‘The Martial Artist’ starring Shaz Khan is the most promising Pakistani film releasing on Eid Ul Fitr 2025. The journey of an MMA fighter, the film emphasizes the spiritual and emotional sides of that life.
We caught up with Shaz Khan so he could give us his two cents about ‘The Martial Artist’.
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Roots and Layers
Shaz Khan had previously written and directed “Say It Ain’t So”, a short film about a struggling martial artist. Released in 2017, the film became a “space to experiment” and find his voice in filmmaking. It would be this specific film which would go on to influence ‘The Martial Artist’.
Say It Ain’t So and coming back to Pakistan, both had a huge impact on Shaz Khan. He wanted to play a role that was not only grounded, but raw, aggressive, and “deeply vulnerable”. Layers like that are hard to find in the Pakistani films of today.
Some previous experience in amateur boxing also gave Shaz Khan a slight edge over other actors trying to prove their mettle in a role like this. Ultimately, ‘The Martial Artist’ became “perfect vehicle to explore all of that” for the actor.
The Muslim MMA Moment
The MMA world is no stranger to Muslim fighters anymore. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev are now world champions and are regarded as the best. While Shaz Khan had the idea for the film before these fighters became world champions (as evidenced by ‘Say It Ain’t So’), he is a huge fan. They’re shifting the narrative about “what it means to be Muslim in the eyes of the west.”
As with gladiator matches in the coliseum and wrestling matches in local villages, the fighting sports are the “greatest live show on earth”. Portraying MMA fighters, these modern gladiators is “raw, disciplined, sensitive and incredibly compelling”.
Identity and Discovery
From Sylvester Stallone’s ‘Rocky’ and Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Southpaw’ to Adnan Sarwar’s ‘Shah’ and Ayaz Ali’s ‘Doda’, movies involving martial arts or sports in general are always about much more than just the competition. This is evident from the trailer of ‘The Martial Artist’.
“It’s the story of a fighter driven by raw passion and a relentless need to be the best but he’s out of sync with who he truly is. At its core, it’s a journey of self-realization—told through the metaphor of martial arts.”
Martial Artists in Pakistan
Over the last decade several high achieving martial artists have emerged from the Northern areas of Pakistan, winning honours and awards throughout the world without much recognition from the government. Shaz Khan met some of these martial artists during his filmmaking journey. He believes they are “great role models for the youth. I know they are going to achieve great things.”
Physical Training
Shaz Khan extensively trained for his role, which included mastering several disciplines and keeping in shape in general.
“I spent four years learning all the disciplines and first year or so was brutal. The body has never been pushed to these extremes so I had to fix the diet and find better ways to recover.”
In total he sustained over a dozen injuries; among them were very serious ones.
He began his training with Rafael Cordeiro, world famous MMA fighter and coach known for training multiple MMA champions. After his start, Shaz Khan trained with multiple other trainers and at multiple gyms. For this role, becoming a martial artist was literally part of the job description. Faking it was not an option.
Release and Post-Release
Shaz Khan hopes to be at peace with the film once it’s released. He’s poured everything he has into it and then it’s on to the next story; several still need to be told. He hopes that like him, other filmmakers take more risks and hold up a mirror to society, like cinema is meant to do. He hopes to see many more “swings on the pitch”.
You can watch ‘The Martial Artist’ in theaters on Eid Ul Fitr 2025.
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