Load Wedding
| Load Wedding | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Nabeel Qureshi |
| Written by | Fizza Ali Meerza Nabeel Qureshi Mohsin Abbas Haider[1] |
| Produced by | Fizza Ali Meerza Mehdi Ali |
| Starring | Fahad Mustafa Mehwish Hayat Samina Ahmed Faiza Hasan |
| Narrated by | Qaiser Piya |
| Cinematography | Rana Kamran |
| Edited by | Asif Mumtaz |
| Music by | Shani Arshad |
Production companies | Filmwala Pictures Geo Films |
| Distributed by | IMGC Zee Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 135 minutes[2] |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Languages | Urdu Punjabi |
| Budget | Rs. 6 crore (US$210,000)[3] |
| Box office | Rs. 13.50 crore (US$470,000)[4] |
Load Wedding is a 2018 Pakistani romantic comedy film, which is directed by Nabeel Qureshi and co-written and co-produced by Fizza Ali Meerza under the banner of Filmwala Pictures. The film stars Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat in lead roles. Released on Eid al-Adha; 22 August 2018,[5] it was distributed by IMGC and Geo Films nationwide, and by Zee Studios internationally.[6]
Cast
[edit]- Fahad Mustafa as Raja
- Sadoon as young Raja
- Mehwish Hayat as Meerab "Meeru" Khurram
- Hamna Amir as young Meeru
- Samina Ahmad as Raja's Mother
- Faiza Hasan as Farhana "Baby Baji"; Raja's sister
- Noor ul Hassan as Khalil; Raja's uncle
- Mohsin Abbas Haider as young Khalil (special appearance)
- Qaiser Piya as Nazeer; Raja's best friend
- Fahad Khan as young Nazeer
- Fahim Khan as Aashiq Rafaqat; TV show host
- Hania Amir as young Khalil's love interest (special appearance)
- Shanzay Khan as Meeru's sister
- Mohammed Ehteshamuddin as Meeru's brother-in-law
- Ghazala Butt as Anam
- Om Puri as Raja's late father (tribute)
- Anjum Habibi
- Ghalib Kamal
- Kehkashan Faisal
- Ijaz
- Razia Malik
Production
[edit]Fahad Mustafa hinted the film in February 2017.[7] Film was announced on 8 December.[8] This will be his fourth collaboration with director-producer-duo Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza. Qureshi commented on this that he feels best at working with him, and further revealed that it will be a different film from his previous three films. "There are a lot of things that I and Fizza believe in and we are trying to say them", he said to Gulf News.[9]
This was Mehwish Hayat's third collaboration with the three of them, including 2016 film Actor in Law.[10] She commented on the film that it "tackles social issues prevalent in our society that need to be highlighted", for which her character is different from her previous ones, she said it as "a very traditional desi role".[11] Meerza commented that they are "truly one of the finest actors our industry has". She said that the film explains "the load that comes" in the society "with the wedding".[12] Mustafa shared with The News, "two of the biggest filmmakers in the country want to work with me and release their films at the same time", where he talked about this film and Nadeem Baig's Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2.[13]
On 13 July, HIP reported that Mohsin Abbas Haider has co-written the film, as well as wrote the lyrics for two songs and has sung one of them.[1]
Release
[edit]Film teaser was released on 27 June,[14][15] and trailer on 17 July.[16] The film was premiered on 18 August in Lahore,[17] on 19 August in Dubai[18] and on 21 August in Karachi.[19] It released on Eid al-Adha worldwide; 22 August 2018, and on 23 August in UAE.
Despite getting mostly positive reviews, the film could not manage to do well business at the box office due to very limited number of screens it got, as compared to the competitor films Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2 of ARY Films and Parwaaz Hai Junoon of Hum Films. The director Nabeel Qureshi called it "unfair distribution", while the cinemas' management said that the "public demand" was on priority. Geo Films was also blamed for not promoting the film correctly, as others were doing.[20][21][22]
Reception
[edit]Critical reception
[edit]Amna Karim writing for Bolo Jawan gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, appreciating Nabeel Qureshi for bringing a socially responsible narrative to Pakistani cinema.[23] Shahjehan Saleem of Something Haute rated the film 4 out 5 stars and said, "the film does suffer from a few hiccups", however, these are not "big enough to affect the narrative", because set on "family problems", it has "the stars along with substance and soul".[24] Omair Alavi rated 3.5 stars out of 5 and praised, "Everything from art direction to dialogues to actors' accent is perfect", adding that the social message is something to ponderthe audience.[25] Sonia Ashraf wrote to DAWN Images praised the film due to the message in love story and most of the characters, but criticized the script length.[26] Rahul Aijaz of The Express Tribune rated 2 out of 5 stars and said that despite the "strong message" about "social mockery" of marriage concept, the film "fails to be an up-to-the-mark film for multiple reasons."[27]
International screening
[edit]The film was screened at the 2019 Jaipur International Film Festival, and was nominated in the category of Best Film.[28][29] It was also screened at the 2019 Rajasthan International Film Festival, and it won in the category of Best Feature Film International.[30][31]
Home media
[edit]The film had its television premiere on 16 February 2019 on Geo Entertainment,[30] and it was premiered on YouTube on 27 February.[32][33]
Digital release
[edit]The film was made available on Amazone Prime Video to stream online.
Accolades
[edit]| Ceremony | Won | Nominated |
|---|---|---|
| 18th Lux Style Awards [34] |
|
|
Soundtrack
[edit]| Load Wedding | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |||||
| Released | 1 August 2018 | ||||
| Genre | Filmi Soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 18:18 | ||||
| Language | Urdu English Punjabi | ||||
| Label | Zee Music | ||||
| Shani Arshad chronology | |||||
| |||||
| |||||
Like previous films for the director-producer-duo, this time also the music has been composed by Shani Arshad. The soundtrack album was released on 1 August 2018 by Zee Music Company.[35]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rangeya" | Shani Arshad | Mulazim Hussain, Missal Zaidi | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Kooch Na Karin" | Haleem Jalandari | Azhar Abbas | 4:36 |
| 3. | "Munday Lahore De" | Mohsin Abbas Haider, Shani Arshad | Mohsin Abbas Haider, Saima Jahan | 4:14 |
| 4. | "Good Luck" | Mohsin Abbas Haider | Asrar, Tehreem Muniba | 2:34 |
| 5. | "Faqeera" | Sabir Zafar | Shani Arshad | 2:54 |
| Total length: | 18:18 | |||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Saira Khan (13 July 2018). "Mohsin Abbas Haider a part of Load Wedding?". HIP. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ "Load Wedding (ME Cinemas)". Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ Mohammad Kamran Jawaid (30 December 2018). "TRADE: SO, HOW DID THE BOX OFFICE DO?". Dawn. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ Load Wedding on Facebook. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat-starrer 'Load Wedding' to release on Eidul Azha". The Express Tribune. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Load Wedding partners with Zee Studios for international release". The News. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ Manal Faheem Khan (12 February 2017). "Fahad Mustafa talks, honestly". The News on Sunday. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Mehwish Hayat, Fahad Mustafa to reunite in Load Wedding". Pakistan Today. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ Usman Ghafoor (18 December 2017). "Nabeel Qureshi promises fun with 'Load Wedding'". Gulf News. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Mehwish Hayat on starring in Nabeel Qureshi's Load Wedding and working with Fahad Mustafa". The News. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ Maria Shirazi (10 April 2018). ""I am an actress and I'm not driven by what the medium is": Mehwish Hayat". The News. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ Muna Moini (24 April 2018). "Here's why Fahad Mustafa & Mehwish Hayat's next is titled 'Load Wedding'". Something Haute. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ Ahmed Sarym (16 December 2017). "Touching base with Fahad Mustafa". The News. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
- ^ "The poster for Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat starrer "Load Wedding" leaves us wanting more!". HIP. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Mohammad Nasir (28 June 2018). "Another Geo Film 'Load Wedding' to be released on Eidul Azha". The News. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Rahul Aijaz (18 July 2018). "'Load Wedding' trailer perfectly sets the mood for the summer wedding season". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ "Load Wedding Premiere". Geo News. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
- ^ Manjusha Radhakrishnan (19 August 2018). "Pakistani stars Mehwish Hayat, Fahad Mustafa on artist ban". Gulf News. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ Mohammad Nasir (22 August 2018). "Colourful 'Load Wedding' premiere held in Karachi". The News. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ Shahjehan Saleem (28 August 2018). ""Load Wedding is being sabotaged" – Nabeel Qureshi". Something Haute. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ Shaheera Anwar (29 August 2018). "Film-maker Nabeel Qureshi disappointed with not enough shows for 'Load Wedding'". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ Maliha Rehman (29 August 2018). "Load Wedding received glowing reviews. So why isn't it performing well at the box office?". DAWN Images. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ Amna Karim. "Film Review: Load Wedding Hits All The Right Notes!". Bolo Jawan. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ Shahjehan Saleem (22 August 2018). "Haute Review: 'Load Wedding' entertains while delivering an important social message". Something Haute. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ Omair Alavi (22 August 2018). "Load Wedding Review: Meaningful Cinema at its Best". Brandsynario. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ Sonia Ashraf (23 August 2018). "Review: Load Wedding calls out toxic desi wedding culture and I am here for it". DAWN Images. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ Rahul Aijaz (23 August 2018). "Load Wedding review: A celebration more like a game show". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- ^ "'Load Wedding' nominated at Rajasthan International Film Festival". The Express Tribune. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Load Wedding nominated in Best Film category at Rajasthan International Film Festival". Something Haute. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ a b Iman Ali Munshi (4 February 2019). "'Load Wedding' wins Best Feature Film at Rajasthan International Film Festival". GalaxyLollywood.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ Kayenat Kalam (4 February 2019). "Load Wedding Wins Best Feature Film Award at RIFF 2019". veryfilmi.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ Ozair Majeed (4 January 2019). "Fahad Mustafa and Mehwish Hayat's "Load Wedding" coming on Netflix". GalaxyLollywood.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ Hira Ahmed (4 January 2019). "Fahad Mustafa – Mehwish Hayat's Load Wedding To Be Available On Netflix". veryfilmi.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "A list of everyone who went home a winner from the Lux Style Awards 2019". Dawn Images. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Load Wedding music album to release tomorrow under Zee Music". The News. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.