New Pakistani film, Namaloom Afraad (unknown persons), was screed to the press at the Atrium Mall yesterday evening.
A number of journalists attended the screening followed by a brief interaction with the principal actors, director and producer of the film. The makers of Namaloom Afraad supported locally made films so that they could compete with movies made in other parts of the world, especially in India.
Javed Sheikh, who plays the pivotal role of Shakeel in the film, looked and sounded quite excited on the occasion. He claimed that Pakistani cinema was getting back on its feet. Alluding to a political slogan, he chanted ‘Tabdeeli aa gaee hai’ (change has come) and argued that while Pakistani TV plays already enjoyed a good reputation, time had now come for Pakistani cinema to compete with India’s.
Namaloom Afraad pivots around a diffident man, Shakeel (Javed Sheikh), who with his wife has led his life in the most honest way possible, looking after his younger sister Naina (Urva) after the death of his parents. He has a tenant, insurance agent Farhan (Fahad Mustufa), who is later joined as the other tenant by Moon (Mohsin Abbas), a call centre worker.
Farhan and Moon are trying to make it big in Karachi but find it hard to earn a decent living. Shakeel’s life too is in a shambles. Things take a dramatic turn when the three men make a plan to become rich, but a gangster, Gogi (Salman Shahid), makes things more difficult for them.
