Indian director Maneesh Singh invites Pak singer Rabi Pirzada to feature in film Ghairat with Malisha Heena Khan based on Qandeel Baloch's life

Indian director Maneesh Singh invites Pak singer Rabi Pirzada to feature in film Ghairat with Malisha Heena Khan based on Qandeel Baloch's life

Indian film director, producer and photographer Maneesh Singh, has invited controversial Pak singer Rabi Pirzada to feature as a parallel lead in his film Ghairat based on Qandeel Baloch's life.  

Singh who had spoken to Qandeel Baloch two days before her murder, had earlier announced his intention to make a movie based on the life of the Pakistani model and social media sensation who was his personal friend. The film was delayed due to financial issues, but now Singh has re-launched the project in a big way.

A supermodel of Pakistani-Afghani origin Malisha Heena Khan who is based in Mumbai has been chosen to play the main lead role in the film.

According to media reports, the film will be named “Ghairat” – referring to the word honour in English – and it will feature the issue of honour killing in both Pakistan and India.

Fouzia Azeem, better known as Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death at her home in Multan in the Punjab province on July 15, 2016, in a chilling murder that sent shock waves across Pakistan, triggering an outpouring of grief on social media and igniting fierce debate over the prevalence of “honour killings” of women.

Her brother was convicted of her murder and sentenced to life in prison in the patriarchal country’s high-profile “honour killing”.

Baloch, who shot to fame for her risque selfies — tame by Western standards, but considered provocative in deeply misogynistic Pakistan — was strangled in July 2016. Her family, particularly her brother suspected that Baloch was high profile call girl who was entertaining clients in Dubai on the sly and hobnobbing with the elite which led to their resentment and anger, Singh’s research claims.

In an interview, Singh said: “I will soon file a formal request with the Pakistani government to get permission to shoot the film in her native village in Pakistan,” further adding that Qandeel was a revolutionary girl.

“The circumstances made her a controversial person before her death, however, deep within Qandeel was quite a normal human being like most of the women of her age in Karachi or Lahore,” Singh has claimed.

Talking about his ties with Baloch, he said that they used to speak via telephone 2-3 time in a month and also spoke to each other just before her death. We were very close to each other for over 18 months, he added.

“We were discussing a film project and if she could visit India to shoot the film or settle in Mumbai,” Maneesh Singh said.

He also shared his fear that Qandeel Baloch’s brother could have been used by someone else, saying “there was a greater conspiracy at play and religious clerics are behind her murder”.

It is also worth mentioning here that Maneesh Singh is currently associated with Vision Telefilms and Vrindaavan Films and is said to be working on two Tamil film projects these days.

 Malisha Khan loves Indian food and Lucknow is one of her favourite shoot destinations. She has featured in print and commercial advertisements in India and Dubai as well as other parts of the world. This is her first major Indian Bollywood project.