Abu Aleeha’s Next Centers Around The Bhopa Tribe Of Tharparkar

Abu Aleeha is one of those rare filmmakers of Pakistan who don’t fear of experimenting. In an era when majority of the filmmakers play safe and follow a certain template to make films, Aleeha with his creative skills plays with a mix of diverse genres and brings something fresh to the table every time. ‘Tevar’, ‘Shotcut’, ‘Daadal’ and the recent ‘Kukri’ are a testimony of his experimental filmmaking. Not just that, he keeps his commerce in check and makes sure that the investors make profits.

Continues his good form, Abu Aleeha is gearing up to make another out-of-the-box feature film ‘Bhopu’. The upcoming film is being made in the Sindhi language and is set against the backdrop of Tharparkar. “The last Sindhi feature film in Pakistan was released in 1997, twenty six years later I am writing and directing a film in this language,” Aleeha told Pakistani Cinema in an exclusive conversation.

The plot is based on the ancient Bhopa tribes of Tharparkar and Rajasthan with a legacy of hundreds of years. They are often known to for their practices related to black magic. “It’s a claustrophobic thriller that centers around love and survival. To showcase the real essence of this world, I have roped in Sindhi actors in lead roles who are well-versed with the language. Even the supporting actors are picked from Tharparkar. I have recruited an acting coach who will conduct workshops to enhance their acting abilities.” he said.

Elaborating on the same, Aleeha added, “The film will be shot in Sindhi language and will later be dubbed in Urdu. The bilingual versions will release in cinemas simultaneously. The film will also be screened in international festivals around the world. We have started the prep work and will shortly begin the test shoots in Thar. The casting is in process and if all things go in place, the filming will begin from the first week of August.”

Music plays a vital role in celluloid, therefore folk singers from Tharparkar will be crooning the songs, “Ali Allhaditta is the music producer, the film has four songs of which two are already recorded by Nirmala.”

نرملا کا تعلق عمر کوٹ، تھر پارکر سے ہے۔ کمال کی سنگر ہیں۔ میری نئی فلم کے لئے تھر پارکر سے کراچی آکر انہوں نے دو گانے ریکارڈ کروائے۔ اس موقع پر میوزک پروڈیوسر علی اللہ دتہ کے ساتھ۔ pic.twitter.com/VzguoQt27E
— Abu Aleeha (@abualeeha) July 10, 2023

Abu Aleeha concluded the conversation by giving an update on his upcoming film Taxali, “The title of the film has been changed, it’s now ‘Taxali Gate’. It is ready for release, we will announce the date after Ashura. If all goes well Taxali Gate will release in cinemas in October 2023. Meanwhile, we are pitching various international film festivals to showcase Taxali Gate.”