{"id":32924,"date":"2023-12-08T10:19:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T10:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/no-one-couldve-acted-better-than-faryal-mehmood-iram-parveen-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-12-08T10:19:58","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T10:19:58","slug":"no-one-couldve-acted-better-than-faryal-mehmood-iram-parveen-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/no-one-couldve-acted-better-than-faryal-mehmood-iram-parveen-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"No one could’ve acted better than Faryal Mehmood: Iram Parveen | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Red Sea Film Festival 2023 is in full swing, drawing global film industry luminaries to Jeddah. Debuting on the grand screen, Pakistani feature film Wakhri \u2014 One of a Kind<\/em> had its world premiere with the film\u2019s cast and creators taking centre stage. The film draws inspiration from the life of Qandeel Baloch, a social media star who tragically fell victim to honor killing a few years ago.<\/p>\n

Speaking with Deadline<\/em><\/a>, director of Wakhri <\/em>Iram Parveen Bilal lauded actor Faryal Mehmood, who essays the leading role of an influencer, for delivering a poignant performance. Delving into the casting process that led her to the star of her film, Iram expressed, \u201cSo I truly believe that in sort of modern Pakistan right now and the industry, no one could have played this better than Faryal Mehmood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Iram underscored Faryal\u2019s suitability for her character, pointing out the latter\u2019s battles with vitriol in online spaces. \u201cShe was somebody you know\u2026who had faced a lot of social media trolling in the industry [and] outside,\u201d the filmmaker added. \u201c[She had] an incredible weight loss journey [and] kind of really dished it back to the trolls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still remember this,\u201d Iram recounted how a social media platform\u2019s algorithm recommended Faryal to her. \u201cI was in LA scrolling through Instagram and the casting director was putting out a list for outreach and somehow Instagram pushed her (Faryal) profile to me.\u201d Fate might have dealt a winning hand as per the director\u2019s account.<\/p>\n

She furthered on, \u201cAnd then I went into a rabbit hole and then I said to her (casting director) \u2018What do you think of Faryal Mehmood?\u2019 She called me on WhatsApp immediately and said I have goosebumps\u2026the first name I wrote on my list just now, ten minutes ago, was Faryal Mehmood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, the Red Sea Film Fest Head of International Programming, Kaleem Aftab, shared how the film was selected for the festival. “Well, I don\u2019t want to go out on a limb too much before they are shown, but I think people will be very struck by the new film by [Pakistani-US director] Iram Bilal, Wakhri: One of a Kind<\/em> [which will have its world premiere at the fest and follows a widowed school teacher in Pakistan who becomes a viral sensation overnight when she accidentally unleashes her unabashed opinions on social media].”<\/p>\n

Aftab added, “I feel like that is a film that talks about an incident that happened in Pakistan and is changing the narrative on that. I\u2019m also happy to have Zarrar Kahn\u2019s [non-conventional horror film] In Flames<\/em>, also from Pakistan [it is Pakistan\u2019s international Oscar contender], which changed the genre.<\/p>\n

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n