New Delhi: It took an Instagram post showcasing trophies for Pakistanis to appreciate a piece of their cinema. Director Usman Mukhtar’s Gulabo Rani has the world talking at various international film festivals. It has won seven awards, including for Best Horror Short film, at three Los Angeles festivals. The film has also found appreciation for its cinematography, sound design and direction.
With this, actor-turned-director Usman Mukhtar joins the list of independent Pakistani filmmakers such as Oscar-winning Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Saim Sadiq, director of Joyland, who are making a name for themselves globally.
35-minute-long Gulabo Rani follows a college student, Akhtar, who is accepted into a 150-year-old university and thanks to an administrative fluke housed in a dilapidated wing of the hostel. The film is slated to be released in March, but the trailer was dropped last year.
The trailer, filled with dark ominous visuals, begins with a quote by writer Judith Richardson, “The main work of haunting is done by the living” and shows a menacing dark spirit haunting students at a university hostel.
In an interview with Fuchsia magazine, Mukhtar said, “We shot this entire film in three-and-a-half days.” Gulabo Rani is inspired by true events.
The film’s lead actor Usama Javaid Haider has won Best Actor at Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest.
I’m super happy to announce that Usama Javaid Haider now is an international award winning Pakistani actor who just won Best Actor at Bucharest Shortcut Cinefest for Gulabo Rani. I am super super super proud of you, Usama, Congratulations Superstar!!!!! pic.twitter.com/QO4kZ6Maok
— Usman Mukhtar (@MukhtarHoonMein) February 15, 2023
Many celebrities have lauded the film’s success on social media, including veteran actor Manzar Sehbai, Pakistani actress Sarah Khan as well as fellow director Ali Kazmi.
“Pakistan is undergoing a silent youth-led cultural revolution”, said Bilal Hassan, a Pakistani blogger and social commentator on Instagram.
“Pakistani film is very much coming out of the shadows to breaking blockbuster records and winning accolades on the award circuit, despite facing backlash at home.”
This is not Mukhtar’s first win at the international film circuit. His directorial debut, again a short film Bench, featuring him and actress Rubya Chaudhry, also won Best Short Film Award at the South Shore Film Festival New York.
Mukhtar’s Instagram post said the film has won Best Horror Short Film at three independent film festivals: the Independent Shorts Awards Los Angeles, Indie X Film Fest LA and Indie Short Fest LA. It also won best sound design, best cinematography and best director male at the Independent Shorts Awards LA. It was nominated in November last year for Best Horror Short in the Indie Short Fest LA.
Earlier last month, the film, set in a haunted hostel, also won the Leviathan Award 2022 for Best Short Film at the LA Sci-fi Film Festival.