Shamoon Abbasi, Sherry Shah Talk About the Making of ‘Durj’ in On Air with Omair
On Air with Omair: Shamoon Shah and Sherry Shah Talk About the Making of ‘Durj’, Ban and More!
Where Shamoon Abbasi’s ‘Durj’ raised the bar high despite facing a temporary ban by the censor board, the filmmakers also left us awestruck with their enthralling way to bring this powerful story on the big screen.
Based on a real-life incident, the film follows the story of cannibals in Pakistan, starring Shamoon Abbasi as Gul and Sherry Shah as Laali. Although ‘Durj’ is receiving positive reviews from the critics and the audience, there was a lot of misconception regarding its story prior to its release.
Recently, the director/writer Shamoon Abbasi and the co-producer Sherry Shah discussed the making of ‘Durj’ in an exclusive interview in On Air with Omair.
Talking to film critic Omair Alavi, the impeccable duo talked about the struggles they had to face during the production of ‘Durj’ and all other problems they encountered when they couldn’t receive a NOC in the first go.
When asked about the idea behind the engrossing story, Shamoon revealed that they had studied a case about cannibals in Pakistan and found out that there was no law against the culprits in the country. They wanted to bring the criminal, legal and psychological aspects of cannibalism to raise awareness in an entertaining manner.
Shamoon Abbasi also cleared that cannibalism is a big concern all over the world and not just in Pakistan and the film never aimed to bring defamation to the country.
Shamoon Abbasi, Sherry Shah talk about struggles during the production of ‘Durj’
Knowing that ‘Durj’ is an independent film, the budget was quite low, but it was the passion of the whole that made it successful. The film takes us to the unexplored areas of Balochistan which seem haunted and serene at the same time.
Sherry and Shamoon shared the struggles they had to face while filming in those areas as there were not even basic facilities and they had to wait for hours even to get food.
Talking about one particular scene, Shamoon revealed that they shot it during heatwave where his slippers would melt because of intense heat.
Where Shamoon Abbasi didn’t fail to terrify us as Gul, Sherry Shah as Laali is definitely one of the strongest female characters we have seen on the big screen lately.
Talking about her unusual avatar and shaven head, Sherry shared that it was her idea as she wanted to give her best to portray the essence of this character which we don’t usually see on our screens in Pakistan.
The ban on ‘Durj’ created more hype before its release
Shamoon and Sherry shared that they expected a ban on the film as it tackles a very sensitive issue. However, they revealed that it was someone’s personal vendetta to stop the film from releasing in Pakistan.
Shamoon also mentioned Danial Gilani, chairman of CBFC, who reviewed his appeal and finally, gave the green signal. Where ‘Durj’ had already enticed the audience with a power-packed trailer, the temporary ban further increased the hype that the response was overwhelming.
Here Shamoon also cleared the air regarding clash with Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar’s ‘Kaaf Kangana’. The duo shared that they never wanted to release it on the same date, but they didn’t want to compete with the Hollywood giant ‘Terminator’ either.
Talking about their future projects, Shamoon Abbasi and Sherry Shah have not revealed much but they are working on something new.
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Read the full review of Durj here.
Also read: Naeema Butt from Ehd e Wafa is the latest crush in town!
