Main Hoon Shahid Afridi

Plot

Story of a boy (Noman Habib) who dreams to become Shahid Afridi finds himself down on luck when the only club he ever knew goes bankrupt. With no place else to go he discovers one last chance to save his club, his town and his dream. Haroon Sheikh A cricket tournament coming to Sialkot which may be the club's last hope. But are they ready yet? A team of misfits with no facility and no coach, can they even qualify for the cup and face the highly skilled undefeated rivals who were born with a golden spoon in their mouths and every facility in their hands? With that question in mind they decide to take help from an ex cricketer Akbar Deen (Humayun Saeed), but Akbar has a dark past of his own.

Cast

Soundtrack

The soundtrack consists of five songs, penned and composed by the duo Shani-Kami.

Development

The film’s writer and host of the night Vasay Chaudhry elaborated on the kind of cinema actor-producer Humayun Saeed and his team support. "Song, dance and drama is the style of cinema that we believe in," said Chaudhry. "From 1947 to 2001, more than 4,300 films were released in Pakistan with dances, songs and drama. This is as much our style of cinema as it is our neighbour’s."

After Chaudhry’s brief on the film, film distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla shared his views. "On all such jubilant occasions, we should never forget to pay tribute to and thank people like Nadeem Baig and Javed Sheikh who have seen the industry go through thick-and-thin and have been resilient," said Mandviwalla. According to Mandviwalla, Main Hoon Shahid Afridi is expected to do a great job at the local box office.Like every cricket-loving citizen of Pakistan, Saeed also expressed his love for Shahid Afridi and how this film is a tribute to him. "I would have easily made a shaadi biyaah type of a film, but I always wanted to pay tribute to one of our own Pakistani stars in their lifetime," said Saeed."Whether he performs or not, Shahid Afridi will continue to be Shahid Afridi for us," said Saeed. He then thanked all the cast and crew for their continuous support and hard work but failed to mention Mathira, who performed an item number in the film. She walked out of the conference in protest. Main Hoon Shahid Afridi also features Javed Sheikh, Nadeem Baig, Shafqat Cheema, Humayun Saeed, Mahnoor Baloch and Noman Habib, who plays the lead role.

Shahzad Nasib, who invested $1 million into the film said, Humayun initially had asked the legendary cricketer himself to act in the lead role. "They offered me the role but my elders didn't let me act, but I happily gave them permission to use my name as this film will bring a positive message," Shahid Afridi later told AFP.Veteran actor Javed Sheikh talked about his experience in contributing to the new age of Pakistani cinema. "I must assure you that Humayun Saeed and his team will bring you a pleasant surprise on the first day of Eid," said Sheikh, who also believes that if Pakistani dramas can beat Indian dramas, then Pakistani films can also beat Indian films. "The new wave of Pakistani cinema will come from Karachi and the new film-makers will make better films than India in much more limited circumstances," he added.

Senior actor Shafqat Cheema, in his signature aggressive style, explained his character, which is significantly different from the one in Bol. Being one of the most senior cast members, Nadeem Baig said he is hopeful of the new Pakistani cinema, while he grieved over artists going to Bollywood. "There is nothing bad about going to Bollywood, but not at the cost of your own cinema," said Baig. "Respect your soil and culture because it’s a part of you and you are a part of it."Director Syed Ali Raza had a more proactive approach towards the new wave of Pakistani cinema. "We are not here to compete but to walk hand-in-hand with our neighbours, for the cause of entertainment," he said. "Whether you win or lose doesn't matter, but play with such a spirit that you can look into each other’s eyes after the game," said Raza, using one of the lines from the film.The evening ended with the unveiling of some very catchy songs from the film after which we can easily say that the audience is definitely in for some good surprises.

Box office

Main Hoon Shahid Afridi earned ₨22 million (US$210,000) in its first week of release. Film saw falls from Week Two onward and collected ₨5.2 crore (US$490,000) in its Lifetime run and got a verdict of Below Average at Boxoffice.The flim was a Pakistani blockbuster.