Biopics are not pioneering in Indian film industry any more. But this particular biopic genuinely attracts attention, because it’s about the youngest Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. The Pakistani girl got shot in her head and neck by Talibans for going to school. Everyone knows the after story, but what they don’t know is how she became this big.
Indian film director Amjad Khan is making the biopic on her earlier journey and on those circumstances which made her the inspiration to the whole world. The biopic is named as Gul Makai. When asked about the title, Amjad said, “When she was 11-years-old, BBC Urdu approached her to write a blog about her life under Talibani torture, and she used Gul Makai, as the pseudonym. Education is as necessary, as oxygen is,” he said in a statement.
The filmmaker has chosen this subject and even decided to donate the first day’s worldwide collection to Malala fund. He shot the whole action sequences in Bhuj with 16 camera set up and a huge team of 1200 people.
“I opted for FTII and NSD passed out actors for even a minor role, who know how to hold a gun properly. The other well-known actors are late veteran actor Om Puri, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Arif Zakaria, Mukesh Rishi, Abhimanyu Singh, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharib Hashmi and others. Child artist Reem Shaikh is portraying the reel Malala Yousafzai,” he added.
He used 16 cameras throughout the film, so that he got his desired shot without interrupting the performance of the actors. He also recreated Malala’s home and school as it used to be. Even the furniture and computer, the crockeries and the attire, her school dress, school bag looks as it is.
Amjad said, “It took two long years to finish off the research itself. And took another couple of months to write down the screenplay and dialogues. The research and writing is done by Bhaswati Chakrabarty. She is a perfectionist, I don’t think any other person could have done this so nicely”.
The biopic is set to release in the second half of this year. It has been produced by Sanjay Singla and Vijay Jaju.
