Tamanna (2014 film)
Tamanna (Urdu: تمنا; meaning Desire) is 2014 British-Pakistani film distributed by Royal Palm Group t/a Summit Entertainment (Pak) and Super Cinema and ARY Films and produced by Concordia Productions. A drama in the neo-noir genre[3] the film is directed by a British director Steven Moore and produced by Pakistani producer Sarah Tareen. The film stars Omair Rana, Salman Shahid, Mehreen Raheel[4] and Faryal Gohar.
Tamanna | |
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Theatrical Poster | |
Directed by | Steven Moore |
Produced by | Sarah Tareen and Syed Mujtaba Ali Kazmi |
Written by | Steven Moore |
Based on | Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer |
Starring | Mehreen Raheel Omair Rana Salman Shahid Feryal Gauhar |
Music by | Sahir Ali Bagga Arthur Rathbone Pullen |
Production company | Concordia Productions |
Distributed by | Summit Entertainment ARY Films[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 82 minutes |
Country | Pakistan United Kingdom |
Language | Urdu |
Box office | ₨0.55 crore (US$33,000) |
Prior to release the film won an award at the London Asian Film Festival[5] for the first released song by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Other songs included in the film are sung by Ali Azmat and Amanat Ali. The original score for the film was written by Arthur Rathbone Pullen son of Booker Prize nominee and best selling English author Julian Rathbone.
Plot outline and theme
The film incorporates elements of dark humour, melodrama, crime, passion and revenge and is based on Anthony Shaffer’s play, Sleuth. The film's hero is Rizwan Ahmed (Omair Rana) a struggling actor who meets Mian Tariq Ali (Salman Shahid), a relic of the once thriving film industry. The struggling actor is there to convince Ali to divorce his wife. A contest of male dominance between the two men ensues, starting quite reasonably, playfully even, but eventually turning angry and violent.[6]
Whilst some of the interactions between the two men are similar to the play Sleuth, the film has roles for not just the Wyke character's wife, but also his second, younger wife, who is the protagonist's object of desire. The milieu is Pakistan's film industry, Lollywood in its dying days. The outcome for the characters is dark, with more emphasis on being sacrificed than self-sacrifice, and is used an allegory of wider issues. The dialogue, in Urdu, and the scenario are adapted in numerous ways for Pakistani culture.
Cast
- Omair Rana as Rizwan Ahmed
- Salman Shahid as Mian Tariq Ali
- Mehreen Raheel as Mehreen
- Faryal Gohar as Madam
- Rasheed Naz as special appearance
Casting
Both Salman Shahid and Feryal Gauhar were cast first around 3 years before the film was eventually made, as early as 2009. They appear together in the video for the song Koi Dil Mein together not long after that in 2010. Omair Rana was not part of the film initially, his role as Riz the protagonist was given to Hameed Sheikh, who is famous for his role of Sher Shah in Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye and as Omar Boloch in Kandahar Break. Mehreen Raheel was brought in very late, just before principal photography which took place in October 2012. Amongst scenes that were cut in the edit was Omair Rana with Rasheed Naz in Wazir Khan Mosque in the Walled City of Lahore, but does appear briefly on a TV set in the background at one point during the film. Sahir Lodhi, a famous Pakistani TV presenter, also makes a cameo voice appearance as a TV interviewer.
Music
The film contains both original score and individual songs. The score of the film is composed by British Composer and musician Arthur Rathbone Pullen. The songs are sung by Pakistan's best known playback singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Azmat and composed by Sahir Ali Bagga.[7] Amanat Ali sung the title track of Tamanna, composed by Afzal Hussain. The video of the titular song was filmed at Lahore’s historic Barood Khana Haveli.[2]
# | Song Title | Singer | Composer | Lyrics |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Koi Dil Mein" | Rahat Fateh Ali Khan | Sahir Ali | Riaz ur Rehman Saghar |
2 | "Chell Oye" | Ali Azmat | Sahir Ali | Imran Raza |
3 | "Tamanna" | Amanat Ali | Afzal Hussain | Imran Raza |
Release
The first Look trailer was released in June 2013 and Koi Dil Mein before that as a song with video including some of the film's old Lollywood recreation footage from a mise en abyme technique of a film within a film. The film premiered on 13 June 2014[8] in Lahore Karachi and Islamabad then ran subsequently in cinemas around Pakistan for two weeks.[2][9][10] The film is expected to screen at selected festivals in late 2014/2015 and was already screened at the Tricycle Theatre as part of the 16th London Asian Film Festival on 8 June 2014.[11] The film had its worldwide TV premiere on 10 May 2015 on ARY Digital and is scheduled for regular showing by the channel which owns TV distribution rights.
Awards
- Rahat Fateh Ali Khan won London Asian Film Festival Award[5] for Best Music Talent.
References
- "Another Pakistani production 'Tamanna' all set to release on June 13". ARY News. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- "Tamanna releasing on 13th". DAWN.com. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Abro, Soonha. "Tamanna: Pakistan's first noir film". DAWN. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- Khan, Sher. "For Mehreen Raheel, it's Pakistan first". Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- Khan, Sher. "London Asian Film Festival: A big leap for Tamanna". Tribune. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- "About film Tamanna". Tongues on fire. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- Khan, Sher. "Tamanna: An uplifting collaboration". Tribune. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- "Tamanna to be finally 'fulfilled' on June 13". The Express Tribune. Sher Khan. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- "Lights, camera, revival! : Introducing Lahore's int'l film fest and 'Tamanna'". Daily Times. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ""Tamanna" to be released on Pakistan day". ePakistan News. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ""Tamanna" at The London Asian Film Festival". Retrieved 17 November 2014.
Further reading
- "'Tamanna' encourages all filmmakers to contribute to the industry's evolution". Daily Times. Saira Agha. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- "Stuff you don't want to miss". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- "Movie Review: Tamanna". Newsline. Hiba Mahamadi. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- "Movie Review: British Pakistani film Tamanna thrills". desiblitz.com. Nadeera Khatun. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- "Movie Review: Tamanna: A Thriller with a Convoluted Plot". www.youlinmagazine.com. Dr.Dushka H. Saiyid. Retrieved 16 August 2014.