The official teaser of Parchi may not have “blown your mind” (as it claimed it would), but the comic caper does look like it shall bring its makers — third-time producers Imran Kazmi and Hareem Farooq, also a popular actress — good returns on their investment.
If the 60-second, crisply edited trailer, which was officially unveiled earlier last week, is anything to go by, the duo has a winner on their hands already. Here’s a rough comedy, quite in the tradition of the Guy Ritchie (minus the loaded accents and violent gunplay, of course), which seems to deal with the lowlifes of a big city plagued by nepotism and cronyism.
Kazmi promises the humour in the film isn’t profane but is strictly “situational.” Speaking exclusively to Gulf News tabloid! Kazmi says Parchi is an “entertainer… with a definite message in the end.”
Starring Ali Rehman Khan, Ahmad Ali, Usman Mukhtar, and Farooq, Parchi is Kazmi and Farooq’s third film together. Their last, Janaan (2016), scored big at the box office, especially in the UK. Kazmi admits that the Asian diaspora in countries like England and Canada generally takes to social and family dramas that have a lot of native (read desi) colour. In comparison, “our action and comedy films haven’t done too well internationally.” Yet, he is hopeful about Parchi, which has a “noticeably different narrative style.”
Kazmi reveals that “we always make joint ventures, because we don’t associate ourselves with a brand or a TV channel. Hareem and myself are constant — 50 per cent investment comes from us — and the rest is shared by our business partner. In this case, Arif Lakhani, a Canadian based entrepreneur.”
“Now that Pakistani films are flourishing, a lot of people abroad are willing to invest,” he explains.
Responding to a query, Kazmi says that he “always introduce new people in our films. Most of these have worked on stage before. In Parchi, we are launching 14-odd actors with theatre background.
“So, anyone out there doing theatre, I want to tell you that I have my eyes on you,” he said.
The film has been shot on the state-of-the-art ARRI Alexa Mini, and promises some great visuals. The music, Kazmi says, is going to be a “surprise!”
Having attempting horror (Siyaah) and a romantic drama (Janaan) before, Parchi definitely shows Kazmi as one bright filmmaker from the newer crop who is eager to diversify and try different genres. The film releases in December this year.
