The mystery shrouding Benazir Bhutto’s biopic keeps getting complicated.
While the Bhutto family maintains that they have given no consent for a biopic (read full story here), Mehwish Hayat, who is set to play the former prime minister in a recent interview confirmed that a film on her is indeed in the works.
The Current reached out to Mehwish for further details and she told us that she “cannot say much at this stage” as she has “signed strict NDAs (non-disclosure agreements).”
However, she said that a film was indeed in the works and it is “currently in the early development stages.”
“We are just beginning to talk to writers at the moment,” Mehwish said. “The basic understanding of biopics is that we actually don’t need formal approval from the family.”
She continued, “Just look at The Crown – they don’t get permission or clearances from the Royal family or any of the other people portrayed. There are many other films in the West where information is taken from what is in the public domain.”
Mehwish further said that “when we get further down the line, I am sure that the producers will engage the family to ensure that our script is factually correct.”
“I for one would love their [the family’s] insights to help my research,” she concluded.
Perhaps it is pertinent to mention here that Sarmad Khoosat also did not seek formal permission from Sadaat Hassan Manto’s family or engage them in the making of the late writer’s biopic.
News of Mehwish playing Pakistan’s first female prime minister had first surfaced in June 2018 when Mehwish on Benazir’s 65th birthday had shared that a biopic on BB was on the cards and that she was preparing to “play the role of a lifetime.”
The announcement had taken social media by storm and everyone was excited to see the life of the slain Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader come to life on the silver screen. However, Benazir’s daughter, Bakhtawar, slammed the idea, saying that no consent was sought from the family for the project.
Mehwish at that time had responded to Bakhtawar saying that the project was in its early stages and that it would not progress without “the consent or blessing of the family.”
While the conversation on this project died soon after, it resurfaced again recently when an interview of Mehwish with BBC Urdu started doing the rounds on social media.
In the interview, Mehwish confirmed that she will be playing Bhutto.
“InshAllah. It is a huge subject and a very complicated one,” Mehwish told the host when asked her whether the news was correct. “The story is one of a hero – Benazir Bhutto is a hero to me and I love that woman. Her story is so inspirational. [I think] that our current generation and the one that is to come, need to see her contributions, struggles, progress, her life.”
Mehwish continued, “While people write about [her] in books, films are easy access for people to know about things.”
When the host asked Mehwish that expectations with the role will be high, the actor responded, “Indeed it is a difficult character to play. It is being written as of now and it is going to take some time, but I cannot wait to play it.”
Has Mehwish started preparing for the role?
Mehwish said, “I’ve been reading up about her. The more I get to know her, the more inspired I get and I feel a lot of pride. But at the same time, I feel sad also that we lost such a great leader.”
“But the world needs to see her whole story.”
