Releasing alongside two other films Wrong Number and Halla Gulla and perhaps a host of Bollywood films, the film has tough competition ahead of itself and only time will tell if this adaptation of Farhat Ishtiaq’s novel – also to be made into a telefilm – will succeed in making drama a celebrated and attempted genre in the cine sphere. Moving over to this side of the border, it seems Bin Roye is set to change the face of the film industry like dramas have for the television industry. “Everything over there is grand the crew is bigger the sets are huge and I have been fan of Shah Rukh’s all my life.” (Currently, Raees’ shoot has been put on hold because of Khan’s knee injury). “Everybody has been extremely kind and welcoming in India but there is a lot of pressure on me to change perceptions that were created by my predecessors in Bollywood more so because nobody has been given the kind of opportunity that I have gotten, so yes I am nervous,” said Mahira. Mahira played all SRK and Raees directed questions very safe and diplomatically. However, the media seemed more interested in Mahira’s upcoming debut in Bollywood with none other than Shah Rukh Khan. Just like Mahira appeared emotionally attached to the film, the crowd was swayed away by the actress’ presence to the extent that she was even asked ‘why is she so beautiful’ by a clearly star struck young blogger fan. Even though Bol was my beginning, I feel Bin Roye is technically my first film there is this ‘unexplained’ attachment I have with it.” “But then I saw Momina spending 26 to 27 hours on the sets without a hint of agitation and that motivated us to remain determined. “It was not an easy ride because the director left last minute and I was completely disoriented over what’s going to happen of the film,” shared Mahira. It was evident that Bin Roye hasn’t been a film without a fair share of challenges – it took the crew almost two years to complete the film, which is quite a long stretch compared to upcoming films likeKarachi Se Lahore or Dekh Magar Pyar Se that wrapped up shooting in merely 45 days! Moreover, the original director of the film Haissam Hussain left the project right in the middle, leaving the crew in despair – an impromptu revelation by Mahira that apparently wasn’t part of the press meet’s schedule. Despite being the producer, she has focused on every minute detail of the film and hopefully the audiences will enjoy it because that’s what keeps us motivated.” “It requires a great deal of courage to make a film in our industry and Momina has done a commendable job. “The best aspect of Bin Roye is that it has a very strong story and while the industry is watching a slew of comedies set to make it to the theatre, Bin Roye plays on our strength – drama,” said Humayun Saeed while speaking to the media. The entire cast of the film, be it the lead pair or the smaller supporting cast, with the exception of Armeena Rana Khan and Zeba Bakhtiar, was present to support each other on ground and celebrate what has been a rollercoaster journey for them. Scheduled to release on Eid, the film has a long way to go before it can justify the hard work and effort that has gone into making it, but as Mahira stated, “a good film is reflective of how much fun the cast and crew has had making it” and the press launch depicted that very emotion there was a warm chemistry between each of the cast members. Be it Humayun Saeed picking up on Hamza Ali Abbasi and his moral brigade-endorsing statuses over item songs in Pakistani movies or the ghostly tales that the cast and crew had to share from their experience on the sets, there was enough interaction and fun anecdotes to make it a lively evening and give Twitteratis a good dose of gossip. Held at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Monday evening, after a grueling hour and a half wait, the meet and greet thankfully had quite an animated star cast to entertain the dreary and fairly annoyed audience. Momina Duraid’s Bin Roye may appear to be a tear-jerking, quintessential family melodrama but the film’s press meet had quite a comic flavour to it.