Javed Iqbal – The trailer hits hard – as it’s meant to, since Javed Iqbal is not a figment of our imagination. It’s a story of how over 100 young boys were robbed of a life, their families, scarred forever by the memory of their brutal death.
If you didn’t know about Javed Iqbal then this film has already done half its job by creating awareness about an uncomfortable truth living within our social spheres that needs to be told. Why? Because there might be other Javed Iqbal’s hiding in the dark underbellies of our nation, and it is important that we understand they exist.
Who Is Javed Iqbal?
Javed Iqbal is the ‘psycho thriller’ true story of serial killer Javed Iqbal who murdered over 100 boys over a period of 6 months. He confessed to the killing of street and beggar children, sexually assaulting them before they were murdered, strangling them to death, and then dismembering their bodies to dispose of the pieces in acid.
While we celebrate our wins on the international, and national arena – on cricket, showbiz, technology, medicine, and women, it is crucial that we not forget about those who suffered because we failed to protect them – our children.
Yassir Hussain plays Javed Iqbal – the serial killer about whose early life, not much is known. The voiceover in the trailer serves as a spine-chilling wakeup call that this film is not about entertainment – it is about the truth, and the harsh realities we want to throw a blanket over when we ring in the new year.
Hence it is, but an irony or planned(?) that the movie is due to release in cinemas on December 24th, right in the midst of the festive season. What could be more brutally poetic – that, and the 16th December APS reminder are perhaps, stark reminders for us to wage war against the evils we prefer to shun aside, or wish away because we feel unprepared to deal with them or expect that someone else will do it for us.
Javed Iqbal – the film, is someone else who is doing it before the close of the year.
The movie also stars Ayesha Omar playing a police officer who is investigating the case. It is great to see her in a new avatar – de-glammed, raw, and very rough on the edges. Frames switch at a fast pace; action sequences are interspersed with images of Yasir Hussain playing Javed Iqbal – dark, bleak, sinister, and deeply disturbing.
It would be a bonus if we could view a back story to the life of the real Javed Iqbal. Not much was known about his early life, and that is why it’s important for filmmakers to dig deeper into the story so that we can unveil the causes and reasons as to why we as a society are able to nurture such individuals in our midst.
Yasir Hussain posted the trailer on his Instagram Feed
Agar Javed Iqbal ka trailer dekh kar aap ko goosebumps nahi aarahy toh yeh aap ka masla lol . Just watch it twice and I’ll see you in theatres. Love you all JAVED IQBAL TRAILER
Sirf aap k liye 🖤
Age Specific Rating?
This one’s not for the kids, although surprisingly, it is about the kids. We expect it should have an age rating, even in an age-rating dismissive Pakistan, we believe that even some adults might not have the stomach to watch, yet the trailer is definitely a head-turner – gory to the core, some stories must be told, lest they not be repeated.
We hope this is one of them!
Needless to say, Yasir Hussain has taken on a monumental task, and one that deserves credit – to tell this story is every filmmaker’s responsibility, we owe it to the young, innocent lives lost and families of those who will live to remember it every day. We owe it to our children who walk the streets today and hope for a better tomorrow.
It is imperative to point out that Pakistani cinema seems to be offering a diverse mix of thought-provoking content – from Khel Khel Mein to Kahe Dil Jidhar and now, Javed Iqbal. These projects are a far cry from the desi rom coms audiences have viewed in the past. Will it propel Pakistani cinema onto the next level? Will our filmmakers delve into serious storytelling paired with cutting-edge production – the magic mix that makes it all come together for any budding entertainment industry? We hope so. All will be revealed soon, and that too, before the curtain drops in 2021.
Mark your calendars, and do give this one a watch!
More on Javed Iqbal
Pakistani serial killer who murdered about 100 boys. He was considered one of the deadliest serial killers in history and, upon his conviction, was sentenced to die in a manner similar to that in which he had tortured and killed his victims.
Not much is known about Iqbal’s early life. Although complaints of sodomy were lodged against him in 1985 and 1990, he was never convicted of any of the charges. Iqbal surrendered to Pakistani authorities in 1999 after confessing to 100 murders during a six-month period. His confession, (which he later denied) admitted to luring boys, mostly beggars and street children between the ages of 6 and 16, to his home in Lahore, where he sexually assaulted them, strangled them to death, dismembered their bodies, and disposed of the pieces in a vat of acid. Iqbal kept detailed records of his victims, including their names, ages, and photographs.
Iqbal was given 100 death sentences; the court also ordered his execution with the same chain he used to strangle his victims and that his body is cut into 100 pieces and dissolved in acid. Before the execution could take place, however, Iqbal and a young accomplice, who also had been convicted, were found dead in their prison cells. Despite indications of foul play, their deaths were officially ruled suicides.
Story Source: Britannica
Credits:
The film is written and directed by Abu Aleeha and produced by Javed Ahmed.
