Two days back Ayesha Omar took to Instagram to share a BTS from last day shoot of Rehbra. The camera is finally closed on the film after it went on floors back in 2017.
“Rehbara” is a musical romantic comedy with a hint of action. The film stars Ahsan Khan, Ayesha Omar and Sarish khan in lead roles along with a strong supporting cast that includes Sohail Sameer, Hina Bayat and Ghulam Mohiuddin.
Pakistani Cinema had a tete-e-tete with Director Amin Iqbal to get insight on the filming experience and more. Here are few excerpts of our conversation with him.
Back in 2017 95% of the shoot was said to be complete so what took the movie to wrap up this late?
‘’We were about to complete shoot around February last year but the news of lockdown broke in Karachi so we decided to shoot in Lahore but faced some issues. We later decided to shoot remaining sequences with SOP’s in place but that too couldn’t materialize because of some unforeseen circumstances. Moreover the Producer of the film Saira Afzal who is based in America also kept facing travel issues and couldn’t join us. Now that the film is finally shot we will be waiting for the cinemas to reopen to exhibit it’’
Replying to our question about the shoot locations of the movie he revealed that 80% of the shoot is on the outdoor locations. ‘’We shot on various locations throughout the country in Karachi, Lahore, Gawadar ,Kasur etc. That too is a reason for the delays. The last sequence shot was also from sets of fair which was pending since long’’ he said.
You have penned many sitcoms, dramas and tele films in the start of your career so have you penned the movie yourself alongside taking the director’s chair?
‘’The concept, screenplay, and story of the movie is given by me but a team was involved for consultancy in writing that included Asad Ali Shah and Shakeel Ahmed Chohan’’
About his experience of working with the team he added “The experience of working with the team was great . They have all given their best to the project”. He especially praised the producer of the film Saira Afzal , a doctor based in America to have invested a great deal professionally and economically. ‘’ Unfortunately, not many people within the country are investing in the filmdom, so we should be facilitating everyone who takes the initiative, to encourage them. Efforts can also be made by the government to bring investment in films’’ he added.
On asking about the release plans the ‘’Deedan’’ Director responded ‘’ We were to release the film on Eid 2020. But then the pandemic happened. We would now like to release the film asap when the cinemas reopen. Cinemas on a whole are open internationally but our first priority is to exhibit the film to local audiences’’
Considering the talented team involved with the project our expectations from Rehbra are great. Here’s wishing the team luck for the release.
