Mera Lyari, Pakistan’s answer to Dhurandhar, to premiere at UK Asian Film Festival

After a few months of delays and missed deadlines, Mera Lyari is finally making its premiere. The film has been touted at Pakistan’s response to India’s Dhurandhar movies and their negative portrayal of Karachi’s Lyari.

The film explores Lyari through its girls and their love of football and will be premiering at the UK Asian Film Festival, executive producer Ayesha Omar announced on Saturday.

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It will be screened at the British Film Institute in London’s Southbank on May 2 and tickets are available now. Omar said this was the moment “that brings the spirit of Lyari to a global stage” before it comes home to release in Pakistan later.

Mera Lyari stars Omar alongside Dananeer Mobeen, Samiya Mumtaz, Nayyar Ejaz, Paras Masroor, Adnan Shah Tipu and Shoaib Hassan. It also marks the silver screen debut of model Trinette Lucas, who called the project exciting, nerve-wracking and memorable in a sweet Instagram tribute to her co-stars and crew.

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The film follows a disabled football coach (Omar) who returns home to Lyari after a long absence to conduct trials for girls in the area. There, Afsana (Mobeen), in defiance of her strict father and Kushmala (Lucas), running from a forced marriage, find an escape in the beautiful game, training in secret with the coach for a shot at competing on a national level.

Earlier, director Abu Aleeha said the film’s greatest strength was its authenticity, having been shot in Lyari by people who knew the area. He said “80 per cent of the cast — including supporting actors, members of the local football teams and even our hero Shoaib Hassan — are actual Lyari inhabitants”.

Sindh Minister of Information Sharjeel Memon hailed the film in December as Pakistan hitting back at “negative propaganda” pushed by India.

Meanwhile, the film Memon called out — Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar — set a short-lived record for the highest grossing Hindi-language film less than a month into its theatrical run. The record was broken by the film’s sequel on Wednesday after just over two weeks in cinemas, attesting to the popularity of the violent, ultra-nationalist franchise.