Years after her unfortunate demise, late social media influencer Qandeel Baloch continues to inspire many filmmakers and writers who want to convey her story or similar tales to the world through their work. The latest film to be inspired by Qandeel’s life and personality is filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal’s new film titled Wakhri, which translates to one of a kind.
According to the international publication Variety, the filming for the film has been completed in Pakistan, and it stars Faryal Mehmood, Gulshan Majeed, and a whole bunch of well-known social media influencers. The film’s plot centers the incessant social media trolling many influencers and women who dare to be themselves online suffer from on a regular basis in modern-day Pakistan. The story revolves around a Pakistani schoolteacher who finds her true calling on social media but with that comes serious repercussions despite her best efforts to keep her online identity a secret.
According to Iram, the film constitutes the best of the local entertainment industry, be it powerhouses from the music department or noteworthy names in the production side. The “grounded masala” film’s soundtrack features the likes of Meesha Shafi, Eva B and producer Abdullah Siddiqui and more, with the songs being both in Punjabi and Urdu. The production design for the film is helmed by Kanwal Khoosat, while the editing will be carried out by Aarti Bajaj, who is known for her phenomenal work in Netflix’s Sacred Games.
READ: “Shaadi is a risk, be it arranged or love” Sajal Aly
Interestingly, Iram is known for working on thought-proving and almost-taboo subject matters, to the point where her previous film, I’ll Meet You There, was banned in Pakistan but went on to be a part of the Grand Jury competition at SXSW in 2020.
Also, this isn’t the first time Qandeel has inspired a work of art. Hit drama serial Baaghi starring Saba Qamar was also loosely based on the influencer’s life and aired in 2017, a year after Qandeel’s murder. A Bollywood adaptation based on Sanam Maher’s book, The Sensational Life & Death of Qandeel Baloch, is also in the works.
