Filmmaker Amjad Khan is making a film about Malala Yousafzai called Gul Makai, and he has finally found his lead actress.
Her identity was kept secret for the past 40 days, ever since her look test and screening. “But now we can tell you her name is Fatima Sheikh, and she’s from Dhaka,” Amjad Khan told journalists, as reported by The Times of India.
He said Fatima is a Bangladeshi citizen and will need a work permit to shoot in India. “It took a long time to convince Fatima’s parents,” said Amjad, adding: “They have still not consented to revealing her face [to the public] until the second schedule of the film’s shoot is over.”
“There are two reasons for all this secrecy. One is that her parents were extremely reluctant to let her do this role, let alone expose her to the dangers it involves; second was the work permit,” he said.
Ten days ago, Fatima’s work permit was put in place, and the film is now ready to roll. Amjad Khan was also excited about getting permission to shoot in Islamabad and Karachi.
“It took three months, and the Pakistan government finally gave me permission to shoot,” said Amjad.
According to the report, he will also schedule a Pakistan shoot around November, after his London schedule. Currently they are focused on the first schedule in Madhya Pradesh, which has been delayed, and will not start on June 2 as expected.
