Javed Iqbal 2 to release in 2023

KARACHI: Amongst the pool of Pakistani films to never see the light of day in the country owing to censorship issues was Abu Aleeha’s Javed Iqbal. Although it was screened for international audiences during various festivals and also won at the UK Asian Film Festival, the Yasir Hussain and Ayesha Omar-starrer was banned from releasing in Pakistan. However, in no way did that discourage the team from creating a sequel and with a new poster and even stronger intentions, Javed Iqbal 2 is ready to release next summer.

While Yasir Hussain who plays Javed Iqbal in the film only shared a poster and teased audiences with a glimpse of the ‘full story’, director Abu Aleeha shared some more details. “We are creating it for an international OTT platform. Everything has been decided, we are not disclosing anything. Yasir Hussain will play the lead character. This film will premiere at international festivals next year and then will be available to stream on the OTT [platform]. We will not even go near Pakistani cinema or the offices of the censor board this time, we have understood their blackmailing tactics,” he told Images.

Comparing the upcoming film to the first one, Abu Aleeha also revealed that Javed Iqbal 2 is going to go into more details than the first instalment did. We had left a lot of questions that we will answer in part two such as who the gang really was, who was involved in it, etc… It will be shot in Lahore, its cast, production design and budget will be bigger than the first film. The canvas of the story, this time, is very broad.”