Sakina Samo’s Intezaar finally hits cinemas

KARACHI: Pakistani cinema is not known to venture out of its comfort zones. Most movies are romantic comedies with slapstick humor and do not really offer anything new in terms of content. However, the movies that have ventured out of this genre, such as Cake, have been praised highly by audiences for the simple reason that they are raw and relatable. And it seems as though Sakina Samo agrees because that is what her new movie Intezaar (Waiting) is about. After more than two years of delay, partly due to the pandemic, the wait for Inteezar is finally over as the movie finally debuts in cinemas today! Samo announced the news on social media, “Our humble indie film is on its way to cinemas all over Pakistan on August 19th 2022. InshaAllah. See you there then.” Here is what we know about the movie so far.

The movie which stars Samina Ahmed, Khalid Ahmed, Kaif Ghaznavi, Raza Ali Abid and Adnan Jaffar in lead roles, has been written by Bee Gul. As the title suggests, the movie is all about waiting. Each character is waiting for something or the other. A mother (Samina Ahmed) is waiting for her son to come and take care of her, a father (Khalid Ahmed) is waiting for his children to grow weary of him and leave, and a daughter (Kaif Ghaznavi) is waiting for the inevitable, for her aged parents to die. But beneath the frustrations, loneliness and gloom, the family finds reasons to be happy and that is what makes the movie so relatable. It tells the story of most families when they reach a certain age. As per Samo, “Intezaar is also your story. Or your neighbors. Or you might know someone in a similar situation. This is a story of real people portrayed beautifully by our small cast.”

Sakina Samo took the opportunity to thank two people in particular when it came to her new production, “Especially Samina Ahmed’s unconditional support as Intezaar was born on her courtyard whilst sipping tea. It seemed only like a dream. Nonetheless, with her support I went for it.” She also thanked the writer, “I’d like to thank Bee Gul, ever since I made her first Hum TV Festival Film Qaun Qamar Ara (for which we both won awards). I’ve been a fan of her haunting dialogue and enveloping, authentic writing since then.”

Intezaar premiered at the Harlem Film Festival held in New York in 2020 where Khalid bagged the Best Actor award for his performance. The movie is set to release in Pakistani theatres today, August 19 2022.