Pakistani actor Ayesha Omar and Yasir Hussain’s highly anticipated film Kukri has hit the cinemas.
The Bulbulay actress took to Instagram to share the news with her millions of followers and surprised all of those “wanting and waiting to watch” the thriller with the announcement.
Ayesha Omar is playing the role of a woman police officer in the film, which revolves around the notorious Pakistani serial killer, Javed Iqbal, whose heinous crimes sent shock waves across the nation.
The film, Kukri, was previously titled on the serial killer’s name, Javed Iqbal, but later its title was changed.
Hussain will be seen essaying the role of Iqbal and he did a lot of research before taking up this role. In an interview, the director recalled the circumstances when he chose Hussain to play Iqbal.
The director, Abu Aleeha, said, “They said Yasir can’t pull off this character. I received many calls from the people associated with our industry; however, the statements changed when the poster came out.”
He added, “I have seen Yasir’s best work in the theatre, I know how far I can go with him. People have seen his work in dramas but that’s not his finest work.”
“No one can play Javed Iqbal better than Yasir Hussain!” he shared confidently.
Talking about the great deal of enthusiasm and detail behind the character, Aleeha recounted how he “took Yasir to many chai dhabbay in Androon–e –Lahore” and “observed local people chatting in different Punjabi accents.”
“I used to record their conversations and that’s how we picked one of the accents for Javed Iqbal. Later, Yasir practised it,” he said.
The movie was originally supposed to be released last year, however, right after its premiere in Karachi, the Punjab Censor Board banned the movie for controversial reasons.
For the unversed, Iqbal sexually abused and murdered more than 100 children in Lahore between 1998 and 1999. He later died by suicide in a jail cell. Aleeha took great interest in the harrowing case and decided to turn it into a film. During an interview with a local media outlet, Aleeha spoke of his inspiration and recalled the time when the news made headlines.
“I’ve been working as a crime reporter for a private channel for 10 years. [I remember] a criminal was arrested in Lahore and accused of raping 100 children. It was around 1999 and since then, the character has been stuck in my mind,” he said.
“The case was handed over to the Supreme Court and Javed Iqbal was detained, where he committed suicide,” the director added.
“I got a copy of the challan after a month, from a lawyer and decided to make a web series on the serial killer but no one took me seriously. Then, I published the first book about his crimes and it got a massive response,” he shared.
“The second edition I published was about the investigation and the back story of this notorious man; the book came out in eight editions and sold out in six months — which indicated that people are intrigued by the story. Then I decided to make a film on Javed Iqbal,” Aleeha said.
Kukri acquires censor board clearance, set to release on May 19
