• July 10, 2018
• Arts and Entertainment
• Web Desk

KARACHI: Kaptaan, a biopic on cricket legend Imran Khan, will finally release this year.The movie has been in the works for over six years. A trailer of the film was first unveiled in 2013.

Saeeda Imtiaz and Abdul Mannan, who essay titular roles in the movie, spoke exclusively to The Express Tribune on this account. “The idea of Kaptaan came around in 2011. We conducted a workshop that year to translate the vision into a film. Filming commenced a year later,” Imtiaz, who plays the role of Khan’s first wife Jemima Goldsmith, said.

“The film was originally slated for a 2013 release, right before general elections. The release got stalled after Khan met an accident before the polls,” the Wajood actor added.

Imtiaz spoke about how she met the cricket legend in late 2013 after Kaptaan’s filming was complete. She also revealed that while Khan’s consent had been secured before work commenced, the film’s producers were not keen on executing the project after the 2013 accident.

Imtiaz said Goldsmith was mighty pleased with how she had been portrayed onscreen. “I had an email conversation with her in 2013. She said she had loved the way we’ve portrayed her in the film. Goldsmith was ecstatic on learning that I was playing her onscreen,” the starlet said. Imtiaz was also supposed to meet her in London but the meeting was cancelled due to protests.

Speaking of his role in the film, Mannan said he didn’t really know much about the PTI chairman’s life. “There was an uncanny physical resemblance but I knew I still had a long way to go. I had to emulate his mannerisms, gait, speech. I spent a day with him just to observe.”

Mannan added the film delved into hitherto untouched aspects of Khan’s life. “Around 60% (of the film) is premised on his personal relationships. Kaptaan will also shed light on his relationship with Goldsmith,” he said.

Imtiaz said the scope of the film was limited to the formative years of Khan’s political innings, the crises he surmounted and his marriage to Goldsmith. “The film is complete. All we need to do is hire a director to re-shoot and edit some sequences.” Mannan added how a part on former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was axed. While a release date is awaited, both actors appeared confident of the film finally seeing light of the day this year.

The Express Tribune