BinRoye DT; Media Screening Reviews pg.34 onward! - Page 3

She was fashionably late. Over one hundred reporters and bloggers fidgeted in their chairs looking towards the door, waiting for her so the event could truly begin. Finally, in a blur of black silk, porcelain skin and joyful laughter - Mahira Khan had arrived.

The actress who rose to fame with Humsafar is a cultural and style icon in Pakistan and plays Saba - a young girl who learns that love is not as simple as she had dreamed when she must marry Irtiza the man she once thought was the man of her dreams but is now an ugly memory. Destiny and guilt play off each other in this complex story based on the cult favorite Urdu novel by Farhat Ishtiaq 'Bin Roye Ansoo'.

When Khan talks about her role she says it impacted her personally:

"I have lived with this character for the past two years and the guilt she feels in her life has stuck me so strongly that I couldn't come out of its trance ," she said

Khan says she feels this film is close to her heart even though the character didn't have any resemblance with her.

One story, a movie, a serial and lots of drama

Bin Roye has two directors: Momina Duraid and Shehzad Kashmiri and will be aired as television serial. The unique format pushes the envelope in Pakistani storytelling and capitalizes on an unexplored terrain of genre for film in the local market.

Producer Duraid has promised that both mediums will offer unique products to audiences - if so then the film is one step in the right direction towards developing a thriving fan culture. For a thinking audience who need to know more about a characters and want back story, a novel and a serial to provide this are the perfect geek material to create universe of Bin Roye fandom.

The film features the stalwarts of Pakistan entertainment industry including Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed, Armeena Rana Khan, Javed Sheikh and Zeba Bakhtiar. Renowned television actors turned film stars Adeel Hussain and Junaid Khan will also do a brief cameo in the movie.

Shooting the film over a period of two years wasn't an easy job and many obstacles came on the way - the Dastaan director Haissam Hussain left half way leaving the job on Duraid to complete.

Initially Fawad Khan and Sanam Baloch were approached for the movie but later Humayun Saeed and Armeena Rana Khan were taken aboard.

"It was a nerve-racking experience but I am glad to complete it on time. We made it with love and affection and I am sure it will touch the peoples' hearts, Duraid said.

Confident as always Khan was in complete jovial mood, winking to the audience while sharing anecdotes happened on the sets of Bin Roye' - be it Shahzad Kashmiri's hug in the air after shooting in the scenic magic hour or the existence of ghosts in the haveli.

When asked how important Bin Roye' was for her she proudly calls it her first film'

"Although I made my debut with Bol' but I considered Bin Roye' as my first film. I have been associated with it since inception - interfering at every level and constantly giving my feedback about what needed to be done to make it more grabbing,"

Khan who has set a benchmark for herself with the blockbuster television serials like Humsafar and is hopeful that Bin Roye' will continue her streak as a successful star..

When asked who was the best co-star: Shah Rukh Khan or Humayun Saeed she smilingly said, "Since Humayun is called the Shah Rukh Khan of Pakistan, that makes Shah Rukh Khan the Humayun Saeed of India."

Lead actor Humayun Saeed, who made a comeback after a brief hiatus, was also excited for his role.

"My character in a movie is that of an intense lover - I have played a similar character on television but this is the first time that I am doing it for a feature film."

Saeed added that in order to be experimental we often missed out on basics. The actor said that while a lot of people are trying their hands on diverse scripts hardly anyone has opted for drama genre' which is our biggest strength.

Mahira Khan's wardrobe for the film has been done by Elan, Feeha Jamshed and Sania Maskatiya whereas two songs in the movie have been directed by the talented Asim Raza and Sarmad Sultan.

Bin Roye was shot at multiple locations, including Karachi, Dubai and the scenic locations of Santa Barbara and San Francisco and as announced earlier it will be released this Eid in Pakistan and seven other countries.

The music launch of the film will be held at Telenor Bridal Week in June.

http://www.hipinpakistan.com/news/1147262/bin-roye-mahira-khans-love-for-film

Momina Duraid's Bin Roye may appear to be a tear-jerking, quintessential family melodrama but the film's press meet had quite a comic flavour to it. Held at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Monday evening, after a grueling hour and a half wait, the meet and greet thankfully had quite an animated star cast to entertain the dreary and fairly annoyed audience. Be it Humayun Saeed picking up on Hamza Ali Abbasi and his moral brigade-endorsing statuses over item songs in Pakistani movies or the ghostly tales that the cast and crew had to share from their experience on the sets, there was enough interaction and fun anecdotes to make it a lively evening and give Twitteratis a good dose of gossip.

Scheduled to release on Eid, the film has a long way to go before it can justify the hard work and effort that has gone into making it, but as Mahira stated, "a good film is reflective of how much fun the cast and crew has had making it" and the press launch depicted that very emotion; there was a warm chemistry between each of the cast members. The entire cast of the film, be it the lead pair or the smaller supporting cast, with the exception of Armeena Rana Khan and Zeba Bakhtiar, was present to support each other on ground and celebrate what has been a rollercoaster journey for them.

"The best aspect of Bin Roye is that it has a very strong story and while the industry is watching a slew of comedies set to make it to the theatre, Bin Roye plays on our strength - drama," said Humayun Saeed while speaking to the media. "It requires a great deal of courage to make a film in our industry and Momina has done a commendable job. Despite being the producer, she has focused on every minute detail of the film and hopefully the audiences will enjoy it because that's what keeps us motivated."

It was evident that Bin Roye hasn't been a film without a fair share of challenges - it took the crew almost two years to complete the film, which is quite a long stretch compared to upcoming films likeKarachi Se Lahore or Dekh Magar Pyar Se that wrapped up shooting in merely 45 days! Moreover, the original director of the film Haissam Hussain left the project right in the middle, leaving the crew in despair - an impromptu revelation by Mahira that apparently wasn't part of the press meet's schedule.

"It was not an easy ride because the director left last minute and I was completely disoriented over what's going to happen of the film," shared Mahira. "But then I saw Momina spending 26 to 27 hours on the sets without a hint of agitation and that motivated us to remain determined. Even though Bol was my beginning, I feel Bin Roye is technically my first film; there is this unexplained' attachment I have with it."

Just like Mahira appeared emotionally attached to the film, the crowd was swayed away by the actress' presence to the extent that she was even asked why is she so beautiful' by a clearly star struck young blogger fan. However, the media seemed more interested in Mahira's upcoming debut in Bollywood with none other than Shah Rukh Khan. Mahira played all SRK and Raees directed questions very safe and diplomatically.

"Everybody has been extremely kind and welcoming in India but there is a lot of pressure on me to change perceptions that were created by my predecessors in Bollywood more so because nobody has been given the kind of opportunity that I have gotten, so yes I am nervous," said Mahira. "Everything over there is grand; the crew is bigger; the sets are huge and I have been fan of Shah Rukh's all my life." (Currently, Raees' shoot has been put on hold because of Khan's knee injury).

Moving over to this side of the border, it seems Bin Roye is set to change the face of the film industry like dramas have for the television industry. Releasing alongside two other films Wrong Number and Halla Gulla and perhaps a host of Bollywood films, the film has tough competition ahead of itself and only time will tell if this adaptation of Farhat Ishtiaq's novel - also to be made into a telefilm - will succeed in making drama a celebrated and attempted genre in the cine sphere. Till then it will be interesting to know that Bin Roye managed to get three designers, namely Sania Maskatiya, Feeha Jamshed and Elan, working together on one platform - something that is a rare sight in the fashion industry.