Main Hoon Shahid Afridi

Main hoon Shahid Afridi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Syed Ali Raza Usama
Produced by	Humayun Saeed Shahzad Nasib
Written by	Vasay Chaudhry
Starring	Humayun Saeed Noman Habib Ismail Tara Nadeem Baig Javed Sheikh Shehzad Sheikh Hamza Ali Abbasi Mahnoor Baloch Gohar Rasheed Summer Nicks Ayesha Omer Mathira Saife Hassan
Music by	Shani & Kami
Cinematography	Asif Khan
Edited by	Asad Ali Zaidi
Production company	Six Sigma Entertainment
Distributed by	ARY Films Mandviwalla Entertainment
Release dates	23 August 2013 (2013-08-23) (Pakistan)[1] 20 September 2013 (2013-09-20) (International)
Running time	130 minutes
Country	Pakistan
Language	Urdu Punjabi
Box office	Rs5.20 crore (US$0.52 million) [2]

Main Hoon Shahid Afridi is a 2013 Pakistani sports action-drama Film directed by Syed Ali Raza Usama and produced by Humayun Saeed^[3] & Shahzad Nasib. The film features Humayun Saeed, Javed Shaikh and Noman Habib in the lead roles. Nadeem Baig, Shafqat Cheema, Ismail Tara, Ainy Jaffri, Hamza Ali Abbasi and Shehzad Sheikh also play important roles in the film, whilst Shahid Afridi^[4] and Ayesha Omar make special appearances.^[5]

Plot

Story of a boy (Noman Habib) who dreams to become Shahid Afridi^[6] 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.^[7]

Cast

• Humayun Saeed as Akbar is the coach of a team of misfits, Sialkot Shaheens. He is determined and keen that his team wins the Under 19 national Pepsi cup but his dark past keeps coming his way to haunt him and stop him.
• Noman Habib as Shahid Bhatti, a boy who dreams to become Shahid Afridi, does not know the price he has to pay to achieve the ultimate goal he has ever lived for.
• Nadeem Baig as Imam Deen is a man living an abandoned life to evade everyone around him who reminds him of his ugly past he once faced because of his son Akbar Deen (Hanaan-ul-Haque).
• Javed Shaikh as Mian Asif Qureshi - Courage is the only word in his dictionary.
• Shehzad Sheikh as Mikaal Qureshi is a young proud brat and the Captain of Islamabad Hunters with an unconquered winning streak.
• Hamza Ali Abbasi as Maulvi Majeed is a fast bowler of Sialkot Shaheens and is slightly racist and short-tempered by nature.
• Mahnoor Baloch as Sara is now a woman of few words now left with a broken heart, looking for answers from people around her.
• Shafqat Cheema as Bashir Bhatti, a person who lived his life in gambling and denying every bond he has towards his family including his wife, his daughter and his dreamer son (Shahid Bhatti).
• Ismail Tara as Malick Khalid would risk everything including his wife's bangles and motorbike to save the last remaining asset he inherited from his forefathers, Malick Cricket Club.
• Gohar Rasheed as Kashif also known as Kaali Aandhi is a blazingly fast bowler with an unbeatable speed.
• Ainan Arif as Micheal Magnet - The backbone of the team and irreplaceable keeper who draws any ball in his gloves like a magnet, a Christian in the team
• Asim Mehmood as Shiekh also known as Deeware Teen is the opening batsman of the team who would stand like an iron wall between the opponent's ball and his wickets.
• Summer Nicks as Thomas J. Nicks, a ruthless Australian coach hired specially to train Islamabad Hunters to turn them into a coldblooded invincible team.
• Saife Hassan as Doctor
• Shahid Afridi, special appearance
• Ayesha Omar, special appearance
• Muhammad Asif Iqbal, special appearance as Sallu Bhai

Soundtrack

The soundtrack consists of five songs, penned and composed by the duo Shani-Kami.^[8]

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 life time," 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.^[11] Film saw falls from Week Two onward and collected ₨5.2 crore (US$500,000) in its Lifetime run and got a verdict of Below Average at Boxoffice.The flim was a Pakistani blockbuster.

• List of Pakistani films of 2013

References

Further reading

• "Movie Review: Main Hoon Shahid Afridi". The News Tribe. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.  |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
• "'Main Hoon Shahid Afridi' — a beautiful delusion not just for cricket fans". Daily Times. 31 August 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013. 
• "Main Hoon Shahid Afridi: A leap toward revival of Pakistan film industry". Al-Arabiya News. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013. 
• "Main Hoon Shahid Afridi: Of cricket and heartwarming stereotypes". Tribune. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.  |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)

External links

• Official website
• Main Hoon Shahid Afridi at the Internet Movie Database