Lahore (NUT-DESK)
The trailer for Sajal Aly and Bilal Abbas Khan-starrer Khel Khel Mein is finally here, delving into the heart of the 1971 war and the subsequent birth of Bangladesh following the split between East and West Pakistan.
The trailer opens with a flashback to the moment of the split, with a turban-clad man announcing, “Your country has been broken apart. You are no longer in Pakistan, but in Bangladesh.” The announcement is met with a sob from a young man, who then falls to his knees in despair.
According to the trailer, the film follows a group of students, led by Sajal’s character, who wish to put on a theatrical performance on the fall of Dhaka at a competition being held in the same city.
The decision is met with backlash from faculty who do not wish to provoke unnecessary “controversy”. The trailer then follows the trials and tribulations the students, particularly Sajal’s character, undergo in order to put on the play in Bangladesh, which includes hostile attitudes from those on the other side on the border as well as friction from those at home.
The trailer ends with a voiceover from Sajal and Bilal, “Aik jaisa hi pyaar nikle ga, dil ki lelein talaashiyan donoun. Aik ghalti hui, kisi se bhi, maang lete hain, maafiyaan donoun. [The love you find will be the same in both of our hearts. A mistake was made, by one or the other, let us both ask for forgiveness].”
The story appears to centre the people at the heart of the conflict, placing the responsibility of the split between East and West Pakistan on external factors. Judging from the trailer, Khel Khel Mein appears to employ a non-linear narrative, with flashbacks from the past constituting a large part of the film.
The fact that Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza have come forward with Khel Khel Mein is highly appreicated.”
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