Forget expectations of traditional Bollywood style movies when watching Naveed Raza’s latest film, Leech. It has already been described by film critics as marking ‘a major turning point in the development of Pakistani filmmaking.’
An action-packed movie produced by Pakistani based Glamora Films, it combines murder, crime and psychological intrigue with corruption and serious environmental concerns. Village life is disrupted when a builder arrives seeking to buy land for housing. One of those affected is sixteen-year-old teenager Balot, whose father refuses to sell their land. The builder does not give up and the result is the tragic destruction of Balot’s family, as well as social and cultural upheaval within the village. Determined to seek revenge, Balot seeks refuge amid the city slums. Some years later, Police inspector Israr is investigating a series of murders – which include a famous model as well as a building contractor and the owner of a housing society – leading ultimately back to the destruction of Balot’s village.
Speaking to British Muslim Magazine at the August launch, Naveed said, “We wanted to address the issues of our time – illegal housing and environmental change by using an underlying murder mystery to question what might happen as a result.”
In the film, Naveed Raza plays a powerful businessman while Mahsam Raza takes the role of Inspector Israr. Established as an actor since 2008, Naveed has starred in productions such as Daraar, Haal-e-Dil and MERA DIL MERA DUSHMAN. Mahsam’s career took a different path as the founder of international fragrance company, The DUA BRAND, launched in 2016. This is his first major role, and marks the beginning of his involvement in the film industry. Naveed and Mahsam are also joint founders of Glamora Films.
Naveed Raza and his co-star Masham Raza are passionate about environmental issues, and believe that the time is right to speak out using film as a medium. Naveed points out that “we have seen these things happening. It is a reality that no one talks about in Pakistan. We are seeing forests destroyed.”
As soon as Leech was premiered to film industry audiences in Åmerica, it was instantly recognised as being innovative and different. Shown last June to the Writers Guild of Åmerica, Leech was acclaimed for the way it was presenting a wake up call on an international basis. As Naveed points out, ‘they loved the storytelling. It was not just a Pakistani movie, but an international film with an international message.’
Touching on the problems of climate change, and the dark realities of exploitation and greed that face cities as well as rural areas. Constant building on green landscapes and cutting down forests is causing intense damage to the environment, and to everyone’s lifestyle. It raises questions as to what type of lifestyle do we really want for our children.
Filming Leech was undoubtedly gruelling as both Naveed and Masham indicate. According to Naveed, ‘the most challenging part was that we had to film in multiple locations like villages around Karachi and had just 20 to 48 hours to do it. We were on site constantly.’
It was a situation that caused major logistical problems as Masham ruefully indicated to British Muslim “We were shooting without proper facilities especially food trucks as we had limited resources. We focused on having to work more and eat less!”
Stunts provided yet more challenges for the duo. Masham commented that “We did all our own stunts and action shots. We just followed instructions and did it.”
The result could be nerve wracking as Naveed indicated. “ The most difficult stunts were when you were working with rigging and flying through the air. It can be very hard to control kicks and strikes. Making a mistake means that it is easy to lose balance and fall.”
Although promoting Leech is set to be the focus of their attention for the immediate future, both Naveed and Masham are already looking beyond that. Their company Glamora will be hosting more films over the next few years.
Naveed says, “ We are looking at other ideas and want to do more films. We want to write and have lots of ideas. We will be concentrating on that after the promotion of Leech, as we have ideas already in process, it is a force of nature.”
Releasing worldwide on the 9th August 2024
Image Credit – Hum Films
The adventurous spirit behind the pages of British Muslim magazine. As the Editor-in-Chief, Natasha leads with a passion for exploration and a pen dipped in wanderlust. With a keen eye for halal travel experiences and an insatiable curiosity for new experiences, she brings readers along on captivating journeys to far-flung destinations. Through her vibrant storytelling, Natasha invites readers on enriching adventures, where every experience is a window into the muslim world.
