Things are gearing up for Bin Roye. As Eidul Fitr draws near, the makers of what is decidedly Pakistan’s first film ever to have a simultaneous ‘world’ release (as they call it!) are out with an ambitious plan of a series of international premieres.
Beginning July 15 in Dubai, team Bin Roye jets off to the film’s London premiere the very next day, and to another premiere the day after in New York. The last one is to be held in Dallas on July 18, supposed to be the chaand raat. This means four consecutive nights of immense activity.
But no one is complaining. They know they have to do at least this much to get their film attention on foreign territory where the only Asian motion pictures known to do well are the ones made in Bollywood and, in some measure, Tamil and Indian Punjabi cinema. For Pakistani films it remains a virgin territory despite one-offs like Khuda Ke Liye (2007), Bol (2011) and, decades earlier, Maula Jutt (1980).
For the uninitiated, none of the abovementioned films were released simultaneously in Pakistan and abroad; there was always a time lag of a good few months. Maula Jutt was not released in India either and, most recently, Na Maloom Afraad (2014) ended up in the UK theatres. To no success, though. Bin Roye, then, is tipped to make history. The pet project of first-time film producer and co-director Momina Duraid, recognised for her critically acclaimed and hugely popular Hum TV shows such as Humsafar and Zindagi Gulzar Hai, Bin Roye is being distributed in India and abroad by B4U and in Pakistan by Satish Anand’s Eveready Pictures.
The film famously stars Mahira Khan who has now developed a fan base on the other side of the border, thanks to her Pakistani TV serials that have been playing on Zee’s Zindagi channel and also because she is the leading lady in Shah Rukh Khan’s next. Add to it Humayun Saeed, Zeba Bakhtiar and Jawed Sheikh — all graceful performers,
The film’s soundtrack is already in rotation on TV and social media. Composed by the ever-dependable Sahir Ali Bagga, it features Bollywood luminaries Rekha Bharadwaj, Ankit Tiwari and Harshdeep Kaur and our very own Rahat Fateh Ali Khan amongst others.
Billed as a family drama, based on a novel by Farhat Ishtiaq (the lady behind the script of Humsafar) Bin Roye has been shot extensively in San Francisco and Los Angeles, all of which sets it apart from the comedy Wrong Number, the only other Urdu film releasing on the same day.
The Rub
Sadly, things might not turn out all hunky-dory, as fiercer competition comes
Industry pundits are already viewing it as suicidal for Bin Roye, especially across India where Khan enjoys a cult following. Speaking exclusively with Instep, on the phone from Mumbai, renowned Bollywood trade expert Komal Nahta terms it an “unwise” decision.
“So far there’s no buzz [around the film],” he says. “Its promotion is very low-key. The people here don’t even know such a film is releasing.”
Back home at MD Productions, Momina Duraid is completely sanguine about the release plan of Bin Roye. “The mood of our film goes with that of the Eid day,” she explains. “In fact, the film opens on the chaand raat.”
She also declares that the B4U distributors are “very confident; they keep telling me it’s not a small film.
“I understand that Salman Khan has a massive fan following in both the countries and abroad. But our film is rich in content. And, just as our dramas are successful in India because of their content, and our actors are being picked up by Bollywood on the strength of their work in these dramas, I am sure our film will be noticed.”
However, Duraid insists, it shall “not (be) justified to compare a big film’s collections with those of the small one.”
About no sufficient publicity, she says, “We have just stepped up our promotional campaign. We are going to have multiple premieres internationally. On the home front, we’re premiering Bin Roye in Karachi on July 13, following which we go on a road show to Lahore and then to Islamabad, touching some of the other cities on the way.
“I can safely say we are going to be spending an amount that is almost 70 percent of the film’s total budget.”
Interestingly, there will be no premiere show in India. The reason, according to Duraid, is the visa issue. “Some of the actors applied late for Indian visa. Until and unless the entire star cast can attend it, we don’t want a premiere.”
Having said that, Duraid believes “Bin Roye is a success already. Why, because it’s the first Pakistani film since 1947 to be releasing simultaneously in India. For us, we have taken a step forward.”
Leading film distributor and exhibitor Nadeem Mandviwala seconds her, “What is important for us right now is that our films are released in India. Whether they do well or not isn’t quite relevant.
“We have to start small,” he continues. “We know their film people but they don’t know ours. Again, this does not mean our actors aren’t good; the problem is they aren’t known in India. We have to show them our films in order for them to like our actors. So, it’s important that we seek such opportunities. Box office results don’t matter when you look at the larger picture.”
According to Mandviwala, India makes 250 films in Hindi, out of which at least 150 films find no distributors. “Given this scenario, if a B4U is ready to distribute our film, it’s an achievement in itself.”