Usama Javaid Haider has become the youngest Pakistani actor to bag an international award, winning the Best Actor slot at the Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest for the film Gulabo Rani.
Haider played the role of the lead actor in the film, which was directed by Usman Mukhtar, saying he was delighted to discover that he was now the youngest Pakistani actor to have won an international award.
According to him, to make such an achievement while representing Pakistan is one of the milestones for him.
Going into the past, Haider said that he begun his acting career as a theatre actor in 2010, when he was just nine years old.
Prior to winning the award, he has featured in short-films, including Rasheed Azfar Shah's Gone, No More Love' by Iqbal Shah, and Ghazanfar Ali by Sadam Malik.
Haider expressed that many of his past projects couldn't win the attention of public, and so Gulabo Rani is special to him and he is grateful to the entire team of the project for having him as a part of it.
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Meanwhile, Usman Mukhtar said he was amazed at the spirit and the passion exhibited by the lead actor to bring the concept to life.
He added that he met Haider at a shooting in Lahore and was quite impressed to see his monologue. He also revealed that the young filmmaker has had cancer while working on the project.
Mukhtar had also revealed during an interview that the entire film was shot in three-and-a-half days. It is inspired by true life events.
Gulabo Rani has won seven awards, including in the Best Horror Short-film category, at three Los Angeles festivals. The film has also won praise for its cinematography, sound design, and direction.
The 35-minute-long film revolves around a college student, Akhtar, who is enrolled into a 150-year-old university. The film is set to be released in March.
The trailer begins with a quote by writer Judith Richardson, “The main work of haunting is done by the living” with a horrifying spirit haunting students at the campus hostel.
Haider played the role of the lead actor in the film, which was directed by Usman Mukhtar, saying he was delighted to discover that he was now the youngest Pakistani actor to have won an international award.
According to him, to make such an achievement while representing Pakistan is one of the milestones for him.
Going into the past, Haider said that he begun his acting career as a theatre actor in 2010, when he was just nine years old.
Prior to winning the award, he has featured in short-films, including Rasheed Azfar Shah's Gone, No More Love' by Iqbal Shah, and Ghazanfar Ali by Sadam Malik.
Haider expressed that many of his past projects couldn't win the attention of public, and so Gulabo Rani is special to him and he is grateful to the entire team of the project for having him as a part of it.
Read this too: Pakistani Activist Ayisha Siddiqa Among TIME’s Women of the Year
Meanwhile, Usman Mukhtar said he was amazed at the spirit and the passion exhibited by the lead actor to bring the concept to life.
He added that he met Haider at a shooting in Lahore and was quite impressed to see his monologue. He also revealed that the young filmmaker has had cancer while working on the project.
Mukhtar had also revealed during an interview that the entire film was shot in three-and-a-half days. It is inspired by true life events.
Gulabo Rani has won seven awards, including in the Best Horror Short-film category, at three Los Angeles festivals. The film has also won praise for its cinematography, sound design, and direction.
The 35-minute-long film revolves around a college student, Akhtar, who is enrolled into a 150-year-old university. The film is set to be released in March.
The trailer begins with a quote by writer Judith Richardson, “The main work of haunting is done by the living” with a horrifying spirit haunting students at the campus hostel.