Motorcycle Girl

Motorcycle Girl is a 2018 Pakistani biographical adventure drama film based on the life of motorcyclist Zenith Irfan. Directed, written and co-produced by Adnan Sarwar, it is second installment in Sarwar's thematic Hero trilogy, following Shah (2015). The film stars Sohai Ali Abro as Zenith Irfan who travels to northern areas of Pakistan on a motorbike to fulfil her father's wish, facing many challenges along the way, with Samina Peerzada, Ali Kazimi, and Shamim Hilaly also playing supporting roles.

Motorcycle Girl
Official Poster
Directed byAdnan Sarwar
Produced byAdnan Sarwar
Jami
Written byAdnan Sarwar
StarringSohai Ali Abro
Samina Peerzada
Ali Kazmi
Music byXulfi
CinematographyNabeel Jawaid Qureshi
Edited byTahir Ali
Production
company
Logos Film & Media
Azad Film Company
Distributed byExcellency Films
Release date
  • 20 April 2018 (2018-04-20) (Worldwide)
CountryPakistan
LanguageUrdu
Budget₨2 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₨2.5 crore[1]

The film was released on 20 April 2018 nationwide.[2]

Plot

An 18-years old girl (Zenith Irfan), lives in Lahore, Pakistan, with her family who becomes an overnight sensation and grabs the attention on media after she traveled on Motorcycle toward difficult and dangerous mountain areas on the Pakistan northern sides to fulfills her father's wish and became the first woman of Pakistan to travel alone to north of the country on a motorbike.[3][4]

Cast

Production

Development

After the success of Shah, director Adnan Sarwar announced in 2017, that the second film in his planned Hero trilogy would be based on the life of a motorcyclist, Zenith Irfan. Sarwar explained, "this film will be the second installment of the "Heroes Trilogy" that I have planned. Zenith's story is important because, at such a young age, she is doing things that challenge gender stereotypes which are deeply engrained in the fabric of our society. This film will be my little effort towards inspiring a future where, hopefully, the women of our country will be more empowered, truly independent and unshackled from archaic taboos that hold back their progress".[5] Citing the inspiration of film, Adnan said, "the remarkable story of what Zenith did at such a young age caught my attention after Shah and I knew it was the right subject to turn into a film", said Adnan Sarwar. "I have scripted a fictional world around the core true story of her journey and I hope that Motorcycle Girl will help further the cause of women empowerment in Pakistan".[2]

In an interview, Sarwar said "I think what attracted me most to this topic was the fact that at such a young age, Zenith was able to pull off such a remarkable feat. I’m a firm believer in women empowerment and gender equality and Zenith has proved that times are changing," he quipped further saying, "when I found out that the reason she made the journey was in memory of her father, I fell in love with the story completely. I have tried to treat the film with immense sensitivity and at its core; it is about a daughter’s love for her father."[6][7]

Casting

Actress Sohai Ali Abro was approached for the role,[8] who was then working on a project that was shelved because of production issues.[9][10] Describing her role Abro said, "I felt like I was being typecast a lot as this typically pretty, doll character on screen and I wanted to break out of my comfort zone and do something different. I went through a LOT of scripts before finally settling on this one", sharing on playing Zenith she said, "I could relate to Zenith’s desire to fulfill her late father’s ambitions. She grew up without a father and I too, have been through that so I could relate to her a lot."[10]

Motorcycle Girl is believed to be the second film centered around women character after Hareem Farooq's, Parchi,[11] commenting on that Abro said, "It is absolute honor to play Zenith in his film. The role of this incredible, empowered female is one that I can relate to and is close to my heart. I have always believed in the liberating the power of our women, especially considering the taboos we face in our society, and I am really happy that a lot of young girls would be able to look up to me for doing something positive and inspiring."[12]

The film also stars Samina Peerzada as Abro's mother while Ali Kazmi, who plays Abro's husband a role similar he played in series, Baaghi, describing his role he said, "I wanted something light and not negative but Adnan convinced me. My character is a small part of the great ensemble cast but a pivotal one. It is an amalgamation of the interesting potential suitors of Zenith."[6] Shamim Hilaly was cast as an Abro's grandmother, Sarmad Khoosat joined as an Abro's boss while aspiring actor Hadi bin Arshad played Abro's brother Sultan.

Filming

Principal photography began in early September 2017.[13] The film was shot entirely in Hunza and Khunjerab, with initial scenes were filmed in Lahore.[14] Before the shoot, Sohai went through hectic trainings as she didn't knew how to drive a motorbike,[15] and was reportedly made the same journey from Lahore to the Khanjarab Pass that Irfan's took in 2015.[11]

Music

The film score is composed and co-produced by Xulfi with Sherry Khattak. Lyrics are mostly penned down by Smai Khan and Adnan Sarwar. The first song of the film "Urr Chalay" was released on April 12, 2018.[16][17] The song received critical acclaim.[18][19] The second song "Pahiya" was also met with critical praise.[20]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsPerformer(s)Length
1."Urr Chalay"Sami Khan and XulfiAli Noor4:16
2."Pahiya"Adnan SarwarFaiza Mujahid4:06
Total length:8:22

Release

The trailer of the film was released on 25 March 2018.[21] The film was premiered on 18 April to a selected audience at Cinepax, Lahore.[22] The film released on 20 April nationwide.[23][24] For the promotion of the film, many celebrities, post their pictures online riding bikes in support of the film including, Saba Qamar, Hamza Ali Abbasi, and Maya Ali.[25][26]

Box office

Motorcycle Girl grossed ₨20 lac from Pakistan on its first day of release.[27] At the end of first week, its domestic collections were around ₨98 lac.[27] The film ended its run, collecting only ₨2.5 crores.[1]

Critical response

The trailer of the film received positive response, many citing it is groundbreaking for women empowerment.[28] Sohai was praised for playing Zenith and many said this film is unconventional against the women-ecentirc culture of Pakistan.[29][30] Sohai herself said, “the idea behind the film is to make it okay for women to ride motorcycles on the streets of Pakistan and get rid of the notion that it is something abnormal.”[31]

On the release of the film, the film garnered a majority of positive reviews.

OyeYeah called it a film "Pakistan needs".[32] Sahar Watoo for Daily Times said it is "an emotional, inspirational cinematic ride".[33] Bushra Nayeem for Daily Pakistan wrote, "The issues discussed were apt and the storyline was amazing. The videography was really nice and we all can expect more good work from our industry. Sohai has done justice to her character."[34] Shahjehan Saleem for Something Haute said, "Motorcycle Girl has done what many others have failed to do. It has proven that a female-centric film can and does work brilliantly if it’s done right."[35] Rahul Aijaz of The Express Tribune gave it a rating of 3 out of 5 and wrote, "As the late American journalist and author Hunter S Thompson once said, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” You'll enjoy it."[36] Maleeha Mengal of Dunya News praised the film.[37] Turyal Azam Khan for The Diplomat wrote, "Cake and Motorcycle Girl signal a new, refreshing direction for Pakistani cinema".[38] Sarah Babar of MangoBaaz called it "Heartfelt and extremely empowering".[39] Omair Alavi of Samaa TV gave it a rating of 3.5/5.[40] Anum Rehman Chagani for Dawn Images gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote "Motorcycle Girl is smart, funny, poignant and it delivers a touching story without any gimmicks".[41]

Accolades
Award Category Recipients and Nominees Results
18th Lux Style Awards
[42]		 Best Film Adnan Sarwar Nominated
Best Actress (Viewers' choice) Sohai Ali Abro
Best Actress (Critics' choice) Won
5th Galaxy Lollywood Awards
[43]		 Best Film Adnan Sarwar Pending
Best Director
Best Story
Best Actor in a Leading Role Female Sohai Ali Abro
gollark: Or I could just compress an actual adjacency list, but boooooring.
gollark: Thusly, I somehow need to store VAST highly sparse bit matrices efficiently another way. I'm thinking quadtrees.
gollark: It appears that the algorithm or possibly library I wanted to use for efficiently storing sparse bit matrices was in fact 3 slow, and thus unusable for the sheer speed of osmarksßsearchengine™ 1.4..6..4....1.
gollark: https://github.com/FPGAWARS/apio
gollark: ftp.osmarks.net, not that I'm likely to configure that.

See also

References
  1. Mohammad Kamran Jawaid (30 December 2018). "TRADE: SO, HOW DID THE BOX OFFICE DO?". Dawn. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. Staff, Images (14 February 2018). "Sohai Ali Abro's Motorcycle Girl gets a release date". Images. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  3. Staff, Images (2 May 2017). "Sohai Ali Abro to star in Adnan Sarwar's Motorcycle Girl biopic". Images. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. "With 'Motorcycle Girl' and #GirlsOnBikes, Pakistani women take a spin at reclaiming public spaces". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. Staff, Images (20 April 2017). "Adnan Sarwar's next film is a biopic of Zenith Irfan aka "Motorcycle Girl"". Images. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  6. "Will 'Motorcycle Girl' be a ride to remember? - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  7. "Will Motorcycle Girl be the next success after 'Cake'? - Global Village Space". Global Village Space. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  8. "Sohai Ali Abro to play 'The Motorcycle Girl' in Adnan Sarwar's new film - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. tabloid!, Usman Ghafoor, Special to (15 January 2018). "Sohai Ali Abro to return with a bang". GulfNews. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  10. "Here's why Sohai Ali Abro was off the radar before Motorcycle Girl". Something Haute. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  11. "The first look of Sohai Ali Abro's 'Motorcycle Girl' is here and boy, does it look cute! - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  12. Staff, Images (2 May 2017). "Sohai Ali Abro to star in Adnan Sarwar's Motorcycle Girl biopic". Images. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  13. "Sohai Ali Abro's New Movie 'The Motorcycle Girl' Begins Shooting". VeryFilmi. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  14. "Motorcycle Girl's first song released". The Nation. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  15. "Sohai Ali Abro reveals how she trained to become 'Motorcycle Girl' - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  16. NewsBytes. "Ali Noor and Xulfi join forces for 'Urr Chalay' from Motorcycle Girl". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  17. Staff, Images (11 April 2018). "Motorcycle Girl's latest music video will make you want to plan a trip up north". Images. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  18. "Motorcycle Girl's 'Urr Chalay' proves even hard journeys can be beautiful!". Something Haute. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  19. "'Urr Chalay' from Sohai Ali Abro's 'Motorcycle Girl' will make you feel like you're on cloud nine - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  20. "'Pahiya' from 'Motorcycle Girl' will accelerate your drive to succeed - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  21. NewsBytes. "Motorcycle Girl trailer impresses". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  22. "Celebrities spotted at the premiere of 'Motorcycle Girl'". Daily Pakistan Global. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  23. "'Motorcycle Girl' reveals first look". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  24. "First look of Sohai Ali Abro's 'Motorcycle Girl' revealed". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  25. "Celebrities ride motorbikes to promote upcoming 'Motorcycle Girl'". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  26. NewsBytes. "Maya Ali, Hamza Ali Abbasi and other artists promote Motorcycle Girl". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  27. "Motorcycle Girl :: Week One Business". Box office detail. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  28. "Sohai Ali Abro's 'Motorcycle Girl's' trailer sends a strong message of female empowerment". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  29. "Sohai Ali Abro breaking stereotypes in the trailer of 'Motorcycle Girl' - Daily Times". Daily Times. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  30. "Sohai Ali Abro is breaking many stereotypes in 'Motorcycle Girl' trailer - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  31. "Sohai Ali Abro tells all about upcoming film Motorcycle Girl". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  32. "Review: Motorcycle Girl will make you laugh and cringe a little at our own selves! - Oyeyeah". 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  33. "'Motorcycle Girl' — an emotional, inspirational cinematic ride - Daily Times". 21 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  34. "We watched Motorcycle girl and here is everything you should know about it". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  35. "Haute Review: Motorcycle Girl quashes stereotypes under her wheels". 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  36. "Motorcycle Girl: Buy the ticket, take the ride! - The Express Tribune". 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  37. "Review: 'Motorcycle Girl' will take you on an adventure in pursuit of dreams - Entertainment - Dunya News". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  38. Diplomat, Turyal Azam Khan, The. "Pakistan's Cinematic Revolution in the Making". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  39. "I Just Watched "Motorycle Girl" And It Shows The Pakistan We Have All Dreamed Of". 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  40. "Motorcycle Girl takes you on a journey of self discovery". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  41. Chagani, Anum Rehman (20 April 2018). "Motorcycle Girl isn't the film I expected but it isn't bad either". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  42. "A list of everyone who went home a winner from the Lux Style Awards 2019". Dawn Images. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  43. "Luxus Grand 5th Galaxy Lollywood Awards 2019 (Nominations)". GalaxyLollywood.com. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
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