The first look of Gul Makai, a biopic on the life of the youngest Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, has just been released. Directed by Amjad Khan, the film stars Reem Shaikh as Malala, Divya Dutta as her mother and late actor Om Puri.
The teaser begins with a dramatic voice-over by Kabir Bedi, saying “When God said Jihaad he meant the spirit of fighting all that is dark and benevolent. But the need and greed of some human beings changed that meaning into something else”. This introduces the context of the film: the state of Pakistan and Afghanistan fraught with violence and despair due to the Taliban.
As the narration continues, the video features shots of atrocities, after which it introduces Malala as a voice that arose from a small village in Pakistan in response to this tyranny. Later, we hear Malala’s mother explaining the significance of her name to her.
The teaser perfectly introduces the tone and mood of the film, and what better day to release it than Malala’s birthday? Watch it here:
The film tells the story of the village of Swat under the Taliban, who destroyed schools and terrorised people with ultraconservative rules. Then 11-year-old Malala stood up and began blogging in BBC Urdu, explaining the pain and struggle under Taliban rule and fearlessly making the world aware about the truth of terrorism suffocating their country slowly.
The film’s title, Gul Makai, is the pen name that she used to blog with.
The makers are yet to announce the release date of the film.
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