Sports drama is an often neglected genre of films in Pakistan and women in sports are hardly ever explored. Despite having national teams for many fields of sports in the country, young girls are often discouraged from playing and they have to face resistance to pursue the game as a profession. However, notwithstanding the pressure or by fighting against the tide, many girls achieve their dreams. Yumna Zaidi is going to portray one such girl in her debut film, Nayab.
At a press conference in Karachi on Tuesday, executive producers David Kenney and his wife Agnes Kenney (Kenneyz Films) in collaboration with producers Umair Irfani and Rumina Umair (Num Films) officially announced their upcoming film, Nayab. Director Umair Nasir Ali along with his team shared that the script for the film has been written and its production is under way.
The upcoming film will be renowned TV actor Yumna Zaidi’s first feature length film. She will be seen playing the titular character Nayab, a Karachi girl who loves cricket. While Yumna was unable to attend the press meet, she recorded a video message to make the announcement.
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According the press brief about Nayab: “Set in Karachi, the film is weaved around characters that are real and relatable with cricket as backdrop. It acknowledges that cricket resides in the heart of all Pakistanis, and deals with the disappointment of a brother who cannot attain his cricketing dream but instead supports his sister to achieve her dream despite her father’s objections.”
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Talking about the collab and Nayab, David Kenney, chairman of the Kenneyz Group said that he is keen in supporting film production and content creation in Pakistan.
“We have some of the best cameras in Pakistan that we make available to producers and directors here. We have got vanity vans and much more production equipment that is needed to support the industry. We’re very proud that last year we were involved, along with friends from Num Films, in the production of the new official video of the National Anthem of Pakistan,” he said.
“Nayab is not just a film about cricket. It is a family film which has people from all walks of life. It is more than just a good sports movie; it features social themes, family dynamics of Pakistani society, ambitions of a young girl. A mixture of these themes makes it more entertaining and compelling,” he added.
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The cast also includes Javed Sheikh and M. Fawad Khan, a well-known theater actor who has worked in multiple web series of Zee5 including Churails. The script is written by the talented duo Ali Abbas Naqvi and Basit Naqvi. Ali was the genius behind 2019’s Laal Kabootar.
Director Umair Nasir Ali spoke about the story about the film:
“The foundation of any film is the writing it is based upon; story is the key element on which a director builds the structure of the film. I’m glad that our writers Ali Abbas Naqvi and Basit Naqvi are here. They showed a very dark side of Karachi earlier in Laal Kabootar. Our film also stays true to the essence of Karachi but it is not dark.”
“We thoroughly researched about women cricketers in Pakistan. I cannot disclose the identities but we heard first hand accounts to develop our story,” he added.
Poster of Nayab
Talking about the script, the writers shared: “We’ve explored the city, its character and the people here according to our own real life experiences. We cannot reveal much at this point but we expect that you will enjoy the Karachi experience through our lens.”
Fawad Khan, who will also be making a feature film debut with Nayab, was welcomed by Javed Sheikh in the film industry. Fawad commented that “now that his name is already very famous (hinting to his namesake), he thought it is time to do some work here as well.” And we surely hope that we get to enjoy his roles on the big screen as much as we enjoy them in web shows and on stage.
Umair Nasir also announced that they will start the filming in the first week of March and it will hopefully wrap up in May. They are planning to release the film by the third quarter of 2023.
Watch Yumna doing net practice here:
