By Muhammad Luqman
Shooting of a Pakistani film that highlights the historical relations between Pakistan and Turkey has been completed. It is ready for release in March in both the countries, according to the film director, Tahir Mahmood.
Bear Witness, or Gawah Rehna in local Urdu and Sahit Ol in Turkish, was originally shot in Urdu and will be dubbed in Turkish, according to Pakistani and Turkish media.
“Shooting for the upcoming Pakistani film has been finished and now the post-production phase is going on,” writer and director Tahir Mahmood said.
Mahmood is also a former Foreign Ministry official who served in the Pakistan Embassy in Ankara, Turkey’s capital.
The film highlights the role Muslims from the sub-continent played in Turkey’s struggle against imperial forces especially those of Great Britain and other western countries after the World War I.
“This feature film depicts the era of 1920 when British rule was at its peak in the sub-continent, and even at its peak, our forefathers defied British rule and started a mass movement called the historical Khilafat Movement to help their Turkish brothers and sisters in their struggle against the colonial forces,” Mahmood said.
It pays rich tribute to the great Turkish leader Mustafa Kamal Ataturk as well as to the brave Turkish nation, he added.
The cast includes legendary actor Qavi Khan, Emmad Irfani, Ghana Ali, Rabya Kulsoom, Rehan Nazim and Faisal Imtiaz.
A talented Turkish actor, Mert Sismanlar, assumed the role of a British army officer which, the film director said, is an important and central character for the movie.
“This film will be a source of further strengthening the people-to-people bonds between Pakistan and Turkey as it will tell the audiences of both countries the unparalleled love and brotherhood that exists between the two brotherly countries,” Mahmood said.
He also said during his service in Ankara, he got the idea to produce a film and show the historical bonds between Pakistan and Turkey to younger generations.
