. They have never failed to give us thought-provoking yet entertaining films in the past!
From what we have seen so far, the trailer intrigues and the song adds a lively touch, yet, it’s not devoid of messages! From the production quality, cinematography, direction and not to forget the stellar ensemble cast – the movie will star the insanely talented duo, Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas together onscreen after ‘O Rangreza ‘ and we couldn’t be more excited.
Director Nabeel Qureshi and producer Fiza Ali Meerza told us a little more about the upcoming film in an exclusive interview with FUCHSIA magazine. Keep reading to find out what they said!
The Thought Behind The Name ‘Khel Khel Mein’
The storyline revolves around a play or ‘Khel’ in Urdu. According to producer Fiza Ali Meerza, the name is very much in line with the story of the film because a theatre play group from Pakistan is traveling to Bangladesh for a competition (we are assuming from the video of the song), and the story is based on this theme. Hence, the name ‘Khel Khel Mein.’
The director/producer duo also revealed that this was the first and final name that ever came up because they felt it aptly represented what the film is about.
The Inspiration Behind Picking Dhaka Fall As A Storyline
Both Nabeel and Fiza had their own personal reasons for choosing this topic. For Fiza, it was when she couldn’t visit her best friend who got married in Dhaka! She told us that she hadn’t realized before that it was so difficult to visit Bangladesh, even more so than India.
Fiza was taken aback when she applied for her visa and realized that it wasn’t as easy to go to Bangladesh as she had thought it would be.
It was then when she started researching a little more and realized that there are a lot of events that had transpired that we might not be aware of because not many people speak about them. Even to this day, it is a taboo subject in Pakistan and people shy away from talking about it. During her research, she read a few books, spoke to a lot of people, and realized that every person had a story attached to the events that happened in 1971.
For Nabeel, it was when he read in a newspaper that 2021 would mark 50 years since the Dhaka fall and it interested him because he says he hadn’t realized how fast these 50 years had gone by. Both Nabeel and Fiza channeled this brainstorming through ‘Khel Khel Mein‘ and all of us are eagerly waiting for 19th November to watch it.
The Message ‘Khel Khel Mein‘ Is Trying To Put Out
The director/producer duo told us that the aim behind this movie is to tell people to accept their identities, respect each other’s individuality and move on. This movie is not trying to create friction or spread hate, it is sticking to the facts.
Whose Narrative Is It?
Fiza and Nabeel told us that there was no third-party involvement in the film’s narrative. “It is nobody’s narrative but ours”. This is how they wanted to tell the story, and even too pains to stand their ground where it was needed.
The makers also told us that ISPR was not involved in the making of the film, however, they did get clearances from it where it was required.
Moreover, Nabeel and Fiza said that they are not trying to spark up controversies against India, however, they did feel that it was Pakistan’s turn to take the initiative and tell the story. They believe our biases are not as strong as our neighbours and it shows in their content, be it a Netflix show or a Bollywood movie. Nabeel and Fiza believe they have been responsible enough to address such a sensitive issue in an unbiased and factual manner.
Why They Chose Sajal & Bilal For The Film
Both Sajal and Bilal were the director/producer duo’s first choice!
They revealed that they decide their actors as soon as they write the first few scenes of the film and they had known from the start that they wanted to cast Bilal and Sajal for this film.
Moreover, they were initially concerned about how Sajal and Bilal, who are both such big stars, would gel with an ensemble cast. However, they told us that both Sajal and Bilal got along with the rest of the cast perfectly since the very first day!
Bonus fact: Nabeel and Fiza told us that about 90% of the cast gave auditions for ‘Khel Khel Mein‘!
Recreating Dhaka
The makers had to recreate present-day Dhaka as well as old Dhaka. Fortunately, they received nothing but praises from the people who visited the sets, onlookers could relate to the scenes and instantly figured out that the movie has something to do with Bangladesh. Nabeel and Fiza took care of the tiniest details, from local scripts & fonts to showing cycle rickshaws on screen, and the result is manifested in believable frames! This spiked our interest of course, guess we have to watch it to find out!
