LONDON: Javed Iqbal, a film based on the bone-chilling story of a namesake serial killer who was sentenced to death in 2000 for murdering and mutilating 100 children, won the best director and best actor awards at the 2022 UK Asian Film Festival in London.
Starring Yasir Hussain and Ayesha Omar, the film tells the story of Pakistan’s deadliest serial killer who confessed to police and media, before retracting, that he had abducted, sexually abused and murdered more than 100 boys in Lahore between 1998 and 1999.
He was arrested in 1999 and sentenced to death a year later. But just two years into his sentence, he allegedly committed suicide in his prison cell. The authorities suspected his horrific crimes were part of a wider paedophile ring in operation.
But Iqbal had said his killings were in revenge for brutal treatment received at the hands of the police after his arrest in the past.
A Lahore High Court (LHC) case to get the film released is currently ongoing in Pakistan since the Punjab government and the Central Bureau of Film Censors (CBFC) issued an order to halt its release earlier this year, despite initial censor board approval.
Hussain, who was in London to attend the event, termed this achievement as an “absolute honour” not only for himself but also for Pakistan’s film industry. He said he was grateful to the organisers who chose this film to open this year’s festival.
“It [Iqbal] was a complex character of such a person who has murdered so many innocent kids. The reason it became a challenging role to play was that you have to think like him [the killer] so that you can portray a true character of that person,” Geo News quoted him as saying.
“Every actor loves to play such characters, especially someone who has worked in the theatre for many years [and] is always looking for challenging roles.
“That is why I’m also looking to perform these challenging characters which are not necessarily lead roles but more importantly have a bigger acting margin.”
The UKAFF is produced by Tongues on Fire, a not-for-profit organisation, in a bid to break barriers and taboos in South Asian communities and encourage open discussion. The aim is also to empower the next generations.
